Mexico, Leader in Hotel Construction in Latin America: STR

Mexico is among the most important tourism destinations in the world. Global data analytics company STR said that Mexico is leading the hotel construction industry in Latin America in terms of rooms being constructed. 

According to Patricia Boo, Director for Central and South America, STR, Mexico is constructing over 29,000 hotel rooms throughout the country, of which, over 11,000 are being constructed in popular areas like the Riviera Maya, Mexico City and Baja California Sur. Boo highlighted that the construction of new rooms is set to grow by over 4% by 2027. 

These rooms are being beilt by 45 companies and comprise over 200 new hotels. Boo highlighted that companies like Marriot, Hyatt and Hilton are the leading companies in the construction of new hotels. 

The most benefited region is the Mexican Caribbean, which has drawn more attention than other Latin American tourist destinations. “Most construction takes place in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, but the Mexican Caribbean is where we expect the largest number of rooms to be constructed," Boo added. 

Owing to the pandemic and border closure measures taken by several countries, Mexico temporarily ranked second among countries with the highest number of international tourists, surpassed only by France in 2021. According to the Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR), the private sector could build 17,704 new hotel rooms in 2020. The ministry highlighted this achievement as the pandemic stopped several economic activities during that time. The ministry said that hotels at that time accounted for 28.7% of Mexico's tourism GDP, creating 9% of jobs in the industry. It also noted that each hotel room creates 1.5 direct and three indirect jobs.

During the National Hotel Industry Day 2023 celebration, Minister of Tourism Miguel Torruco announced that as of February 2022, the country had received investment of MX$215.5 billion (US$11.7 billion) for 521 tourism projects, of which 75.5% corresponded to hotel room construction. 

Among the main challenges the hotel sector faces is the lack of incentives. According to the Mexican Association of Hotels and Motels (AMHM), there are no tax incentives or document filing help for developers, contrary to what happens in countries like Spain and the Dominican Republic.