With somewhere between 15 and 20 million residents in the Mexico City area—not to mention the host of government agencies and corporations that maintain a presence here—it’s no wonder North America’s largest metropolis is a bit congested. The city government even enacted a program called “Hoy No Circula” (“No Driving Today”), to limit the amount of traffic and reduce pollution.
    Indeed, Mexico City’s vast size and hectic traffic may be daunting. But navigating the metropolis for business or pleasure is easier if you consider the city as a collection of neighborhoods, which in local Spanish are called colonias. The city’s most important neighborhoods offer a host of options for business and leisure travelers, as well as international events, conferences, and conventions.

The Heart of the Matter

The traditional heart of the city, the Centro Histórico (Historic Center), is where the Aztecs founded the city’s predecessor, Tenochtitlan, sometime between 1325 and 1345. The district continues to be a major draw for anyone doing business with the government, as well as people interested in seeing an impressive array of architecture—impressive enough, in fact, to get this area named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Just steps away from El Zócalo—one of the world’s largest city squares, bordered by the imposing Metropolitan Cathedral and the National Palace—is El Gran Hotel Ciudad de México, a 19th-century gem that has been recently restored. A few blocks away is the Sheraton Centro Histórico, which looks out on the pristinely manicured Alameda Park.
    A couple of blocks from Alameda Park is Paseo de la Reforma, a broad boulevard lined with hotels and office buildings. Among the largest hotels with meeting facilities on Reforma are the Marquis Reforma, which has an expansive spa, and the Sheraton Maria Isabel Hotel & Towers, which sits across the avenue from the lively Zona Rosa District. This area is in the midst of a luxury hotel boom, with the 189-room St. Regis Mexico City slated to open in March 2009, the 150-room Park Hyatt Mexico City to open in the new Capital Reforma complex in late 2009, and the 170-room Ritz-Carlton Mexico City to debut in 2010, complete with 185 adjoining condominum units.
    Reforma ends with a flourish at Chapultepec Park, a lovely expanse of green that is home to several noteworthy museums. Many of these facilities also serve as excellent venues for group events—including the impressive Museo Nacional de Antropología (National Museum of Anthropology), widely considered one of the world’s best cultural history museums.
    Along one side of the park is Polanco, a neighborhood known for its upscale shopping and accommodations. This is where the boutique hotel concept was first introduced to the Mexican landscape back in 2000, when the Hotel Habita opened its doors. Today, Grupo Habita—the hotel’s owner—is the nation’s leading purveyor of style-conscious accommodations, with a second property, Condesa df, in the chic Condesa district, a host of hotels in other destinations, and more on the way. Even the original Hotel Habita has evolved to reflect current trends, relaunching its restaurant under the name Lobby this year, with the guidance of Enrique Olvera, one of Mexico’s best-known chefs.

Down to Business

For corporate travelers, one of the most important neighborhoods is Santa Fe. “In the Santa Fe area, we have more than five convention centers with capacity for up to 8,000 people,” says Roberto Alva, general manager for Mexico at Grupo Maritur, a destination management company that handles business groups, events and conventions. “Santa Fe is the new business area of the city, where international and local corporate offices, hotels with more than 1,200 rooms, high-tech universities, fine dining restaurants and banks merge. Also, Santa Fe is only 20 minutes from the Toluca airport, which makes it easier to serve business travelers’ needs.”
    In November, Grupo Habita was to open its third stylish Mexico City hotel: Habita Santa Fe. Set in the top eight floors of a 28-story building, the property—with interiors designed by Paris-based Joseph Dirand—features 30 suites with high ceilings, plus a swimming pool, restaurant, business center, terrace, and bar.
    Also slated to open this year in Santa Fe is a 128-room Holiday Inn Express, just one of four new properties to open in the city as part of the Presidente InterContinental family. By the end of this year, the company is also to unveil the 132-room Holiday Inn Parroquia, the 72-room Holiday Inn Medica Sur; and the 100-room Holiday Inn Lindavista. The company’s flagship property, the Presidente InterContinental Mexico City, meanwhile, is undergoing a major upgrade of its guest rooms, public areas and elevator system, with completion scheduled for 2010.

