The Secretary of Tourism of Mexico, Josefina Rodríguez Zamora, and the governor of Quintana Roo, Mara Lezama Espinoza, inaugurated the 36th edition of the Cancun Travel Mart, where the investment of 700 million dollars of Grupo Xcaret in its hotel facilities was announced, as well as in its ecotourism amusement parks, which in turn will generate 1,600 direct jobs in the first stage.
Also accompanied by the Secretary of Tourism of the entity, Bernardo Cueto Riestra, the head of the Secretariat of Tourism (Sectur), expressed the importance of this event in the promotion and development of tourism in the area, in addition to contributing to the expansion and strengthening of the tourism industry in Mexico.
He said that with the presence of more than 23 countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, participants had the opportunity to establish contacts, close commercial agreements, in addition to promoting tourist destinations and services in the region and the Mexican Caribbean.
It should be noted that near Quintana Roo is one of the most visited places in the country: Chichen Itzá. One of the main archaeological sites of the Yucatan peninsula, which consisted of a Mayan city or ceremonial center. In 2007, its famous Kukulcan Pyramid and representative image of Chichen Itza, was recognized as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.
Rodríguez Zamora added that, in addition to the above, the Cancun Travel Mart has in each edition the expectation of sales of around 4.9 billion dollars approximately, which will materialize in 2025, including all seasons.
He pointed out that this event is a business platform that brings together representatives of the tourism industry, such as hotels, travel agencies, airlines, and other tourist service providers, with national and international buyers, including tour operators and travel agents.
“Tourism, in addition to being an activity that has the goodness of generating jobs, foreign exchange, investments and rapprochement between peoples and nations, is a powerful tool, which if we know how to direct it with intelligence, with responsibility, contributes to achieving the balance between economic development, and conservation and protection of biodiversity,” he said.
He also distinguished the importance of community tourism for the present administration, with the objective that the benefits of tourist activity permeate all resident communities and indigenous peoples, and shared that four priority axes have been outlined: Sustainable Development, Production of Destinations, Strengthening of Magical Peoples, Social Inclusion and Regional Development.
The Secretary of Tourism reminded the attendees that, as part of the great strategy of promoting Mexico abroad, Mexico will have a great participation in international fairs, among which, she highlighted, the International Tourism Fair (Fitur) 2025.
He commented that it will be a great opportunity to promote the cultural, heritage and gastronomic wealth of the 32 entities in Spain, with whom there is a great commercial, cultural, but, above all, tourist relationship, and where the participation of 8,500 companies is expected, from more than 131 countries and more than 6,000 specialized media, with approximately 222,000 visitors, of which more than 50% are professionals in the sector.
He explained that aligned with the celebration of the 2026 World Cup, Mexico is currently in the organizational stage with the Madrid Fair Institution (IFEMA), since Mexico will be the Partner Country of FITUR 2026, where the states will have activation spaces from February 2025 to January 2026.
On the occasion, the governor of Quintana Roo, Mara Lezama Espinoza, said that in recent days, Quintana Roo already adds a private investment in the tourism sector for 1.7 billion dollars that adds up to the announcement made.
In this vein, the Secretary of Tourism, Josefina Rodríguez Zamora, emphasized the importance of increasing investment amounts and improving sustainability practices, since they increase the arrival of tourists, are a source of job generation and increase the receipt of foreign exchange for tourism, which directly benefits the sector of the area and the communities.