The hotel area surrounding Expo Guadalajara is one of the most important destinations in Mexico for the convention and business tourism industry, according to Bernardo Aguilar, president of the Jalisco Hotel Association (AHJ) and the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area Tourism Trust.

Aguilar told the newspaper El Economista that in the first 10 months of this year, more than 800,000 people stayed at one of the 19 hotels comprising the Expo Guadalajara Club, a conglomerate of hotels surrounding the Expo Guadalajara. During this period, these hotels reported booking 600,000 rooms and an economic revenue of 700 million pesos (US $34.4 million).

“The 19 hotels that make up this group have cutting-edge infrastructure, with an offer of around 3,400 rooms, which makes Guadalajara a fairground and hotel area without comparison at the national level,” Aguilar said. 

According to Aguilar, the Expo area has seen around 5,000 events this year, including those hosted at Expo Guadalajara, Mexico’s largest event venue. 

With a total surface area of ​​119,000 square meters and a capacity for 60,000 people, the Expo hosts over 1,200 events each year and attracts around 2.1 million national and international visitors. 

Some of the scheduled events at the Expo for the next three years include the 2027 World Congress of Dermatology, the 2027 World Congress of Physiotherapy and the 2028 International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

Beyond this hotel complex, other areas of Guadalajara are also attracting hotel investment.  

Within the next two years, six new hotels from international chains plan to open in the city, with a total investment of 2 billion pesos (US $96.4 million), Aguilar said. These will mainly be business hotels, averaging around 150 rooms each. 

Some will be located along the airport highway and Periférico Sur, one will be located in the historic center of Zapopan, and another will be located in the Providencia neighborhood, Aguilar added.  

One of the Expo’s largest events is the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL), the largest book fair in the Spanish-speaking world, which will kick off on Nov. 30. Last year, this event drew over 800,000 visitors to the Expo, breaking the FIL’s previous attendance record. 

With reports from El Economista