The hotel sector’s challenge by 2026 is to increase the average stay to two nights, up from the current 1.8. However, this requires service providers to collaborate on strategies to create tourist routes.
This was stated by the Secretary of Tourism Development, Carla López-Malo Villalón, who emphasized that while the state has the attractions, it lacks the capacity to leverage them to convince vacationers to extend their stays.
She explained that Puebla, both in its central region and in the interior of the state, boasts spectacular locations that warrant a longer visit, “because two or three days simply isn’t enough time to see them all.”
From hoteliers and restaurateurs to tour operators, there is a lack of a comprehensive and cross-cutting vision, a need for everyone to understand that they must work together synergistically, rather than relying on the individual efforts of some to benefit others.
She noted that other states in the country are working collaboratively, and the impact is that tourism becomes a source of economic growth equal to or greater than other economic activities.
She recalled that the state government allocated 600 million pesos to tourism promotion in 2025, but money isn’t the only factor required. Products such as hotel infrastructure, restaurants, and transportation for groups of tourists to key sites must be of high quality.
Given this, she emphasized that the state government is fully committed to strengthening partnerships during the second year of its term to achieve the goal of a two-night average stay in Puebla.
The official stated that tangible results in revenue are achieved if everyone implements the recommendations provided by the secretariat, which are based on an analysis with hoteliers.
She pointed out that excellent service is key to encouraging tourists to return to the state, as many places cannot be fully explored in three days and require at least a week.
She noted that efforts are underway to achieve a balanced impact on tourism, as previously only Puebla City and the 12 Magical Towns were promoted. Therefore, community-based tourism initiatives were implemented, benefiting 55 municipalities and more than 4 million people.
In that vein, he announced that this year a platform will be acquired where hotels, restaurants, and service providers will upload data directly. This will provide real-time, up-to-date figures. He emphasized that the tourism sector generated 246,000 jobs in the last two quarters.
“What we are doing is diversifying the product and creating attractive routes for tourists who come from Mexico City, stay for a day, and then travel to another municipality. That’s why we have a tourist passport to encourage people to stay overnight,” he remarked.
He specified that the tourist passport will be presented with the complete calendar of events. Some of these will be nighttime events, with the goal of encouraging people to visit Puebla, stay overnight, and explore other destinations.
The secretary reported that Puebla closed 2025 with an influx of 17.6 million visitors, which represented 5.3% more than the previous year, as well as an economic impact of 20,098 million pesos in tourism, which was an increase of 9.7 percent.
Source: eleconomista
