Spotlight Mexico

Mexico is one of the most important hotel markets in Latin America, with over 400,000 hotel rooms within branded and independent properties. Branded rooms represent 60% of the hotel inventory and are located primarily in Cancun, Riviera Maya and Mexico City. Over one-third of Mexico’s hotel supply is within resort destinations, with Cancun and Riviera Maya holding the largest concentration of rooms in the country, followed by Mexico City, and the Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit regions.

The pipeline of new hotels is close to 14,000 rooms currently under construction, and an additional 10,000 rooms are in the planning stages, expected to be delivered by the end of 2023. Many projects in the early planning stages were delayed as a consequence of COVID lockdowns and overall travel uncertainty. However, many of the delays were reactivated as restrictions were relaxed. This is a clear indicator of investors’ strong belief in the long-term outlook for Mexico’s lodging sector.

In 2019, Mexico was named the Number 1 visited destination by foreign tourists within Latin America, the Number 2 most visited destination in the Americas, and the Number 7 most visited country in the world. Despite the pandemic and occupancy declines, the country managed to reach average daily rates that surpassed 2019 levels in the key markets of Los Cabos, Cancun, Riviera Maya and Mexico City.