San Luis Potosí will compete against beach destinations

San Luis Potosi, SLP. The city of San Luis Potosí seeks to consolidate itself as an important tourist destination in the country, and among the actions that the municipal government is implementing, the “52 weeks” strategy stands out, which consists of having sporting, cultural and artistic events at least once a week throughout the year.

Our ‘beach’ is the Historic Center. We are betting a lot on colonial tourism, but also gastronomic, industrial and health tourism. We have built an image and conditions for social and inclusive tourism. We want to show that not everything is sun and sand,” said Enrique Galindo Ceballos, mayor of San Luis Potosí.

He explained that three fundamental areas of the government came together to put together a comprehensive program: tourism, culture and sports. “The three areas to have the 52 weeks of the year busy with some event. Without this program we would only have 22 weeks occupied; for example, Easter, bridges, Christmas, summer, but the rest of the year was left without any activity. Last year we programmed 120 events”.

Examples of these events have been concerts, cyclists’ meetings, marathons, the Festival of Letters, locations for series productions, Lucha Libre and plays. They emphasize that these events are free in order to attract more visitors and that they generate economic benefits for hotels, restaurants and shops.

Another strategy they are betting on is attendance at tourism fairs. For example, in 2023 it will be the first time that they attend the International Tourism Fair (Fitur) as a city. In addition to the fact that in the last two Tianguis Turísticos the municipality has already participated independently in the state pavilion.

In addition, the city council recently presented a new Tourist and Historical Guide to the city, focused on the Historical Center, with which it seeks to attract and facilitate the arrival of more tourists.

Heading to the pre-pandemic level

The state capital currently has 6,500 hotel rooms, with a recovery percentage of 48% compared to its pre-pandemic level, according to the local president of the Mexican Association of Hotels and Motels, Rafael Armendáriz, who anticipates that these previous levels to the pandemic are achieved by 2024, since the segment of congresses and conventions has not yet been fully reactivated.

For her part, Claudia Peralta, municipal director of Tourism, noted that with regard to visitors arriving by air, the pre-pandemic level is already on the verge of being achieved.

According to OMA, the San Luis Potosí International Airport received 465,332 visitors in the first nine months of the year, 26% more than in the same period last year, but still 1.2% less compared to the 471,043 in the January-September period of 2019 (pre-pandemic level).

estados@eleconomista.mx