InterContinental Hotels Group, the parent of such hotel brands InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton Hotels & Resorts, avid hotels, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, has announced it will be opening more than 30 new hotels in Mexico over the next two years.
The new projects, which account for 4,000 rooms, will bring IHG's total allocation up to 26,000 throughout the country. By 2021, the hospitality company said it plans to further increase that number to 30,000 rooms and 200 hotel projects.
"In the first quarter of this year we already have more than 100 hotels signed, and we hope to open the first avid in August of this year," said Elie Maalouf, CEO for the Americas. of IHG. "We [announced the launch of avid] in Mexico in February, and we already signed the first one in the country, which will be in Zacatecas, because we think that the brand has great potential."
The new avid Zacatecas will be a four-story, new-build with 95 guest rooms and is expected to open in mid-2019.
In general, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express projects represent the majority (64 percent) of IHG's new hotels in Mexico. Other brands in development include avid, Crowne Plaza, Staybridge, Indigo and the Kimpton.
According to Malouf, Mexico is one of the top five priority countries for IHG in its global development plans. Earlier this year, IHG announced it was offering bonus incentives to Mexican hoteliers who complete franchise agreements by September 30 of this year.
Malouf pointed to the continued growth in market fundamentals, including the economy, population, the middle class, and the increase in visitor numbers as the reason for IHG's interest.
Mexico recently announced it has become the sixth-most visited destination in the world, surpassing Germany, the United Kingdom and Turkey. From 2013 through 2017, the nation saw a 62 percent increase in visitor traffic, the fastest growth rate of any large global destination.
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