The economy may have slowed in recent months both north and south of the border, but that doesn’t mean Mexico has fallen behind in developing grand new reasons for planners to send their groups here.
From the biggest cities to the sunniest beach resorts, Mexico is welcoming new convention centers, bicentennial-inspired venues and fresh hotels that range from giant convention-oriented properties to stylish boutiques that work great for incentives.
BAJA CALIFORNIA PENINSULA
"Although the past few years have proven more challenging than most, I am pleased to report that the Los Cabos meetings market is on the rise," says Renato Mendonca, vice president of marketing at the Los Cabos CVB. "Hotels throughout Los Cabos are reporting that large meeting and incentive groups are once again traveling to our beautiful destination."
New hotel properties debuting over the past year include the 626-room Barcelo Los Cabos Palace Deluxe and the 32-room Zoetry Casa del Mar and the Capella Pedregal. Slated to open in February is the first phase of the 289-room Grand Solmar Land’s End Resort & Spa, the fifth Solmar property in Los Cabos. And visitors can now choose an all-inclusive option at the Sheraton Hacienda del Mar Golf & Spa Resort and Westin Resort & Spa.
Among the newest venues is the $40 million Cultural Pavilion of the Republic, which opened this year alongside the Cabo San Lucas Marina to commemorate Mexico’s bicentennial.
PACIFIC COAST
Acapulco
Mexico’s first jet-set resort destination, Acapulco continues to invent new ways to entice groups.
"The meetings market in Acapulco is made up mainly of domestic business," says Daniel Martinez, groups and meetings director at the Acapulco Destination Marketing Office. "But we hope to attract more international meetings and conventions in 2011 with the new Meetings & Incentive Directory [accessible on Acapulco’s official website] and the launch of a social media program later this year."
New facilities include Il Duomo, a 73,000-square-foot meeting and exposition center scheduled to open in early 2011 as part of the Mundo Imperial complex. It sits adjacent to the Forum, a 4,000-seat theater and concert venue. An 800-room hotel is under construction next door.
The existing Acapulco International Convention Center, meanwhile, will undergo a $40 million expansion by 2013. Plans call for a new convention center to be built adjacent to the existing facility, after which the current space will be converted into a shopping mall.
Puerto Vallarta
The 105,000-square-foot Puerto Vallarta International Convention Center, which opened in 2009, continues to serve a growing number of conferences and conventions, which have most recently included the National Congress of Traumatology and Orthopedics, the Global Forum on Migration and Development and the World Tourism Forum.
"[The new convention center] is one of the most important projects of the Jalisco State Government," says Laura Suarez, commercial director of the Puerto Vallarta Convention Center. "Puerto Vallarta now has the opportunity [to become] an important business destination, with the meetings industry making it one of Mexico’s most important beach destinations."
Suarez called Puerto Vallarta, in fact, the most dynamic area on the Pacific coast.
"It is the most important hub, due to its port, air and sea infrastructure, as well as for its service capacity and growing hotel facilities—now with more than 18,000 rooms," she says.
The newest hotel on the scene is the 106-room Sunset Plaza Beach Resort & Spa, which at press time was scheduled to debut its first phase of development in December, with 52 one- and two-bedroom units.
Mazatlan
The so-called "Pearl of the Pacific" is yet another destination showing off fresh convention facilities. The brand-new Mazatlan International Center has nearly 154,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space.
"As one of Mexico’s top destinations, Mazatlan is investing a great deal in its meetings and tourism infrastructure," says Carlos Berdegue, vice president of the Mazatlan Hotel Association. "Meeting planners will find luxurious new resorts and meetings hotels, as well as exciting upgrades in existing facilities."
Among the newest properties is the 716-room Riu Emerald Bay, which opened in May. The main hotel tourism corridor, meanwhile, is in the second phase of a $5.4 million restoration project. Next up is roughly $15 million in upgrades for the historic city center.
Riviera Nayarit
The Riviera Nayarit, which mainly comprises Nuevo Vallarta and Punta Mita, is home to several new hotels, bringing the current total to 12,000 rooms. Recent additions include the 229-room Dreams VillaMagna, the 135-room Taheima Wellness Resort & Spa and the St. Regis Punta Mita.
"The openings are a reflection of investor confidence in the region and the continuation of support in furthering the destination to evolve into Mexico’s most desirable spot for tourism," says Marc Murphy, director of the Riviera Nayarit CVB. "In 2010, Riviera Nayarit completed 756 rooms, and from 2010 to 2015, Riviera Nayarit is expected to develop 10,128 rooms."
Huatulco
In October, the eco-archeological park Copalita opened in Huatulco, and the newest hotel in the works is Secrets Huatulco Resort & Spa, scheduled to debut next May. The 399-room, all-inclusive resort will have meeting and event space.
