Hotel industry reaches 50% occupancy in Querétaro

Queretaro, Qro. During the first trimester of the year the hotel sector accumulated an occupancy of 50%, close to two percentage points below the projection that was set at 52%, according to records from the Queretaro Association of Hoteliers (AQH).

With these indicators, hotel occupancy is still below the pre-pandemic benchmark, explained the president of the AQH, Luis Signoret Luna.

Compared to 2019, we are going slightly down at the moment, we bring an accumulated index from January to March of 50% occupancy, so we still have a few months of the year left to be able to achieve recovery, ”he said.

According to the AQH representative, the industry is in a position to recover in the remainder of the year, maintaining the estimate that 2023 will be an even better period than 2019, before the Covid-19 health contingency.

Closing the first quarter with a lower than estimated occupancy could be related to the fact that the beginning of the year is usually complex as it follows one of the seasons with the highest consumption, the December holidays.

Added to this context is the impact that the works on Avenida 5 de Febrero, in the state capital, have had on the hotels located in the area.

“I think that our expectation was undoubtedly slightly higher in the first quarter (…), but the beginning of the year is always difficult, added a bit to the situation of (avenida) 5 de Febrero, in addition to the decision of the market, of the people, always at Easter leans much more strongly towards the beach”, he explained.

However, it is expected that in the coming months and holiday periods they will encourage hotel occupancy and improve the indicators, due to the fact that in the past Holy Week and Easter Week holidays the AQH registered an average occupancy of 52 to 55%, lower than projection of 60 percent.

“We expect 52% for the first quarter and we are at 50%, there are few points, I think we can perfectly recover them in the following months, summer is coming, we expect a good summer and then comes the end of the year, always in September, October and November are very important months for Querétaro, of congresses, of conventions, it is the tourism of meetings that generates a lot of volume and a great economic benefit”, he estimated.

For now, the accumulated occupancy in the first three months of the year, he said, contributes to the recovery process in which the hotel industry is, one of the economic activities most affected by the pandemic.

Meanwhile, national tourism from Mexico City continues as the main market for the Querétaro hotel industry.