VIEW FROM THE TOP
50-50 BET PROVIDES COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE PABLO AZCÁRRAGA Chairman of the Board of Grupo Posadas
Q: What are Mexico’s greatest areas of opportunity for
doing so well, the other complements it. That is why building
growth within the tourism sector?
50 percent of our developments in cities and 50 percent in
A: There are various indicators that demonstrate Mexico’s
beaches is a good competitive advantage to have.
strong potential for growth if we tweak certain things. Ninety percent of leisure tourism is focused on beach destinations.
We have a business model similar to that of the most
The majority of Mexico’s tourism revenue is based on sun and
important companies in the world. Our large number of
beach destinations and not so much on cultural, ecological
clients and investors allows us to avoid allocating a large
or religious tourism. In Europe for instance, the main reason
amount of our resources to materials and allows us, instead,
for travel is culture. Mexico has such a rich culture but it is not
to develop our people, innovation and technology. Of the 40
being taken advantage of.
hotels we have in construction, 90 percent are third-party properties. Our client network is satisfied and has enough
Approximately 80 percent of leisure tourists arrive by plane.
confidence in us to sign 20-year O&M contracts. Because
We are neighbors of the largest consumer market and when
we deliver results, almost all the contracts are renewed. In
Americans travel in the US, 90 percent do so by car. We are
2016, we opened 13 hotels, which is considerably more than
limiting tourism and we must continue to change the culture
our competitors that tend to open one or two a year. As
so that it not only depends on sun and beaches.
of today, we have more than 26,000 hotel rooms and 156 hotels. City Express has 11,000 and others fewer. The fact
Ninety percent of tourists that visit Mexico also visit the
that we are listed on the BMV allows us to keep our liabilities
same four destinations: Riviera Maya, Mexico City, Los
in bonds and to raise more money for new projects.
Cabos and Vallarta. Mexico definitely has potential and we have grown exponentially with more than 35 million international tourists. These are good numbers but the World Tourism Organization predicted that Mexico should have more than 50 million by now. Q: How has Grupo Posadas positioned itself in the Mexican market? A: Grupo Posadas is the leading hotel developer in Mexico
Riviera Maya, Mexico City, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta receive 90% of Mexico's visitors
and the only one with a presence in Mexico as an operator. We are four times bigger than our closest competitor and as
Q: What impact has the company had on tourism education
of 1Q17, we have more than 26,000 hotel rooms in operation.
and jobs creation in Mexico?
We have 40 new hotels in construction today, which means
A: It is important that we continue to focus on the
almost 7,000 more rooms. There are more than 80 million
professional growth of our human capital. Many of the
Mexicans traveling inside the country compared to the 35
most important players and directors within the industry
million who come from abroad.
started their careers in Posadas. We need to continue to train people to provide a higher quality service.
Q: Why has Grupo Posadas decided not to franchise its brands? A: We do not franchise because there is no real need to do so.
Grupo Posadas is the leading hotel developer in Mexico and the
In part, our success comes from the balance of our portfolio
only one with a presence in Mexico as an operator. It has more
between both leisure and business. Tourism depends greatly
than 26,000 hotel rooms in operation and expects to add almost
on the economic state of a country but when one area is not
7,000 more rooms with the construction of 40 new hotels
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