Throughout Mexico, planners will find a host of fresh new developments ranging from new and renovated hotels to interesting new attractions. Following is a sampling of the latest news.
INTERIOR MEXICO
Guadalajara
Last year, the city hosted more than 1,650 events, the majority of which take place at Expo Guadalajara, which in October began a renovation.
Guadalajara’s hotel inventory now includes more than 21,000 hotel rooms, with big-name new choices that include the 550-room Riu Plaza Guadalajara and the 221-room Westin Guadalajara.
Mexico City
“The evolution of Mexico City as a destination for congresses, conventions, fairs and expositions has really stood out in recent years,” says Carlos Mackinlay, secretary of tourism for the Mexico City government. “ICCA now ranks Mexico City as 39th in the international rankings that it issues every year. It’s important is to note that just five years ago, we were in the 64th place in the same rankings.”
New hotels on the scene include the 160-room Le Meridien Mexico City, while the former Hotel Nikko has been reflagged as the 756-room Hyatt Regency Mexico City.
Monterrey
This northern city continues to be an economic powerhouse for the nation, which bodes well for its role as a meetings hub. More than 2,600 foreign businesses now have offices here, and the airport recently welcomed new international service to San Jose, Costa Rica, Panama City, Panama and Havana, Cuba.
Puebla One of the nation’s industrial hubs, Puebla is preparing to play a major role in Mexico’s convention scene in 2013, when it serves as the one-time host of Tianguis Turistico, the nation’s annual tourism conference. The event will take place mostly at the 42,000-square-foot Centro Expositor, the city’s largest convention facility, which opened in 2011.
Puebla is now home to one of the “new concept” versions of Fiesta Inn, the business-oriented, mid-priced hotel chain that is affiliated with Fiesta Americana. (By 2014, all Fiesta Inn properties in Mexico are to be upgraded.)
San Miguel de Allende
Among the newest hotels in the charming colonial city of San Miguel is the 67-room Rosewood San Miguel de Allende, which opened in 2011. By mid-2013, the expansion of the La Casona convention center will be fully complete, allowing for a jump in capacity from 800 to 1,000 people.
New attractions include the Zona Arqueologica de Canada de la Virgen, an archeological site that opened to the public in 2011.
BAJA CALIFORNIA
Los Cabos
Baja California’s popular beachfront destination is finally home to its own major meeting venue: Los Cabos Convention Center, which hosted the G-20 Summit in June and officially opened in September with 72,000 square feet of space. The center can host up to 5,000 people for meetings and up to 8,000 people for banquets.
Among the newest hotels in Los Cabos is the 66-room El Ganzo. Slated to open in 2013 is the adults-only Secrets Puerto Los Cabos and the 157-room Hyatt Place San Jose del Cabo. Still in the works is The Ritz-Carlton, Los Cabos, slated to open in 2014, and the 300-room JW Marriott Los Cabos, scheduled to debut in 2015.
PACIFIC COAST
Acapulco
Meeting planners have multiple new venues to consider in Mexico’s original jet-set destination. In 2011, the 355,000-square-foot Expo convention center opened at Mundo Imperial, while the 20,000-square-foot Diamante Exhibition Center recently opened at the Fairmont Acapulco Princess resort, which is also home to the new 18-hole Turtle Dunes Country Club and Golf Course.
“As the original Mexican beach resort, Acapulco has undergone various transformations over the years, but what remains steadfast is the destination’s commitment to offering travelers rich, cultural experiences and a high level of service,” says Pedro Haces Sordo, president of the Acapulco CVB. “The meetings and incentives industry in particular has always remained important to Acapulco.”
Puerto Vallarta
New hotels in Puerto Vallarta include the 259-room Hilton Puerto Vallarta Resort and two new all-inclusive properties from AM Resorts: the 271-room, adults-only Secrets Vallarta Bay and the Now Amber Puerto Vallarta.
