“Puebla needs a tourism council to support projects”: IP

Puebla, Pue. Hoteliers, restaurateurs, and other service providers in the tourism sector agreed on the need to create a council in conjunction with the Ministry of Tourism Promotion to generate strategic projects that help increase the average visitor stay by segmenting market niches.

Luis Javier Cué de la Fuente, state president of the Tourism Business Council (CNET), commented that more collaborative work with the authorities has been lacking, and that during this six-year term, they are willing to do so, considering that the local government is also interested in positioning Puebla among the most visited places.

He explained that this planning must be achieved by redirecting resources from the Lodging Tax to create a tourism council, which can generate projects that help municipalities strengthen their respective areas by professionalizing those in charge, while also training service providers in quality care.

He reiterated that Puebla is positioned for the conventional visitor on weekends and long weekends, but it doesn't exploit other sectors such as business and convention tourism, adventure tourism, backpacking tourism, and religious tourism, to name a few.

He emphasized that business tourism and conventions alone generate three times more revenue during the week due to the exhibitions and conferences held from Wednesday to Saturday, which is an example of the benefits of planning to attract more events than the number of events held each year.

Below previous years

According to information from the Puebla Tourism Promotion Secretariat, more than 70 events are planned for this year, a figure that is just over half of the 120 that were held in previous years, a number that declined due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has not yet recovered.

Meanwhile, he said, other market niches that are more focused on the state's interior could increase economic growth, but in the municipalities, services need to be improved, as they are inadequate, especially in terms of hotel infrastructure.

In this context, he explained that there are hoteliers, especially in the Magical Towns, who haven't invested in improving their resorts in over a decade, yet they raise their prices every year.

He indicated that tourism service providers are aware of the potential of these sectors, which is why they are committed to convincing authorities to create a council where everyone can give their opinions and make proposals so that these can be reflected in the figures.

Estimates

For this year, the state authority estimates 12 billion visitors and an economic impact of 14 billion pesos, 10% more than in 2024.

Cué de la Fuente is optimistic about 2025, but it also requires collaborative work between the private sector and the state tourism sector.

"Tourism entrepreneurs aren't solely dependent on the four peak seasons of the year, but rather seek to take advantage of different types of markets to attract them not only from Friday to Sunday, but throughout the week," he said.

Meanwhile, the president of the Puebla Tourism Cluster, Rafael Alexander Gherke Sánchez, agreed that it is important to redirect the Lodging Tax to promote tourism and stop using it for security purposes.

Regarding the creation of the State Tourism Agency, he said it will require funding to achieve the goals of improving hotel occupancy and economic impact, but he sees no harm in including jobs as a way to give input, or the option is to create an alternative council to provide proposals.

He considered that the 3% tax levied on this tax needs to be applied more efficiently in ongoing campaigns highlighting Puebla's attractions.

He noted that 60 million pesos are raised from this tax, "resources that in practice don't seem like much, but would certainly help promote tourism."

Puebla is positioned with the conventional visitor on weekends and long weekends, but it does not exploit other sectors.