Three new boutique hotels will be built in San Andrés Cholula, Puebla, an announcement that ties in with the government’s intention to seek a special designation for its local artisans and their products to attract more tourism.

Investment in the hotels, whose construction will begin this year, will total some 20 million pesos (US $1 million).

Economic and Social Development Secretary Hernán Felipe Reyes Hernández said the municipality’s designation as a Pueblo Mágico (Magical Town) has brought considerable economic benefit to San Andrés and that the local government believes the town to have additional potential as a tourist destination because of its proximity to the Cholula pyramid.

Tourism recently surpassed agriculture and commerce as the municipality’s principal economic generator. To take advantage of an expected increase in tourism, some residents have sold land to hotel investors, while others have renovated rooms in their homes to accommodate backpackers.

Reyes said current infrastructure is not enough to receive the number of visitors anticipated by the government in the future, so an investment in new hotels is crucial.

A zoning law prohibits construction higher than three stories to preserve the town’s colonial charm, so hostels and boutique hotels dominate the town’s lodging options. Reyes said that each of the three new hotels will have between 15 and 20 rooms.

Meanwhile, the local government is seeking a special designation for the town’s artisanal products and the processes that go into making them to distinguish them from cheaper goods brought in from elsewhere and then passed off as local.

“With this designation, we hope to promote locally-produced goods and in the not-so-distant future create an artisanal market and then promote our artisanal products at local and international fairs.”

Source: El Economista (sp)