“Puerto Vallarta has enjoyed a constant rise as a meetings and conventions destination,” says Guilleromo Ohem, the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board’s director. “Three years ago, Puerto Vallarta opened up its International Convention Center, and our position as a convention destination has increased on the international level.”
Riviera Nayarit
Grupo Vidanta, the developer of Mayan Resort Nuevo Vallarta, is planning major developments in its resort facilities and attractions over the next five years. The property has already opened the first Jack Nicklaus Golf Academy in the region.
“The new Nicklaus Golf Academy is another indicator of how Riviera Nayarit is quickly becoming the premier golf destination in Mexico,” says Jesus Torres, managing director of Vidanta Golf. “Even if people staying at the resort are not great golfers, these new facilities give them a great opportunity to learn the sport of golf from some great instructors.”
Grupo Vidanta is also planning to open a Greg Norman signature course at the resort next year.
Hotel upgrades in the Riviera Nayarit include a $14 million renovation at the former Occidental Allegro, which has been renamed the Occidental Grand, a $30 million transformation at the Grand Palladium, and the conversion of the former Vallarta Palace in Nuevo Vallarta to the Hard Rock Vallarta. The Four Seasons Punta Mita, meanwhile, just wrapped up renovations to its guest rooms and function room, and is planning to introduce a luxury “tented suite” by the end of this year. In the works for next year are 56 new suites at La Tranquila, and a new 450-room Iberostar resort in Litibu, near Punta Mita.
Huatulco
The newest large hotel in Huatulco is Secrets Huatulco Resort & Spa, which features a 7,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom.
“Huatulco’s infrastructure, accessibility, natural beauty and world-class resorts like Secrets and Dreams Resorts & Spas make it an ideal destination for conferences, executive retreats and weddings,” says Ivonne Alvarez Espinosa, director of sales, Secrets Huatulco Resorts & Spas. “Huatulco was also certified by Green Globe as the first sustainable tourist community in America and supported by the Earthcheck Environmental Administration System for its ecological reserve, designated marine parks and eco-friendly activities. That resonates with our guests.”
According to Sheila Baird, destination supervisor at Amstar Huatulco DMC, Huatulco is an increasingly popular choice with planners.
“We are seeing growth in Huatulco’s meetings and conventions segment each year as the number of international flights significantly increased over 2012, making the destination easily accessible to travelers in the U.S. and Canada,” she says.
Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo
Hotel news in this Pacific Coast destination includes the conversion of the former Melia property to Azul Ixtapa, which debuted its new Azul Ixtapa Grand tower in August. In addition, the Presidente InterContinental Ixtapa Resort recently completed renovations. Due to open to the public in 2013 is the refurbished Xihuacan archeological zone.
Mazatlan
The so-called “Pearl of the Pacific” reports a steady increase in meetings and incentives, rising from 193 group events in 2010 to 227 in 2011 and 269 in 2012; projections estimate 291 events will take place by the end of this year. The opening of the Mazatlan International Center, which has 95,000 square feet of event space, likely has played some role in the growth.
Meanwhile, the Sinaloa state government has invested in a partnership with Cal Jet Air, a U.S.-based carrier operated by XTRA Airways, to offer service to Mazatlan from Jan. 9, through April 9, 2013, with nine weekly flights aboard 150-passenger aircraft from Houston, San Antonio, Denver, Los Angeles and Oakland, Calif.
YUCATAN PENINSULA/GULF REGION
Cancun
“It’s been a very good year,” says Fernando Cervantes, group and conventions director at the Cancun CVB. “Right now, we’re looking at numbers that compare to 2008. I think we’re on the rebound as a destination.”
Cervantes says the growth is due to several factors.
“We offer better service, better infrastructure, better connectivity than other destinations in Mexico,” he says, noting that the rise of the all-inclusive concept in Cancun in recent years has also helped it to compete. “Hotels are turning to all-inclusive because the market is asking for it.”
Among the newest hotels in Cancun are the Riu Palace Peninsula, Secrets The Vine and the Hard Rock Cancun, which is a conversion of a former Palace property.
