{"id":51675,"date":"2014-12-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-12-23T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/royalresorts.com\/blog\/ricardo-rodriguez-operations-manager-thomas-more-travel\/"},"modified":"2021-11-16T05:45:16","modified_gmt":"2021-11-16T05:45:16","slug":"ricardo-rodriguez-operations-manager-thomas-more-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/news\/ricardo-rodriguez-operations-manager-thomas-more-travel\/","title":{"rendered":"Ricardo Rodriguez. Operations Manager, Thomas More Travel"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt seems like yesterday that I first set foot in Cancun,\u201d says Ricardo Rodriguez<\/strong>, Operations Manager at Thomas More Travel<\/strong>, who is celebrating 28 years with the company. \u201cI was born in the state of Hidalgo in the Mexican highlands; you would be hard put to find a spot that\u2019s further away from the sea than my hometown! On my first trip to Cancun in 1983 I fell in love with the white sand, turquoise waters and tropical climate of the Mexican Caribbean and knew that I wanted to move here and work in tourism.\u201d
\n\u201cDuring my stay, I bumped into a friend of mine who was the Thomas More Travel<\/strong> rep at The Royal Cancun.\u201d Ricardo reminisces, \u201cThree years later she called me out of the blue to tell me that she would shortly be moving to The Royal Mayan and the position at the resort was vacant. Would I be interested? I remember the date was December 23, 1986, and instead of spending Christmas with my family, I jumped on a plane and came straight out to Cancun as a sales representative. I arrived at 1 p.m. and by 4 p.m. I had already started my first training session at the tour desk!\u201d
\nRicardo remembers the early days at Thomas More Travel<\/strong> and the first tours he sold. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have the amazing variety we have now,\u201d he says, \u201c Back then in the early 1980s, we offered Tulum, Xel-Ha and Chichen Itza; boat trips to Isla Mujeres and a lobster dinner cruise on board the Columbus. Then there was a fishing trip on a boat called the Lucky Hooker, which generally left people feeling seasick for three days. By the time you disembarked on the island your face was green! Our top-selling activity was the Folkloric Ballet at the Convention Center, and, Xcaret? It didn\u2019t exist back then!\u201d
\n\u201cAs Operations Manager at Thomas More, I am always looking for new tours and activities for Royal Resorts members and guests to enjoy and I love exploring this amazing area myself.\u201d He adds, \u201cThere is so much to see and do in the Mexican Caribbean and the Yucatan. You really do have a world of incredible travel experiences on your doorstep! There\u2019s something here for everyone, whether it\u2019s family fun at the Riviera Maya\u2019s famous nature parks, scuba diving on the world\u2019s second longest reef, visiting ancient Mayan cities, jungle zip lining or ecotourism. From catamaran cruises and island hopping to water sports, visits to Mayan communities, colonial cities and haciendas or private tours, we have it all. It is our job to help visitors plan their vacation sightseeing and have an unforgettable stay with plenty of memories to share with their friends and families back home.\u201d
\nWe asked Ricardo to give us some tour recommendations and he said, \u201cI always say that our beautiful area has four activities beyond the beach that every visitor should try, and they can take their pick from a variety of magical places in which to do them.<\/p>\n

Must-do activities<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n