Beyond the Beach: Rodrigo Esponda's Vision for the Future of Los Cabos

What does it take to transform a destination from a beautiful place to visit into a place people truly connect with?

In this episode of Business Class, Learn Tourism's Stephen Ekstrom sits down with Rodrigo Esponda, Managing Director of the Los Cabos Tourism Board, to explore how one of North America's most successful tourism destinations is balancing growth, sustainability, and community well-being.

Rodrigo shares how Los Cabos has evolved beyond its luxury resorts to showcase its mountains, wildlife, culture, and local communities. He discusses the importance of attracting travelers who appreciate nature, heritage, and authentic experiences—and why destination success should be measured by quality rather than quantity.

Along the way, the conversation explores workforce development, leadership lessons learned over three decades in tourism, the power of storytelling, and how tourism can improve lives when communities are placed at the center of the visitor experience.

Whether you're a destination leader, hospitality professional, or simply passionate about the future of travel, this episode offers valuable insights into creating tourism that benefits both visitors and residents.

In this episode:

•  How Los Cabos has evolved over the past decade 
•  Why sustainability requires environmental, social, and cultural stewardship 
•  The importance of workforce development and training 
•  Attracting the "right" travelers for long-term destination success 
•  Leadership lessons from 30 years in tourism 
•  How tourism can create meaningful opportunities for local communities 

Guest: Rodrigo Esponda, Managing Director, Los Cabos Tourism Board

Business Class is brought to you by Learn Tourism, the nonprofit academy - harnessing the power of science, business psychology and adult education to advance the tourism industry and build sustainable economies. Learn how to engage your community, win over stakeholders and get more visitors at learntourism.org. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Today, I'm joined by Rodrigo Esponda, Managing Director of the Los Cabos Tourism Board. Over the last decade, Rodrigo has helped reshape the destination story, highlighting not only its world-class resorts, but also its culture, communities, mountains, and extraordinary natural environment. In our conversation, we discuss sustainable tourism, workforce development, leadership, and how destinations can create lasting benefits for both visitors and residents. Please join me in welcoming Rodrigo Esponda.

SPEAKER_00 1:02

What I love truly, it's a bit strange, but I really love it, is I love to dive with sharks. So in the City Cortez, there is a very healthy and nice reef that contains bull sharks that are a very specific type of sharks that stay in the reefs. And here there is a community in Cabo Pulmo that they've been managing the region for the last 30 years. You need to go there with the community, they take you there to scuba. I've been in scuba since I was 15, so more than 30 years. And I love to be diving with the sharks, and it's natural you go there with the community they teach you. And it's a humility lesson, the way that I see it, because we believe that as soon as the shark would see you, they would come and hunt you because you are the most delicious thing in the world. And when you get down and you see that they don't care about you, that they go around and they don't have any particular interest in you, they have more interest in many other things than you understand how little we are, and how humble, and how we need to make sure that we preserve and maintain this beautiful planet and the oceans that are so important.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

What's been the biggest change you've seen in Los Cabos since you started working there?

SPEAKER_00 2:29

The destination has dramatically changed, and I believe that for good the positioning of the destination has been much better appreciated now. We've been doing a very good storytelling about the ocean, the desert, and the mountain. And now people acknowledge and know the diversity of the destination. When I came 10 years ago, I saw a map of the region, and we have a big mountain range in the middle, and it's called Sierra de la Laguna that goes very high, 7,000 feet high, and it's a continuous mountain system. And I asked why it's the Sierra de la Laguna. So I asked the team, and the team replied to me saying, We believe that there are some lagoons. So come you are the tourism board, and nobody has been going to the Sierra de la Laguna that is half of the map of the region. No, nobody. So then, of course, that's the first thing that I did. We start exploring it, mapping out. We have now a full guide of bird watching that you can do of all the rural experiences in the region. And now people have been embarking because they Alicia Keys came a few months back into the destination. She was posting on social media, doing a hiking on the Sierra de la Laguna and getting into the lagoons, all that. So I really believe that that has been a dramatic change where people now it's embarking outside what is the traditional area between Cabos and Lucas and San José, that little strip on the coast where the region is much broader, much bigger, and much more diversified and rich. So that I think has been the biggest change that we have seen that the destination has been expanding further out.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

What would you like to see as the next big change over the next five or ten years?