Meetings-Minded

Conferences, expositions, and conventions are big business in Mexico, and especially in Mexico City. According to statistics from SECTUR, Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism, congresses and conventions represent some $2 billion in annual revenue for Mexico City.
    “Thanks to the combined efforts of SECTUR, the CPTM [Mexico Tourism Board], FONATUR [a national fund for tourism development], and business travel associations, Mexico City has positioned itself in the big leagues in terms of international congresses, with world-class facilities and infrastructure,” says Dinorah Pizano, a spokesperson for SECTUR in Mexico City. “We have improved notably in terms of hotels, convention and expo centers, restored historic districts, transportation, and service providers.”
    In addition, Mexico aims to make itself more attractive for international meetings by eliminating the 15 percent value-added tax on meeting and convention expenses for foreign groups coming to Mexico.
    Among the largest event facilities are Centro Banamex and Expo Bancomer Santa Fe, both of which have more than 368,000 square feet of expo space. The Auditorio Nacional, located next to Chapultepec Park, has more than 215,000 square feet of space, including galleries and theater facilities.
    “The city has experienced significant growth in terms of infrastructure, with venues like the Banamex and Bancomer exhibition centers and the Mexico Chamber of Commerce Convention Center,” according to Dolores Ávalos Raz Guzmán, a spokesperson for Presidente InterContinental. She notes that with new hotels coming online soon, the array of options for meetings and events will be even greater. “The additional meeting space, with the new hotels under construction that will open in the next two years, can accommodate up to 14,000 and provide world-class support services to event and meeting planners.”
    “Additionally, Mexico City has new infrastructure for convention services,” Ávalos says, including “free wireless communications in public areas such as some parks, museums, and restaurants, easy international communication services, state-of-the-art equipment, and modern transportation to and from the convention centers.”

Capital Connectivity

Getting into Mexico City is gradually becoming a smoother, more pleasant experience. Most international travelers fly into Mexico City International Airport (also known as Benito Juárez International Airport), which is conveniently located within the city limits—although its geographic location also constricts its growth, with only one active runway. To ease crowding, the airport last year debuted Terminal 2, a new facility for Aeromexico and its SkyTeam affiliates, linked by light rail to the main terminal building.
    An increasingly popular option for domestic travelers looking to avoid the crowds at Benito Juárez is the Toluca airport, which serves as a hub for up-and-coming low-cost airlines, Interjet and Volaris. Comparing the 1.2 million passengers that pass through Benito Juárez every month to the 280,000 travelers that use Toluca, it’s easy to see why it’s a good alternative for anyone making trips within Mexico. In addition, Toluca is close to the Santa Fe business district, and Interjet now offers shuttle service to and from several major hotels aboard vans equipped with free wireless Internet access. To further increase its presence in the nation’s capital, Interjet this year purchased routes from Aero California, allowing the newer carrier access to the congested, but still popular, Benito Juárez airport.
    Volaris, meanwhile, is also working to make travel more attractive. In September, the airline introduced single-price, shuttle-style fares on routes linking Toluca with Monterrey, Guadalajara, and Acapulco, setting the fare at a flat 750 peso rate.
    Getting around the city itself is relatively easy; the Mexico City Metro provides a growing network of lines (with a new line underway, although the completion date is not set). Taxis are plentiful throughout the city—although, for safety reasons, it’s best to have hotels and restaurants secure your taxi, rather than hailing one of the cute Volkswagen Beetles on the street.
    Although Maritur’s Alva reports some negative effects from economic problems north of the border, he predicts a bright future for Mexico City as a business and convention destination. “The economic situation has affected the reception of North American groups, in addition to the low [season for] events during the holiday season from July to September,” he says. “However, there is a speedy recovery from October until February 2009, according to our records. The geographical position of Mexico, in the middle of the American continent, gives us the opportunity to continue receiving incentive groups, conferences, and conventions from both North America and South America.”