Puebla, Pue. Congress and convention tourism should be a topic to be promoted this year, since it will help to have a permanent occupancy of an average of 80% due to the organization of events throughout the year, suggested the hotel sector.
The executive director of the Poblana Association of Hotels and Motels, with 300 members, Gustavo Ponce de León Tobón, ignored events carried out by local authorities, since so far this year there have been no activities that mean reservations.
He indicated that holding national conventions and exhibitions in Angelopolis brings up to 5,000 visitors in a four-day event, which implies occupation in establishments from three to five stars.
In this vein, he recalled that there are more than 300 hotels in the capital of Puebla, which means around 12,000 rooms, while throughout the state there are 1,127 complexes with a total of 28,000 rooms available.
Ponce de León said that in 2020, according to figures from local authorities, more than 120 events of all kinds were canceled in the different Angelopolis venues as a result of the pandemic, while last year there were less than 20 activities. .
He explained that the average cost of a visitor who attends a congress in Puebla is between 1,000 and 1,200 pesos per day, not including lodging and food, since they make purchases of souvenirs and other items, according to the survey they have carried out with the assistants.
He reiterated that tourism is important for the economic benefit, for which it is necessary to know the planning of congresses and exhibitions, so that the sector participates in the promotion, which contributes to economic recovery.
Some congresses have been held for 10 years in Puebla, because it costs the organizers 40% less than in a beach destination, which is not usually accessible to attendees.
“Until before the pandemic, 40% of the events were held in the first four months, so we have time to pick up the pace and know what the goal is,” he said.