SPEAKER_00 4:29

I would love to see that we systematically work on sustainability initiatives in the destination. There are many. We have restrictions in terms of height and density, but as the destination is being expanding, we need to make sure that the sustainability is achieved in the three areas: environmentally, socially, and culturally. That the community is much better off, that they maintain their culture, their nature, their heritage, and that systematically they improve their conditions in the living conditions in the region, that through tourism, they can achieve better education, better work opportunities, and better quality of life in general.

SPEAKER_01 5:19

When you were growing up, did you ever think you'd end up working in tourism?

SPEAKER_00 5:23

Never. I thought that I would probably before being in tourism, I thought that I would be an astronaut. I studied architecture. I thought that I was going to be working in architecture. And then suddenly by mistake, 30 years ago, I started in this path of tourism, and it's been downhill since that time.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

All downhill, a rapid decline. What has been the greatest lesson that you've learned so far?

SPEAKER_00 5:52

I think it's connected to the previous point that what I really like from tourism is that you touch the humans and the persons in a deep way. When you go to a tourism event, what you see in common between all different people that you meet is that they all love to connect with others. They love to travel, they love to see the differences, they appreciate the nature, the culture, the food, the wines, the conversations where you learn that so many people have been going through different things, and you find out that I started working in architecture, and then suddenly I get into tourism, and I love tourism is a very common thing. People who have backgrounds on the financial sector or any other industry, engineers, and then suddenly they find out that tourism is something that is their passion. And I think that's the biggest lesson is how important is the human connection for us, and that's what makes us different. This association need that we have as humans.

SPEAKER_01 7:03

If you were an architect now, what would you be designing? Tourism.

SPEAKER_00 7:15

Now that you understand how relevant is tourism, I see so many things that are needed. I'll put one little example just to see. It's very nimble, very, very small. But I have been seeing so many new hotels that I don't understand why the showers of the bathrooms are so badly designed. Now nobody puts a door, so then you take a shower and all the bathroom gets wet. So I guess they are more focused on the aesthetics, on the form, than rather on the functionality of the bathroom. And I see that it's something that is wrong. That's a trend that needs to be back. And I see so many things like that in different tourism components: villas, hotels, big, small restaurants that are more focused on the way that it would be seen, or it apparently is seen that it's really working as a function on that. So I think that that's what I would focus on.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

So if you talk about things like form and function in tourism, the function of tourism as a business is a huge business in Los Cabos. It is the only business. And what is being done to maintain to build and to recruit the next workforce?

SPEAKER_00 8:45

That's a critical thing. And I believe that the human resource in tourism is so needed at all level. And I think we've been working in training, and let's say that the traditional function of the Los Covid tourism board shouldn't be connected. And if you go to the mandate in paper, it's not. So we are more related to do the marketing, the campaigns, the air, aviation, development, service, and other things, but none is connected to the training on the human resource component. But we've seen, I have been 10 years as a head, and I have seen that more and more is needed a focus on training and training at all different levels. So we have been developing strategic alliances in order to get better knowledge, more resources to the human resource in the destination. So we have a partnership with Forbes Travel Guide on training that they come with, they have fantastic trainers. They come and they do one full week training, and it's open to everybody in the tourism industry that wants to get ahead free. We have a partnership with another institution in Mexico that is the Public Image Institute. That is an organization that has been 30 years giving training, and they have a college, a university degree, and master's degree on public image, because public image is very relevant. And you would think that that's more related to politicians or people who leaders in business or somebody like that, but not. We are all connected to the public image. So whatever we project is how we care or not, or we form our public image. So we have a partnership with them in order to train, and we want everybody. So we've been working with the association of concierge, the association of restaurants, hotels, timeshare, transportation, airport, everybody. The more people participate and the more people understand how relevant it is for us as a destination that everybody takes care of the public image, the image that we do when we welcome anybody that comes into the destination. So it's, you know, we believe that there are soft elements that we need to be trained that are very relevant destinations. So I believe that in the future, more and more we would need to focus on partnerships like this in order to train the colleagues that are working day by day in tourism in the destination. What's something you wish you knew at the start of your career? I wish I knew how difficult life is. And I was not aware of that. I thought that it would be easier, that it would be much more simple. And what I have seen is that things get more complex and more interconnected in all regards. And of course, I now I see it, and I try to make sure that I keep myself focused, always aware of and updated on things that are happening around the world. But I think it's something that young people need to understand that as you start moving up, things are getting much more complex day by day.

