San Miguel de Allende is a destination that, before the pandemic, registered the arrival of 1.6 million visitors with an economic benefit of 6,682 million pesos (mp). The destination was fed mainly by national tourism (which represented 52% of the total) and state (34%), and to a lesser extent from international (which contributed 14% of travelers).
With the pandemic, the destination came to depend on state travelers, who contributed 73% of tourism, between September 2020 and January 2021, according to the state Secretariat of Tourism, mainly from cities such as León and Celaya. National tourists accounted for 26%, and international tourists lagged behind until they accounted for just 1% of the total.
To stay in the mind of the international tourist, the destination opted to keep them informed with a presence campaign that focused on the United States, mainly, in a task that becomes relevant as the last quarter of the year approaches, which is the time when that international visitors usually arrive.
“We were not inviting them to come, but we were preparing for the reactivation,” explains Zamudio.
In terms of segments, COVID-19 caused a drop in mass activities. Before the health contingency, the cultural segment (preferred by 45% of travelers), recreation (40%) and romance (5%) were the main engines of tourism in the region; now 70% of travelers look for leisure and recreation activities, and 14% for gastronomy options.
With the pandemic, tourist preferences also changed. According to the 2019 Visitor Profile document from the State Secretariat of Tourism, the main activity of interest to visitors was the visit of temples (preferred by 61% of a sample of respondents), followed by tours (42%), gastronomic activities (38%) and visits to museums and galleries (34%).
Now, due to restrictions, gastronomy has risen to be the favorite activity of tourists (17%), followed by social and family events (13%), a segment to which the destination increases its bet gradually.
“With the ‘third wave’ [de contagios] we have to put the batteries to reinforce measures; there will be no drop in capacity or closures, it would no longer be held in any economy, but there is participation of the private initiative to strengthen the protocols, ”says the industry representative. “Meeting tourism is slowly coming back, and we hope that this will keep the stay a bit during the week.”
New hotels
San Miguel de Allende has played an important role in attracting investment, in which tourism plays an important role. During 2020, it received a private investment of 346 million pesos – 41% higher than the amount registered in 2019 -, concentrating 13% of the state’s private investment.
There are around 200 lodging establishments in the region, with an offer of approximately 3,180 rooms. To date, estimates point to the opening of five new hotel complexes, plus a couple more projects pending closure, said Zamudio, without going into detail about the companies.
“Hotels know that this is a thriving destination, and that investments can be sustained over the long term. They are projects that were already planned [antes de la pandemia]But there are other small hotels, boutiques, of which two or three more projects have been added ”, he points out.
For this year, despite the good performance of the summer, a stabilization in hotel occupancies is expected.
“In 2020 it lowered us too much, between 10% and 15%. We expect to finish close to 2019 levels, at around 45%, ”Zamudio concluded.