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Dolores López Lira

MEXICO - Tourism

Dolores López Lira

Founder and President, Grupo Lomas Travel

Bio

Dolores López Lira is the Founder and President of Grupo Lomas Travel. She is also a member of the advisory boards of HSBC, Citibanamex, and Nacional Financiera. She is the president of the University of the Caribbean Board of Trustees and a member of the City of Joy Board of Trustees. Currently, she serves as the vice president of the Riviera Maya Hotel Association and is a member of the board of directors of the Cancún, Puerto Morelos, and Isla Mujeres Hotel Association.

"My final message is that all Mexicans realize that we have a fantastic opportunity and must invest in our own country."
The group is a homegrown firm that operates over 2,000 rooms. Competing with the world’s top firms, Grupo Lomas is looking to reinvest and consolidate its position in Mexico.
What you consider your biggest achievement in recent years as a 40-year-old company?

The group has had numerous achievements, and I will start from the most recent. The renowned American company Paramount approached us to develop its emblematic and flagship hotel using this as a blueprint for future developments featuring the Nickelodeon theme. This was a major achievement for us, and we built the project during the pandemic with the support of the state government and banks. We had camps onsite because of the lockdowns in the country and managed to complete the project on time even though at the time my husband was health issues that kept him out of the business for two or three years. This was actually three achievements in one, all related to Nickelodeon. Another major achievement was to have the only Palafitos, the only overwater bungalows in Latam certified by ecologists and the only ones in Mexico. Now, visitors do not need to visit Bora Bora or the Maldives because we have them here. We have consolidated ourselves over the past 40 years, remaining 100% Mexican. We have shown that if you have a strong purpose, and you do not waver with your project you can achieve anything.

What is next for the company?

We are working on corporate governance at the moment, and being a family business at the core, we never imagined we would become the company we are today. Not the biggest, but also not the smallest. In total we have 2,000 rooms, most are on Riveria Maya, and others in the Valle de Guadalupe, in El Cielo, which has been a great achievement as well. Another achievement is related to El Cielo, the project of which started 10 years ago. I have always said that that area was a gastronomic hotspot due the chefs who have migrated to Tijuana, Ensenada, and the wider region leading to the opening of many fabulous restaurants. The wines produced there are also prize winners, including the most recent success, which was my sparkling wine. Each vineyard team works independently.

Why is Mexico a prime market for investment?

My final message is that all Mexicans realize that we have a fantastic opportunity and must invest in our own country. We have a great opportunity to capitalize on our geographical position at the heart of everything. And meanwhile, the quality of services we offer has clearly been demonstrated. There is much to do in Mexico, and after the pandemic, storms, hurricanes, and health problems the company is in a period of consolidation. We want to move up a level in the hotel world, and are competing with new giants from massive hotel chains as a small ship in the ocean. But we need to demonstrate that we can do it. What helps us a lot is the fact that much of the competition is not managed or backed by hotel industry people, but more investment funds that they don’t quite have our experience in providing guests with the “wow” factor. Tourism on the Caribbean coast of Mexico is experiencing a boom, and since the pandemic we have realized the sheer potential of the region to tap the local market, but also Central and South American markets, and of course from our loyal promoters and tourists from the US. The number of flights to Cancún from other countries has increased in recent years, which has given us the opportunity to host clients from all over the world to become one of the world’s tourism capitals.

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