A hospitality gathering in Mexico’s Yucatán just got a serious upgrade. The second Mexican Hospitality Summit wrapped up in late May with more than 400 attendees—more than double the first edition’s turnout.
The two-day summit took place May 27–28 at the Fiesta Americana Mérida and pulled in owners, CEOs, investors, architects, and brand representatives from across the industry. Speakers came from Expedia Group, Accor, Belmond, Forbes Travel Guide, Virtuoso, and STR, among others. The agenda covered AI, wellness, sustainability, luxury tourism, and new hotel investment—topics that are driving real decisions right now.
The event was founded by Rocco Bova, a hospitality consultant and former luxury hotel executive with four decades in the business. His goal was straightforward: give the industry a place to meet, share, and do business in a region that doesn’t always get its due on the international circuit.
Why Mérida?
Yucatán has been quietly building its case as a meetings destination. It’s accessible, culturally rich, and increasingly on the radar of international hotel brands looking at Mexico beyond Los Cabos and the Riviera Maya. Hosting this kind of event, twice now, reinforces that case.
A standout session focused on Mexico’s next wave of hotel projects, featuring developers behind Paradero Hotels, Belmond, Accor, and several independent ventures. The conversation pointed to sustained investor appetite for new builds across the country, even as costs and complexity have risen.
Going Regional
The bigger news came at the end: the Summit is rebranding. From 2027, it becomes the Latin American Hospitality Summit, a signal that organizers see a gap in the market for a regional platform. A companion event—the Latin American Wellness Tourism Summit—will launch in September 2027, targeting the fast-growing wellness and health tourism segment.
Both events will stay in Mérida, at least for now.
“The growth of this second edition confirms that there is a real need to create meeting spaces for the industry,” said founder Rocco Bova and cofounder Adolfo Tuñón. “Today, we are taking an important step toward a Latin American vision.”
The next edition is set for May 4–6, 2027. With the rebrand and a new sister event in the pipeline, the organizers are betting that Latin America’s hospitality sector is ready for a dedicated annual gathering, and that Mérida is the right place to host it.
Given the attendance jump this year, it’s a reasonable bet.
