At the International Tourism Fair (FITUR) 2026 in Madrid, Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa held a strategic meeting with Mexico’s state tourism secretaries, global tourism executives, and financial leaders to promote increased tourism investment under clearer regulatory and promotional frameworks.
The meeting took place during FITUR 2026 and brought together members of the Association of Tourism Secretaries of Mexico, known as ASETUR, alongside representatives from hotel chains, banks, airports, and tour operators. The stated goal was to strengthen investor confidence and align national tourism growth with Mexico’s broader economic agenda.
Lezama said Mexico now has a greater capacity to promote tourism internationally due to alignment with President Claudia Sheinbaum, whom she described as a key ally in positioning tourism as a national priority. She said federal and state governments are working within the framework of the Plan México, with tourism viewed as a pillar for shared prosperity and broader participation across communities.
Aligning federal priorities with local destinations
According to Lezama, the delegation to FITUR included not only government officials but also traditional cooks and artisans, reflecting a strategy that places rural and community-based tourism alongside large-scale resort development. She said the objective is to shift local communities from passive observers to active participants in the tourism economy.
The governor emphasized that the central purpose of the meeting was to attract more investment to Mexico’s tourism destinations while offering legal certainty to investors. She reiterated that Quintana Roo remains the country’s top tourism destination, both in visitor numbers and infrastructure capacity.
She added that tourism growth cannot advance without private investment and coordination across the entire value chain, including banks and large corporate partners. Security, diversification, and long-term planning were cited as parallel priorities alongside promotion and expansion.
Quintana Roo’s leadership role within Conago
Lezama attended the meeting in her capacity as president of the Tourism Commission of the National Conference of Governors, or Conferencia Nacional de Gobernadores. She was the only sitting female governor present at the gathering.
Among the attendees were Gloria Guevara Manzo, executive director of the World Travel & Tourism Council; Antonio Cosío, president of Mexico’s National Tourism Business Council; and Jorge Paoli, head of the National Association of Hotel Chains and host of the event.
Financial sector participation included executives from BBVA México and Banco Santander, reflecting the role of financing in future tourism development.
Regulatory focus on digital lodging platforms
During her remarks, Lezama said Quintana Roo is currently the most advanced state in Mexico in terms of tourism regulation, particularly regarding digital lodging platforms. She outlined requirements that include state and municipal operating licenses, payment of lodging taxes, and mandatory registration in the State Tourism Registry, known locally as RETURQ.
She said the state is moving toward a more level regulatory environment for hotels and short-term rental platforms, citing concerns related to unregulated accommodations. These concerns include potential links to crimes such as human trafficking and sexual exploitation, which authorities say can be facilitated by anonymous or noncompliant listings.
Beginning in 2026, she said, all digital platforms will be required to configure their systems to block listings that are not properly registered. Registration will only be granted to properties that meet basic civil protection and safety standards, including smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers, first aid kits, and regulated gas installations.
She also highlighted the requirement to verify the legal relationship between adults and minors staying in accommodations, describing it as a key preventive measure against trafficking and sexual tourism crimes.
Investment in promotion and disaster preparedness
On the promotional front, Lezama said Quintana Roo allocates approximately one billion pesos annually to tourism promotion and is the only Mexican state with its own tourism promotion council structured with equal representation from government and the private sector.
She explained that the state uses a cooperative promotion model in which private partners match public investment in campaigns, effectively doubling the reach of each peso spent. Quintana Roo is also the only state with a dedicated disaster response fund for tourism-related emergencies, she said.
With new hotels, airports, and rail infrastructure already built, Lezama said the challenge now is generating sufficient demand to fill that capacity, a goal she said depends heavily on sustained promotion.
Global outlook from tourism leaders
During the meeting, ASETUR President and Quintana Roo Tourism Secretary Bernardo Cueto Riestra outlined the objectives of the working session, which included the presentation of a best practices guide developed by Mexico’s 32 states through ASETUR’s sustainability commission.
Guevara said 2025 marked the most successful year in global travel and tourism history, surpassing pre-pandemic levels from 2019. She cited estimates of a global economic impact of $11.7 trillion, with tourism GDP growth of 6.7 percent, more than double the rate of overall global economic growth.
The meeting included an interactive dialogue between state tourism officials, tour operators, investors, and invited guests and was held at the Thompson Madrid hotel.
For Mexico and Quintana Roo, the discussions underscored what is now at stake: converting infrastructure and regulatory reforms into sustained demand, investment, and shared economic returns. As FITUR 2026 continues, the question remains how effectively these commitments will translate into measurable outcomes for destinations and communities alike, including the future of tourism investment in Mexico.
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How should Mexico balance rapid tourism growth with regulation and community protection?