When foreign direct tourism investment numbers were announced for the first quarter of 2026, Baja California Sur (BCS) led all states, accounting for US $191.5 million, or 31% of the US $617.2 million invested in Mexico during that timeframe. That BCS received the most investment was not a surprise. If anything, the only surprise was that it did not receive a greater share of the total.
In 2024 and 2025, for example, BCS received upwards of US $1 billion dollars in foreign direct tourism investment during each year (US $1.039 billion and US $1.292 billion, respectively) — the most in Mexico — representing 36.2% and 40.6% of the national total. Of the US $2.5 billion-plus invested in BCS since 2024, an estimated 90% is centered on projects in Los Cabos; the municipality that, not coincidentally, accounts for 83% of tourism in the state.
This raises two very interesting questions: Where is all this money coming from? And what is it being used to build?
Why is Los Cabos receiving so much investment, and from whom?
A third interesting question is how long BCS (and, by extension, Los Cabos) has dominated foreign direct tourism investment in Mexico. However, finding an answer is difficult, as annual figures for this category before 2024 aren’t easily accessible. But based on the quarterly announcements that have been reported in recent years, it seems that BCS has been leading the way in tourism investment since at least 2022, when it received 36.3% of invested monies during the fourth quarter of that year; a trend also noted in the second and fourth quarters of 2023, when the state garnered 47.3% and 38.1% of the national quarterly totals.
As for where the money is coming from, the answer is overwhelmingly from U.S. sources. In 2025, for instance, nearly 85% of investments originated in the U.S., with Canada and Spain each contributing a little over 5%. No other country’s investment accounted for more than 2.1%.
What’s being built? Primarily luxury hotels and resorts — the Four Seasons Resort and Residences and Park Hyatt Los Cabos have both opened in Cabo del Sol since 2024, and Amanvari recently opened at Costa Palmas on the East Cape — although master-planned communities, vacation rentals, and marinas and beach clubs have also attracted significant capital.
The projects currently in the pipeline
As of the first quarter of 2026, Mexico’s Secretaría de Turismo (Sectur) noted 13 active tourism projects in BCS worth US $3.893 billion. Amanvari, the Aman brand resort at Costa Palmas on the East Cape of Los Cabos, recently opened on Aug. 1, with 18 casitas each fetching more than US $3,000 per night. So one project is complete. Of the dozen remaining, four relate to new hotels scheduled to open in Los Cabos between 2027 and 2029: the Conrad Los Cabos, SIRO Palmilla, Delano East Cape and Raffles Estera East Cape Resort & Residences.
The Conrad Los Cabos, a Hilton property with 111 guest rooms, 21 suites, 43 residences and access to a new Ernie Els-designed golf course, is slated to open in 2027 at Oleada, an 860-acre development on the Pacific Coast north of Cabo San Lucas. The SIRO Palmilla, a wellness-oriented hospitality brand from Kerzner International, is also expected to open its doors in 2027, with 120 rooms and 14 luxury villas.
Luxury brands Delano and Raffles, meanwhile, have both announced East Cape resorts to open by 2029. However, neither has broken ground as yet, nor have their exact locations been divulged. The only thing that is known is that Delano is planning for 117 guest rooms and 60 branded residences; Raffles for 80 guest rooms, 46 residences and seven drinking and dining options.
Home Depot invests 690 million pesos in Los Cabos
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Most, but not all, foreign investment in Baja California Sur is tourism-related. In 2025, for instance, a total of US $1.587 billion was invested in the state, 81% of which was earmarked for tourism projects.
One example of a non-tourism-related project is the new Home Depot, which opened on Aug. 20 in San José del Cabo. The store, which is located by the Fonatur roundabout, represents an investment of 690 million pesos (about US $41 million) by Home Depot Mexico, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Home Depot, Inc., the home improvement chain headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
It’s the second Home Depot store to open in Los Cabos: the other is near Cabo Bello in La Ruta Escénica in the corridor which connects cape cities Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo. The state’s third Home Depot, of the 144 now open in Mexico, is in the capital city of La Paz.
The recently opened San José del Cabo location supports 95 new jobs for residents, plus an inventory of 50,000 products now available to local consumers.
Chris Sands is a writer and editor for Mexico News Daily, and the former Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best and writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook. He has also contributed to numerous other websites and publications, including The San Diego Union-Tribune, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise and Travel, and Cabo Living.
