Jalisco Leads in Mexico’s Tourism Recovery and Hosts the 2009 North American Leaders’ Summit

Hos­pi­cio Cabañas, Guadala­jara, Jalisco, Mex­ico — photo: Patrick Denizet

GUADALAJARA, Mexico–(BUSINESS WIRE)–With hotel occu­pancy over 80 per­cent in Puerto Val­larta, and exceed­ing all expec­ta­tions, Jalisco, home to the sym­bolic tra­di­tions that embody Mex­i­can cul­ture, is show­ing that the tourism indus­try is at a stage of full recovery.

Guadala­jara, the sec­ond largest city in Mex­ico as far as econ­omy, indus­try and cul­ture is con­cerned, is doing its part. Despite the impact of the inter­na­tional eco­nomic cri­sis, Guadala­jara locked in a hotel occu­pancy rate of over 66 per­cent dur­ing the last week in July.

“The fact that the occu­pancy rate in Puerto Val­larta and Guadala­jara increased by 16 and 12 per­cent­age points respec­tively, in just 7 days, is a pos­i­tive rein­force­ment that the recov­ery of the tourism sec­tor in Jalisco is on track. These num­bers also show­case that our inten­sive pro­mo­tional cam­paigns and entic­ing travel deals are suc­ceed­ing,” said Aure­lio Lopez, Min­is­ter of Tourism for the state.

Accord­ing to Lopez, Jalisco is thrilled with the results and is pre­pared to show its magic and beauty to those vis­i­tors who are ready to enjoy the vari­ety of expe­ri­ences the state offers, includ­ing beau­ti­ful beaches, peace­ful rivers, scenic basins, val­leys and mountains.

And it’s no coin­ci­dence that Jalisco, home to the mari­achi and tequila, has been cho­sen to host the 2009 North Amer­i­can Lead­ers’ Sum­mit, tak­ing place in Guadala­jara on August 9th and 10th. United States Pres­i­dent Barack Obama, Cana­dian Prime Min­is­ter Stephen Harper and Mex­i­can Pres­i­dent Felipe Calderon, will unite to dis­cuss a vari­ety of issues related to the econ­omy, energy, cli­mate change, health and wel­fare of the North Amer­i­can peo­ple. This impor­tant meet­ing will take place at the mon­u­men­tal Cabañas Cul­tural Insti­tute, which was named a UNESCO Cul­tural World Her­itage Site in 1997.

It is also impor­tant to point out that the 80 per­cent occu­pancy in Puerto Val­larta is only four per­cent­age points less, in com­par­i­son with the results of 2008. At the same time, the hotel occu­pancy in Guadala­jara is less than one per­cent­age point, com­pared to the same period last year.

Finally, Lopez reas­sured that Mex­ico will rise to this impor­tant inter­na­tional event, and hopes that the North Amer­i­can lead­ers and atten­dees enjoy their stay in Guadala­jara, while extend­ing an invi­ta­tion to all tourists in the North Amer­i­can region to visit the beau­ties of Jalisco, to taste its deli­cious and renowned cui­sine and become one with the best asset this won­der­ful state pos­sesses: its people.