The seven Pueblos Mágicos in Querétaro are working to address the observations made by the federal Ministry of Tourism (Sectur) in order to maintain their designation.
Under the new federal guidelines, Bernal, a delegation of Ezequiel Montes, and Cadereyta de Montes received an A classification, categorizing them as emerging Pueblos Mágicos, the lowest of the three established categories (A, AA, and AAA), explained Saraí Vasthi Zamorano Olvera, Head of the Department of Training and Tourism Competitiveness at the state’s Ministry of Tourism.
The other five Pueblos Mágicos—Amealco de Bonfil, Jalpan de Serra, Pinal de Amoles, San Joaquín, and Tequisquiapan—received the Double A (AA) classification, which describes towns that are in development. Therefore, none of the state’s destinations achieved the Triple A (AAA) classification, which recognizes fully consolidated Pueblos Mágicos.
This categorization, she explained, is part of the new National Strategy for Strengthening Pueblos Mágicos. Last year, the federal government issued new guidelines containing approximately 32 sections that each destination must meet to justify its continued inclusion in the official registry.
Based on the overall review, at the end of last year Sectur assigned categories to the Pueblos Mágicos, which now have a period—from January through September 2026—to resolve the observations. They will submit their supporting evidence in September, after which they will receive a new classification until the next evaluation, which may be conducted annually.
“In the case of Querétaro, of the seven Pueblos Mágicos, five are classified as developing towns and two as emerging towns, one of them being Bernal and the other Cadereyta. Why did this happen? Because we still need to provide evidence. Right now, the Pueblos Mágicos—especially Cadereyta and Bernal—are in the process of generating all the necessary documentation so that it can be properly uploaded into the system or submitted to the federal government, and so that in the next review we will receive a better classification,” she said.
As part of the process, on August 18, the state’s Pueblos Mágicos, their citizen committees, and productive sectors will hold a follow-up meeting, with the expectation of reaching 60% progress on the observations before achieving 100% compliance in September.
The Head of the Department of Training and Tourism Competitiveness shared that, of the 177 Pueblos Mágicos in the country, between 80% and 90% achieved only the AA category, adding that very few destinations earned the excellence category.
The two Pueblos Mágicos with the greatest disadvantages are currently working to gather the evidence requested by Sectur.
“We are working on compiling the evidence so that in the next evaluation it can be determined… There is a greater commitment to these two Pueblos Mágicos, as they were the ones evaluated with the lowest category,” she said.
Much of the required documentation consists of submitting evidence, preparing official documents, and strengthening tourism promotion. Destinations must compile information about their festivals and established events, maintain a catalog of tourist attractions, update the registry of tourism service providers, and ensure that businesses are registered in the National Tourism Registry, among other requirements.
Municipalities are expected to be notified by the end of the year regarding the status of their Pueblo Mágico designation.
This year, they also expect to receive information about the methodology that will be followed if any Pueblo Mágico loses its designation.
Bernal Case
Bernal, located in Ezequiel Montes, was the first destination in the state to receive the Pueblo Mágico designation in 2005. It is recognized for being home to the third-largest monolith in the world.
The Director of Tourism for Ezequiel Montes, Ivonne Cabrera Camacho, stated that the observations concerning Bernal stem from the fact that it lacks its own specific regulations because, as a municipal delegation, it is governed by the regulations of the municipality. Nevertheless, she expressed confidence that the destination will retain its designation.
“We do not have our own Pueblo Mágico regulations. We are governed by the municipality of Ezequiel Montes, so because of these technical circumstances we are preparing the necessary documentation to explain that Bernal, as a Pueblo Mágico, does not have its own tourism regulations since it falls under the municipal regulations,” she explained.
In this context, the fifth edition of the Expo de Pueblos Mágicos was announced. It will take place on August 8 and 9 in the municipality of Corregidora, where participating destinations will showcase their tourism attractions and gastronomic offerings. The event is expected to attract up to 20,000 visitors and generate an estimated 4 million pesos in economic impact.
Source: eleconomista
