Los Cabos closed out September with strong tourism numbers, as new luxury hotels and new air routes continue to draw travelers to the destination. Travel Agent spoke with Rodrigo Esponda, managing director of the Los Cabos Tourism Board, to learn more.
“We closed September with very strong numbers,” Esponda says. “Just in September versus last year, we had 23 percent growth in international visitors, and, as you know, September is typically the lowest month in terms of visitors to the destination.”
The airport in Los Cabos is projecting it will close out the year with an overall growth of 7 percent in terms of arrivals, which Esponda says is also very strong, given that the destination also saw a large jump in air arrivals last year.
“We have many new hotels, and we are going to have new routes from different destinations in the upcoming winter season,” Esponda says. These include new flights from Las Vegas – among the destination’s top source markets – starting December 15, as well as a new flight from Chicago Midway on Southwest Airlines launching November 4. The new Southwest service will complement existing flights on American Airlines and United Airlines out of Chicago O’Hare.
From Canada, the destination will also add new flights from Ottowa in the last week of December, Esponda says. Then, in January 2019, Apple Leisure Group will begin adding new flights from Milwaukee and St. Louis, and, later that month, Vacation Express will launch new flights from Cincinnati.
Los Cabos has also been making progress on its security plan, placing among the top five safest cities in Mexico, according to a recent survey.
“We have seen a dramatic decrease in any type of incident in the destination in 2018, around 90 percent,” says Esponda.
The new marine base will be “basically finished” by the end of the year, Esponda says, and additional improvements and enhancements are also being planned.
For travel agents, the destination is launching a number of new initiatives aimed at diversifying its appeal. A “New Top 10” initiative spotlights 10 new experiences in Los Cabos to draw back repeat visitors. For example, a new glamping experience combines a guided mountain bike ride with a stay at a mountaintop camp overlooking the Sea of Cortez. There are also a number of new “meet the locals” experiences that connect travelers with locals engaged in the arts, cuisine or entrepreneurship.
Finally, the destination has launched its new B2B website for travel agents, which includes downloadable maps, pictures and videos, as well as meeting planner and hotel guides. The new site is available at https://industry.visitloscabos.travel/?/industry.
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