A newly revamped convention center in Los Cabos could mean more "bleisure" trips to the destination (Bleisure is the combination of a business and leisure trip). The venue reopened earlier this month by hosting the Destination Wedding Planners Congress from April 10 – 12, and Travel Agent was able to speak with Rodrigo Esponda, managing director of the Los Cabos Tourism Board, for more.
At 72,000 square feet, the newly renovated convention center has a capacity for events of up to 8,000 people, although the Destination Wedding Planners Congress was a bit smaller, Esponda said. It is located 10 minutes from the airport, and five minutes from the hotels in San Jose del Cabo.
“In a radius of 15 minutes you have 6,000 hotel rooms, which a very nice representation of types of hotels,” Esponda said. These include all-inclusives like the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos and the Barcelo Hotel Los Cabos, or, for a more business traveler-oriented hotel, there is a Hyatt Place property directly in front of the convention center.
The view from the venue is also a highlight. Facing the Sea of Cortez, the convention center has a terrace with ocean views that was used for a lunch space at the event, Esponda said.
The facility is also notable for having the largest green wall in Latin America, which was completely refreshed with experts in native flora as part of the renovation project.
“The whole complex is very nice, but having this green wall goes very well with the type of destination that we have,” Esponda said. Other sustainability-minded initiatives include a water recycling system, as well as an emphasis on natural light and ventilation in the design to save energy.
In terms of the destination's overall events market, Esponda said that the first quarter has been "very strong," noting that the destination has increased its hotel occupancy rate by 2 percent even as it has added significant capacity. The average daily rate was also up 10 percent in the first quarter.
“The pace of the leads that hotels are getting in Q1 versus 2017 is much better this year,” Esponda said.
Looking ahead, Esponda said that the facility was working to secure other congresses, although nothing is confirmed at this time.
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