Tourism in Mexico is set to get a boost with UK-based InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) intending to expand its brands in the country.
While participating in a trade mission to Mexico with the British Prime Minister, the company announced its efforts to boost tourism in Mexico by opening around five new hotels in 2012. The company is currently operating around 120 hotels in Mexico. These include 10 InterContinental Hotels & Resorts; 17 Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts; 53 Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts; 37 Holiday Inn Express hotels; and three Staybridge Suites properties.
23.4 million international visitors have visited Mexico in 2011, according to the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), a figure that gives the country second ranking, behind the US, in the list of favourite destinations for international travellers.
Kirk Kinsell, the company president for the Americas, said, ‘Mexico provides many opportunities to diversify in the hotel business, from resort to business destinations, the country can serve several tastes in regards to tourism – adventure, sun, colonial – and has a growing economy in the trillion dollar range. We see a huge opportunity to grow many of our hotel brands, such as InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn and Staybridge Suites, in Mexico.’
The company recently opened The Presidente InterContinental Santa Fe in Mexico City, offering panoramic views of the Santa Fe area, as well as 111 guestrooms and amenities, including a gym, a boutique, a spa and beauty salon operated under the L’Occitane brand, a terrace bar, the InterContinental Club Lounge and a valet parking service.