Additionally, Gran Melia Cancun was transformed into a luxury, all-inclusive Paradisus resort Dec. 1.
Meanwhile, Cancun Messe, an exhibition center, is under new administration and is currently closed. According to Cervantes, it should reopen in 2013, and future plans call for the addition of meeting space.
Cozumel
Slated to begin early next year is an upgrade of the Cozumel Convention Center, which has more than 17,000 square feet of event space.
“The remodeling of Cozumel Convention Center involves a new facade and world-class interior to house the most important events and meetings—national and international,” says Pablo Aguilar, promotions manager for the Fideicomiso de Promocion Turistica de Cozumel.
Open since 2011 is the Airdrome, a private airfield that has a business center and two meeting rooms. New attractions include the Cozumel Pearl Farm, which allows groups to visit a pearl oyster hatchery and spend time on the beach. Opening this December is Playa Mia Grand Beach & Water Park, and still in the works is Marina Cozumel, a 106-acre development that, when finished in 2020, is to include some 1,000 hotel rooms as well as condos, a theme park and other attractions.
In hotel news, AM Resorts recently announced the introduction of the Secrets and Sunscape Resorts & Spas brands to Cozumel, with the Secrets Aura Cozumel and Sunscape Sabor Cozumel—a result of the combining and rebranding of the existing Sabor Cozumel Exclusive Resort & Spa and Aura Cozumel Grand.
Merida
The newest hotel in the capital of Yucatan state is DoubleTree by Hilton Merida, a 100-room property with 3,000 square feet of meeting and event space. It is built around an early 20th century mansion.
Riviera Maya
The Riviera Maya’s group-friendly hotel inventory continues to expand, notes Carlos Mora Vera, meetings manager at the Riviera Maya Destination Marketing Office (DMO).
“With the opening of resorts like Fairmont Mayakoba and Grand Velas Riviera Maya, our destination has become one of the top leaders in the meetings industry in the world, hosting international events such WTTC 2012 [the World Travel & Tourism Council’s Americas Summit] and Cumbre de Rio [Rio Summit 2011], just to name a couple.”
Mora expects this year to show an increase from the 739 events hosted in 2011.
In March, the Riviera Maya DMO debuted a new dedicated meetings and groups website (www.rivieramayameetings.com), which offers free registration for planners and the ability to send direct RFPs to hotels, DMCs, parks, audiovisual companies, and catering and entertainment services.
Hotel news includes the debut of the Blue Diamond Riviera Maya, which opened at the end of 2011 following the acquisition by Blue Bay Group of the former Mandarin Oriental Riviera Maya. This year, the former Tides Riviera Maya completed a renovation and relaunched as the Viceroy Riviera Maya, while Rosewood Mayakoba reopened in October after a $1.6 million renovation. New on the scene is the El Dorado Generations Maroma, which Karisma Hotels opened in August. The company more recently unveiled the six-bedroom Azul Villa Esmeralda, which has event space for up to 40. In addition, Melia Hotels recently opened two new Paradisus properties—one for adults and one for families.
Still to come is the Hard Rock Riviera Maya, due to open in early 2013 as a result of the combining of two adjacent Palace Resorts properties: the 489-room, family-friendly Aventura Cove Palace and 777-room, adult-oriented Aventura Spa Palace. In addition, a development called Kanai, which will ultimately have 847 hotel rooms, is preparing for its own hotel debuts. Planned properties opening in the next few years include the St. Regis Kanai, Resort & Residences, the W Retreat Kanai, the Park Hyatt Kanai and Kanai Auberge. Also in the works are the 213-room Andaz Mayakoba, slated to open in 2015, and the second phase of the Mayakoba complex, which includes a new 36-hole golf course designed by Greg Norman and Lorena Ochoa.
New York City-based freelance writer and editor Mark Chesnut has been focusing on travel, tourism and the meetings segment in Latin America for more than a decade, with work regularly appearing in media outlets including Latin Business Chronicle, Latin Trade, Latin Business Traveler and the inflight magazines of LAN Airlines and TACA.
