"A pleasant stay is a guarantee of return." Simple but eloquent this expression of hospitality would seem like the motto of a picturesque inn or a secluded resort. However, these are the words written about Los Arcos de Guadalajara, an iconic structure on busy Avenida Vallarta in Mexico's second-largest city.
by Luigi Major*
The expansion of the industry, particularly automotive and IT firms, is yet another tributary to the city's wealth of growth and popularity. New businesses and residents continue to stimulate new urban projects that allow the city to position itself as a world-class tourist destination and business.
Big business, big conventions
During the week, hotels in Guadalajara fill a significant number of rooms courtesy of the commercial demand generated by the multitude of manufacturing plants in the area. Most of the city's industrial parks are located along the Peripheral Ring at the southern and western ends of the city. Other industrial zones are located in the municipalities of El Salto to the south, and Tlajomulco to the west. Guadalajara owes its current reputation as Mexico's "Silicon Valley" to the large number of IT firms, as well as electronic component manufacturers CEMEX, Tequila Sauza, Hershey de Mexico and Flextronics.
Aside from a solid commercial demand base, Guadalajara benefited from a significant amount of group demand generated by Expo Guadalajara, one of Mexico's busiest convention centers. Expo Guadalajara, which began operations in 1987, is one of the best-known event facilities in Latin America. The center hosts about 120 events a year, including the Guadalajara International Book Festival, which attracted more than 18,000 publishers and professionals from some 40 countries in 2007. Expo Guadalajara is currently undergoing a major expansion that includes nearly 160,000 ft2 of additional meeting space, a new business center and additional parking space. According to Expo Guadalajara executives, the expansion is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008.
Tourism
With the visits of tourists comparable to those of any other important city in the country, Guadalajara offers both traditional and cosmopolitan flavors. Home to a diverse range of historical and cultural attractions, Guadalajara is considered the most traditional city in the Aztec country.
The historic district in downtown Guadalajara features museums, libraries, theaters, galleries, and entertainment venues. The best-known attractions include the Teatro Degollado, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Hospicio Cabañas (declared a world heritage site by Unesco) and the Diana Theater. The municipality of Tlaquepaque, located to the east of the city, is one of the main attractions of the area, characterized by its commercial district and restaurants with picturesque pedestrian promenades. In addition to these cultural attractions, the city holds the Guadalajara International Film Festival every year in March, an event that attracted more than 66,000 visitors in 2007.
Right in the western part of the city, a 346 m2 lot that runs through ancient ruins, centuries-old distilleries, the colonial town of Tequila, and the "living operational landscape" of blue agave fields, was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 2006. The designation not only benefits the area with funding for research and conservation, but also helps promote the region's appeal to thousands of visitors each year.
{mospagebreak}
Urban development
Guadalajara's growth is evidenced by the number of projects under construction in the metropolitan area. Although on a small scale and with a more pronounced trend for high-scale residential projects, the Puerta de Hierro district, in the municipality of Zapopan, bears a resemblance to the Santa Fe district of Mexico City. Some of the most notorious luxury residential projects recently completed or currently under construction there include TRES60 Aqueduct, Aura Altitude Tower, Andares, Iron Tower, Aira Tower and Cima Real I and II.
The Guadalajara market is experiencing a growing trend in the development of mixed-use projects that integrate office, residential and hotel components, and many more are expected in the near future. Just outside Puerta de Hierro is the site of Centro JVC4, a large mixed-use project supported by a new 45,500-seat stadium for the professional football team Chivas. The JVC Center project is considered a "city within the city" and is expected to include a convention center, corporate offices, museum, theater and university campus, in addition to other residential, hotel and entertainment uses. In harmony with the multiculturalism of Guadalajara, each component of the project was designed by a world-renowned architect. According to the promoter of the JVC Center, the stadium should be completed by the end of 2008. Additional components are expected to follow in stages, although no final delivery date has been formalized. Additionally, it has been proposed to open a Guggenheim museum for the Guadalajara area, which is expected to be located near Barranca de Huentitan; however, details about the project's construction dates remain unspecified.
Guadalajara has also been selected as the venue for the 2011 Pan American Games, an event that has historically attracted hundreds of thousands of spectators to host cities. In preparation for the event, the city has begun the renovation, adaptation and construction of a complex of large-scale sports venues, including the Gymnastic Complex and the Velodrome. The construction of the Pan-American Village, which will house the thousands of professional athletes in the middle of the historic center of Guadalajara, should begin soon.
To prepare for anticipated increases in travel to the area, Guadalajara International Airport is expanding for US$12 million. The expansion includes the expansion of Terminal 1, with the creation of an additional service area with restaurants and retail stores, the construction of a multi-level parking lot and the renovation of the road that serves as the main access to the airport. According to Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, the project should be completed by the end of 2008.
{mospagebreak}
Hotel activity
Hotels in and around the city have reason to rejoice in this hustle and bustle. Despite recent increases in supply (the 163-room Camino Real Guadalajara Expo opened in November 2006, followed by the 208-room Fiesta Americana Grand Guadalajara Country Club in September 2007), occupancy across the market remains relatively stable in 2007. According to the Directorate of Informatics and Statistics of SETUJAL, which keeps track of occupancy levels for the metropolitan area of Guadalajara, occupancy levels only fell 0.44% for the year. Hotels designated as "Gran Turismo" and "Five Stars" in mexico's hotel rating system reported the highest occupancy levels for the year at 71% and 64%, respectively. This segment includes most of the area's full-service, select hotels, serving corporate and group travelers. Although average rates are not followed by the same source, HVS estimates that average rates increased from 2% to 3% in 2007, according to our interviews in the field. The new offering under construction in the city includes a 157-room Hampton Inn, a 100-room Holiday Inn Express and an NH Hotel, with another 100 rooms.
To conclude
In a 2007 survey conducted under the title "Cities of the Future," Foreign Direct Investment (fDi) magazine ranked Guadalajara in the highest place among major Mexican cities and designated it as the one with the second highest economic potential among major North American cities after Chicago. The magazine also ranked Guadalajara as the city with the best business environment in Latin America for 2007. Given the type of world-class projects and events proposed for the area, Guadalajara is being steered into a future as dynamic as its remarkable past.
Leave your comment