SPEAKER_01 12:54

What advice would you have for your younger self?

SPEAKER_00 12:58

That I need to be much more focused on what is relevant and what is not. You know, this Eisenhower matrix on what is urgent and what is important. And I think that I would like to make sure that I understand it. That when I was younger, I was more focused on what was urgent, not what is important. And now I believe that if at that time I would be more focused on what is important and not what is urgent, I probably would have more peace of mind as I started growing professionally.

SPEAKER_01 13:40

So you mentioned your first trip to the area was when you were a teen and you went with your family.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

No, I went with some friends. With groups of friends, and I participated with the Rotaries when I was very young, a teenager in the Rotaries. So we were working and helping different communities around Mexico. So I traveled around and with some friends, I came here and I had a lot of fun. Of course, you know, we were sleeping almost on the beach.

SPEAKER_01 14:13

So we were in what ways do you see tourism giving back to the community?

SPEAKER_00 14:20

Well, I think tourism is one of the few areas in terms of the economy where you can touch the human being in the most deep ways, for example, the local culture. Everybody's very proud of your heritage or local culture. But if you want to preserve it, talk about it, explain it, and live from doing that, it would be difficult to find any other way that you could do it. But tourism is an area that can help to do that. I was mentioning during the conversation this region, Cabo Pulmo, that is a fishing village, that has been there for many generations as being a fishing village. And 30 years ago, the community realized that they've been fishing for many years and then they had less fish and less fish, and they couldn't really maintain their quality of life, and it was decreasing. So then they decided to stop fishing and to embark into ecotourism. At that time, the video summit about environment and all that in 1994 had just happened. So it was very in fashion about ecotourism. So then they decided to offer ecotourism and to make sure that the reef is maintained. So they they designated an area by themselves that they would make sure that nobody would be fishing there. And what started happening is that the recovery of the reef was done in an impressive way, and then all the species of the Sea of Cortez start coming back into that designated area. Then the authorities saw it and then they declared it as a national park, and then the UNESCO came and designated the whole Sea of Cortes as a World Heritage Site. And if you see the change today, it's one of those rare examples than the same families that 30 years ago decided to stop fishing and to designate the area, they have improved their quality of life a lot. Their original fishers are retired, they are there, and their sons and daughters and families are the ones that have been continued this, and now they have their grandsons or granddaughters doing it. And they have improved their quality of life. You see the place, they have much better homes, they don't have electricity, has to be solar panels. It's not paved because they don't want to get it paved. They recycle, they separate the trash, they have a waste management control system. And that I think is incredible that how a small community has improved their lives and has been a reference for the region, for the area of how positive tourism can be. So I think that's what I like from tourism, that it can really make a big change in the life of so many people if you do it in the right way.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

How do you think the visitor has changed in the last 10 years? And what type of visitor would you like to see more of in the future?

