Travel and hospitality conglomerate Apple Leisure Group is planning to invest US $100 million in three or four existing hotels in Acapulco, CEO Alejandro Zozaya said this week.
Speaking in the Guerrero resort city at an inauguration event for an all-inclusive property under the company’s Dreams brand, Zozaya said that Apple is in negotiations with the owners of hotels in Acapulco’s Diamond Zone and the Puerto Marqués area.
They could become Apple properties under the company’s Secrets, Now or Zoetry brands, he said, adding that he expected the negotiations to conclude sometime this year.
The plan follows the same blueprint as Apple used to open its Dreams resort, which was previously the Grand Hotel Acapulco.
The Apple CEO said that he has been interested in entering the Acapulco tourism market for years, describing the city as one of Mexico’s most important sun and beach destinations.
Zozaya added that the city’s airport is “attractive and functional” before asserting that more needs to be done to attract new domestic and international tourists to Acapulco, which was once Mexico’s premier beach destination.
He said that Apple brings more tourists to Mexico than any other tourism company but described its participation in the Acapulco market as “timid.”
“We want [tourism] to increase like in the good times when we brought charter flights here. I see that Acapulco is ready in terms of infrastructure and ready to grow but we need everyone’s help . . .” Zozaya said.
He acknowledged that security concerns still represent a risk for the destination but added that Apple is nevertheless committed to collaborating with other companies in the tourism sector to bring new flights to Acapulco.
“. . . We’re negotiating right now so that in . . . summer we can bring additional flights to Acapulco from Texas and for winter I’d like to settle on something from New York, where there are tourists with greater purchasing power who are interested in this place.”
Federal Tourism Secretary Miguel Torruco Marqués agreed that there is an opportunity to attract more foreign tourists and Americans in particular to Acapulco because the destination is already well known.
Apple’s investment in Acapulco “could generate . . . healthy competition that multiplies the benefits” for the city and increases the quality of accommodation on offer, he said.
Zozaya said in December that his company was putting new hotel construction on hold due to the lack of marketing by government, lower United States visitor numbers and an oversupply of rooms.
Source: El Economista (sp)
