The U.S. hotel chain Hilton plans to open 15 new hotels in Mexico this year, taking its total offering in the country over 100.

Mexico is Hilton’s fifth most important country and the chain has long term plans to expand its offering to 200 hotels. The initial investment will create some 25,000 direct and indirect jobs, the company said.

The new developments will be in Zacatecas city; Guadalajara, Jalisco; Monterrey, Nuevo León; Mexico City; Tijuana, Baja California; and Saltillo and Torreón in Coahuila.

There will also be new hotels built in the tourist centers of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato; Tulum, Quintana Roo; Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit; and La Paz, Baja California Sur.

The vice president of development for Latin America and the Caribbean, Juan Corvinos, said Mexico is a region Hilton is focused on.

“Our prospects for Mexico are very good … We have aggressive growth plans. We will have these 15 hotels before the end of the year, we have many openings scheduled,” he said.

Corvinos added that the investment would provide an economic boost in the areas around the new sites.

“Peripheral businesses are generated through [the hotels]. Not only do we need employees in the hotels, but there is a whole productive chain that has to provide the fruit, wine and vegetables. All those products generate wealth in the locale,” he said.

Corvinos confirmed that investment would not stop at the 100 mark.

“There is a lot available for Mexico. The production chain is analyzing new places, we have to continue developing throughout the Mexican republic. The goal is more than 200 hotels,” he said.

As for the tourism industry, Corvinos said he expects it to be fully recovered from the effects of the pandemic between 2023 and 2024, although he thinks some destinations could recover earlier.

Founded by Sheyla Vera Hilton and Conrad Hilton more than 100 years ago, Hilton has 575 hotels in more than 130 countries.

With reports from Milenio