SPEAKER_00 17:23

What I have seen in these 10 years is that the visitors would come and they would think of the destination only because of the reference of the hotel. They would stay in Blockstreet Hotel and they would see the ocean, and it was only the ocean and the hotel, that connection, they would stay there. What we have seen now is that people are getting out. So the profile of the traveler is much broader because as you start offering many more activities, it has started to get younger and younger. Now the biggest bracket of travelers are between 30 and 40. That's the biggest age set of travelers that we have in the destination. And it's because they can embark into so many activities. Many of them came when they were kids with their parents, and now they have continued coming. 40% of the travelers in the destination are repeat travelers. In one occasion, they go and do sport fishing and hiking, but they didn't go to the desert or visit the towns, San José del Cabo Artistic District, or anything like that. So then they start doing more and more things, and that's why they start coming back because they see that the quantity of activities that they can do is very broad. So that is being the biggest change. What I would like to see in the future is that we need to bring the right type of travelers. It's not so much focused on age or income, but on particular interest. Those that are coming that are really appreciating the culture, the nature, that they understand the relevance of the preservation, the conservation that you need to do to the environment, to the Sea of Cortez, that they come and they are open to interact with the community that they go and they talk to the community. They want to learn about the recipes, about the local ingredients, about the history. It's so rich of the region. And if they want to connect with that, that's the right type of travel that we're going to be bringing into the next 10 years. So, how do you do that? How do you, as a destination, pick your customers? And the way that we do it is you need to develop and to do a stewardship inside the destination because you have to have everybody aligned into the same concept. And we've been working little by little and making sure that we tell it to all the suppliers in the destination that we need to be much more focused on quality than quantity. What is important is that we bring quality travelers that stay longer, that they interact, that they spend more, that they appreciate it, not that we are focused on just bringing to be staying locked in the resort. And when everybody starts realizing that at the beginning, 10 years ago, if I would start this job and I would the first interaction with the hoteliers of the restaurants, I would be mentioning this. They would have fired me. But little by little it's been and the condition of the destination has been changing. And we've seen that the ADR has been increasing, that the spending has been increasing, that the length of stay has been increasing. So then they understand the positioning that we need to have as a destination. And then everybody, it doesn't matter if it's a three-star, four-star, five-star hotel, a villa, a condo, or whatever. Everybody needs to be aware that we need to offer the right conditions and to educate the traveler about what the region has. That we've been diversifying, bringing to this, of course, the United States is our main market, but we need to diversify and bring more people from Canada, from Europe, from South America, Australia, Asia. So little by little, we've been doing that. And then everybody's being aware of the relevance of this change. And if you start doing it and consistently moving into that direction and building the right storytelling into the markets, then people start appreciating replicating the message because the tourism board is not us, the 20 people that work with us or partners, agencies that help us. But the tourism board is everybody that participates in the destination in connecting with the travelers. It doesn't matter if it's somebody opening the door at the airport or a taxi driver, they are all part of the tourism board. So the destination. Every member that touches the tourist is part of the destination, and we need to build that storytelling so it's cohesive and unified with change and pass that message.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

I have just three more questions. Number one, what do you wish more people in authority knew or understood about tourism?

SPEAKER_00 22:19

Well, that's a sensitive topic in the sense that I believe that unfortunately in 30 years that I have been in tourism, I have seen that unfortunately in most of the cases, authorities, politicians don't understand the sensitivity of tourism. And they see it in many ways as a frivolous area or an activity that can be done by anybody. Oh, you speak different languages, so then you that's why you work in tourism. But not that it has to be trained, that it doesn't have a system to improve the quality of life of the people, that you have to follow different things. So I would love to see that the authorities understand that they don't see tourism just as an area where people come to have a margarita and just watch the ocean. That is an area that if you work it in, you move it into the right direction, it can really make a significant change to the society. What did I not ask that you wish I did? I think this has been a very rich conversation. I have loved the interaction. Something that I have not mentioned is that, of course, I work very hard in the tourism board, but I have a team of fantastic young professionals that do a very hard job every day. And whatever I have been telling you is because they've been providing me with rich ideas, with many interesting points. They correct me and they drive me also into the right direction. So we have terrific partners inside the tourism board and different agencies and strategic companies that also help us to be driving this into the right direction.

SPEAKER_01 24:19

And what would you like to ask me? How many years have you been doing this? It has been four and a half years that I've been traveling. So I actually spent time in Los Cabos two winters in a row. I am now, instead of being in a van, I'm now in a full-size bus. And I'm I have a dishwasher, I have a fireplace. Don't feel bad for me when I camp, when I go camping. But uh yeah, I'm still traveling. I still enjoy it. I love meeting people and learning from people and learning from places and learning from nature and everything else that you can do. So that's my passion.

SPEAKER_00 25:00

Wow, that's very nice. I'm looking forward to work to see you in person.

SPEAKER_01 25:06

You never know when I might give you a call and say, Hey, I'm in town. You would be very welcome here again. If folks want to plan a trip to Los Cabos, how would they plan the trip?

SPEAKER_00 25:16

In visit Los Cabos.travel, we have all sorts of tools for anybody to plan the trip. We even have a Chat GPT type of tractions. So you can start interacting and asking for a full trip to be designed according to your needs. So you start saying, okay, I'm gonna go with a couple, seven days. I want to meet different chefs, discover front to table places, go into different towns, and then they start interacting and doing so. At visit loscabos.travel, we'll be putting state of the art technology for anybody to really get the perfect trip into the region. Perfect. If there's anything that we can do here at Learn Tourism, just give us a call.

SPEAKER_01 26:01

Perfect. Thank you very much.