Los Cabos Tourism Board's Rodrigo Esponda on what's new and the significance of the Canadian market
These are good days for Los Cabos. And frankly, that shouldn’t surprise anyone as it’s a destination that provides the ‘evolving’ Canadian traveller with the kind of accommodations, activities and experiences they’re looking for.
In Toronto, this week, to connect with some Canadian travel partners, Rodrigo Esponda, Managing Director of the Los Cabos Tourism Board, took time out from his busy schedule to have a chat with Travel Courier.
Off the bat, Esponda told TC that so far in 2025, Los Cabos has seen its Canadian visitor numbers grow by 20% and “we expect that trend to continue.”
In fact, Esponda said that: “We have 25% more seats already scheduled for the next winter season, so that trend will continue to be happening,” observing, “that means it will be a record year for Canadian travellers coming to the destination and we see that continuing into 2026.”
But Esponda isn’t resting on his laurels, pointing out that traditionally Western Canada – Calgary and Vancouver – has been (and continues to be) Los Cabos’ key market here (accounting for about 70% of Canadian visitors), but the tourism board has stepped up its efforts to drive more business out of the Toronto (and Central-Eastern Canada) market.
And it’s an effort that’s paying off with Esponda telling TC that “that 20% growth that I’ve mentioned, it’s been coming from Toronto. In fact, it’s the largest growth from Canada that we have coming into the destination.”
He continued: “We truly believe this is something that ought to happen — not that we don’t want more West Coast Canadians, that’s a natural market – but Toronto is a large Metropolitan area and the values that Toronto travellers, and Canadian travellers in general have, are very aligned with what Los Cabos offers.”
In this respect, Esponda pointed to the outdoor activities available in the destination, describing them as ‘truly unique’ and the kind of activities that Canadian travellers are always looking for – including hiking, kayaking, ziplining, all the water activities, all the sports that you can do in climate offering 350 plus days of sunshine and only about 10 days of rain a year.
Los Cabos, meaning The Capes, is a long peninsula with desert, ocean (both the Pacific and Sea of Cortes), mountains, tropical forest, along with quiet and uncrowded beaches.
Esponda is quick to point out that the diversity of activities offered visitors is one of the strengths of Los Cabos, observing that “everything is accessible. It’s easy to get around. It’s very safe. And the only economic activity is tourism – so, it’s very sustainable.”
So, what type of traveller is attracted to Los Cabos? Well, Esponda said there are three types.
The first is families, but families looking for lots of activities. “They want to kayak; go surfing; go snorkeling; and lots more,” he said.
Couples are the second type of travellers who find the destination appealing, with Esponda explaining: “We see a lot of couples because they can really connect when they’re coming to the destination because it’s very romantic; there are a lot of things that they can share. They can stroll around the downtown. Visit an art gallery. Sip a glass of wine. Listen to jazz. Enjoy the fine cuisine,” just to name a few.
And the third type is groups of friends, many of which come for sports-related activities like golf, sports fishing and other group activities.
Los Cabos has also carved itself out a nice little niche in the meetings and incentives space, with Esponda telling TC that each year, 10% of the destinations hotel rooms are connected to meetings and incentives – with the latter being where the destination excels because of the variety of activities available to this kind of group.
“The incentive group comes and they can definitely have a fantastic hotel with a welcome dinner or a meeting and then the next day they go and do activities and do all sorts of different things – from driving a 4X4 in the desert, doing some team building activity, cooking classes – so, there’s a wide diversity of activities,” he said.
Incentive groups are attracted to Los Cabos because of the value that it provides and as well as the fact that it’s an aspirational destination, Esponda noted, adding: “People really like coming to Los Cabos.”
That’s certainly something that Canadian travel advisors should keep in mind, but Esponda also told TC that for their clients, advisors will find Los Cabos “a very diverse destination that would provide their clients a lot of value-added personal growth that they want.”
He notes that it used to be that Canadian travellers were all looking to just go somewhere for ‘sun & fun,’ but today, they want more.
Said Esponda: “Of course, Los Cabos has fantastic weather, but Canadian travellers have evolved and they are looking for high quality service and experiences that can nurture them; that can allow them to grow personally; that can help them to connect either as a couple, with their friends or with the community where they’re travelling.”
And he adds: “Los Cabos is a destination where they will find that in a very safe way. It’s unique. There’s no other destination like it.’