YUCATAN PENINSULA
Cancun & Riviera Maya
The Cancun Messe Convention Center opened in September with more than 98,000 square feet of exhibit space and nearly 140,000 square feet of outdoor space. The new facility will be a big selling point, according to Fernando Cervantes, groups and conventions director at the Cancun CVB.
"This will open a lot of doors for us," he says, adding that the well-established Messe name wields powerful brand recognition among meeting planners.
Cancun-bound groups can now choose from newly converted all-inclusive properties, including the 371-room Live Aqua and the 419-room ME Cancun. And Starwood Hotels & Resorts has introduced an all-inclusive option at the Westin Resort & Spa.
Just south of Cancun, the Riviera Maya has been a hot spot for hotel growth, with new properties including the all-inclusive, 550-room Now Riviera Cancun, the 485-room Dreams Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa and the 300-room Gran Bahia Principe Sian Ka’an Condo Hotel. At press time, the 360-room Azul Fives Hotel by Karisma was scheduled to open in November.
Merida
In the state of Yucatan, planners considering Merida can choose from an expanded array of stylish accommodations, thanks to the recent opening of boutique hotels, including the 17-room Rosas & Xocolate, set in a historic mansion along the popular Paseo de Montejo boulevard, and the 20-room Piedra de Agua, set in a 17th century former mansion near the city’s main square.
INTERIOR MEXICO
Mexico City
The nation’s capital of Mexico City continues to become greener, with bicycle lanes and pedestrian-only streets in the historic city center—even as the metropolis continues to expand its meetings options.
"We’ve had very positive development," says Carlos Mackinlay Grosman, executive director of Mexico City’s Office of Congresses and Conventions. "We have 15 new hotels scheduled to open in the Santa Fe, Reforma, World Trade Center and Centro Historico districts. We’re very happy; we’re in a tourism boom."
Indeed, between 2009 and 2010 alone, Mackinlay says Mexico City added 17 new hotels with a total of 1,826 rooms. Among the newest are a slew of upscale boutique properties, including the 35-room Las Alcobas, the 17-room Hotel Brick, the 62-room Hotel Valentina and the 30-room Distrito Capital. The 265-room Westin Santa Fe recently opened with 14,000 square feet of meeting space. The 458-room Hilton Mexico City Reforma, which opened in December 2009 as a rebranding of a former Sheraton property, recently debuted a new 26th-floor executive lounge with two small meeting rooms. The Sheraton brand will re-enter the city center with a new hotel slated to open inside the 44-story Latinoamericana tower.
Meanwhile, the Museo Soumaya is set to open next spring and exhibit the art collection of business magnate Carlos Slim.
Guadalajara
Guadalajara has also been in the midst of a veritable hotel boom, most likely encouraged by last year’s expansion of the Expo Guadalajara convention center as well as the upcoming 2011 Pan American Games, which will bring 8,000 athletes and even more spectators to the city next October.
Recent hotel openings including the 200-room Mexico Plaza Puerta de Hierro, the 100-room Holiday Inn Express Guadalajara UAG, the 114-room Ejecutivo Express and the 107-room City Junior Guadalajara Periferico Sur. Slated to open in 2011 are the 126-room One Guadalajara Centro, the 232-room Westin Guadalajara and the 550-room Riu Plaza Guadalajara.
New venues in Guadalajara include the Estadio Omnilife, a 50,000-seat stadium that is home to the city’s Las Chivas soccer team. Opening in 2012 is the Barranca Museum, a 118,400-square-foot venue that will exhibit contemporary and modern art.
Meanwhile, Mundo Cuervo, a venue created by Jose Cuervo that is filled with exhibits and equipment related to the production of Tequila, is finalizing plans to offer its own dedicated train service from Guadalajara to the town of Tequila, as well as to build a 40-room boutique hotel within the Mundo Cuervo complex. The train is slated to begin service in mid-2011, pending approval of the rail rights. An opening date for the hotel has not been announced.
Leon
The fight for Mexico’s independence started in Dolores, a town in the state of Guanajuato, but Leon, the state’s largest metropolis, is also benefiting from the celebrations surrounding Mexico’s bicentennial this year.
"It has been a very important year for us," says Oscar Garcia Ramos, director of the Leon CVB. "We’ve received a lot of publicity and visitors."
The exposure has helped to increase the city’s profile in the meetings industry.
The newest planner-friendly attraction is Expo Parque Bicentenario, a park and entertainment complex. In addition, the 480,000-square-foot Poliforum—the region’s largest convention space—is now home to the Teatro Bicentenario, a 565-seat theater. And two new hotels are on the horizon: the 21-room Mexico Plaza and the 140-room Courtyard by Marriott, which will open in 2012 as part of the Poliforum complex.
Freelancer Mark Chesnut has written about Mexico for more than 15 years.