Quintana Roo is on track to surpass 140,000 hotel rooms in the next five years, according to estimates from the state Tourism Ministry (Sedetur). That figure will rival Las Vegas’s current hotel room capacity of 145,000 rooms, and could even exceed it if the current lodging boom accelerates. 

At the moment, the southeastern state, famous for its Caribbean coast, has more than 135,000 rooms across nearly 1,500 hotels, reflecting a 9.2% growth rate since 2022. Last year alone, Quintana Roo added more than 4,000 new rooms, with major new hotel openings scheduled, including the H10 Costa Mujeres and Hotel Riu Ventura Cancún, as well as the recently inaugurated new Grupo Meliá Hotel in Cancún.

The expansion reflects Quintana Roo’s standing as the largest tourism offering in Mexico and the Caribbean, spearheading hotel growth nationwide. If it does surpass Las Vegas’s hotel offer, it would position the state as one of the most important tourist destinations in the world.

According to Governor Mara Lezama, Quintana Roo’s growth reveals investor confidence in the sustainable and diversified tourism model promoted by her government. “These developments are part of the New Era of Tourism, where we work to guarantee shared well-being and prosperity, ensuring that no one is left out of Quintana Roo’s tourism destination,” Lezama said. 

In addition to Quintana Roo’s hotel expansion, the state’s tourism sector is also notable for attracting foreign investment. Last year, reports showed that the state captured four out of every 10 dollars invested in Mexico’s tourism industry. These figures made the state the leading destination for foreign investment nationwide in the first half of 2024. In total, it raised US $420 million, in addition to the US $700 million that Xcaret hotel group announced. 

Despite these positive projections, Quintana Roo and the rest of the Mexican Caribbean lag behind other destinations in the Caribbean in terms of the growth rate in the number of visiting tourists. 

Last year, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Jamaica recorded visitor growth rates higher than those of the Mexican Caribbean in recent years.

Francisco Madrid Flores, head of the Center for Advanced Research in Sustainable Tourism (STARC) at Anáhuac University in Cancún, noted that while a full recovery of tourism in Mexico is shaping up for 2025, beach destinations will continue to see a 2% decline in visitors. He suggested authorities must address several issues, such as immigration protocols and institutional promotion. Otherwise, Mexico will continue to lose market share to other destinations.

With reports from El Economista, Conectando Negocios and Quintana Roo Hoy