The Binational Hotel Investment Forum was held on August 27 at the Baja California Center, emerging as a strategic response to the need for connecting the coastal region’s vast potential with developers, investors, operators, and brands capable of transforming opportunities into tangible projects.
The Tijuana–Playas de Rosarito–Ensenada coastal corridor, widely known as COCOTREN, possesses the ideal conditions for a significant expansion of its hotel infrastructure. As a result, business leaders in the sector are actively seeking to attract both domestic and foreign capital to develop new oceanfront developments.
“Our goal is to bring in capital to invest and build hotels along the coastal corridor. That means engaging with major players, brands, and outside investors who can identify new opportunities here,” emphasized Luis Bustamante Fernández.
He also highlighted that Baja California’s proximity to California offers a distinct competitive advantage, as U.S. developers are increasingly interested in exploring markets with more favorable costs and construction conditions. At the same time, Mexican investors are on the lookout for new tourist destinations.
Bustamante Fernández pointed out a significant disparity between the number of available rooms in high-demand Mexican destinations like Riviera Maya and the current supply along Baja California’s roughly 100-kilometer coastal corridor and this gap underscores the substantial room for growth in hotel development and complementary services.
“We have a coastline with enormous potential, and we need to seize it. The opportunity lies in attracting investment, developing higher-quality hotels, and ensuring that local businesspeople are also part of the equation especially since investors from other parts of Mexico and the United States are already turning their attention to this region,” Bustamante Fernández stated.
During the forum, four specialized panels were conducted, covering topics such as financing and capital structuring for new developments, franchise models and hotel brands, hotel operations and management, and success stories of tourism projects already established in Baja California.
The coordinator explained that this event was designed to foster relationships that could gradually mature into concrete investments, as the arrival of new projects requires a sustained process of promotion, financial evaluation, and alignment among owners, developers, operators, and hotel brands.
Lastly, Luis Bustamante announced that the promotion of tourism investments will continue throughout 2026 and 2027, extending beyond the Tijuana–Rosarito–Ensenada corridor to other areas of Baja California, including San Felipe and the Gulf of California to broaden the state’s lodging infrastructure and attract a diverse array of new projects.
The forum’s opening ceremony was attended by Miguel Ángel Badiola Montaño, Secretary of Tourism of Baja California; Michelle Guerrero Jaimes, Undersecretary of Economic Promotion; Ana Alicia Meneses, President of the CDT; Leonardo Verdugo, Secretary of Economic Development and Tourism of Rosarito; Alan Bautista, Councilor of the Playas de Rosarito City Hall; José Antonio Rico, President of the Hotel Association of the Northwest; and César Rivera, President of the Hotel and Motel Association of Rosarito.
