Business · Companies · 8 hrs ago
Barceló expects profits to fall 25% in 2026 as US travel to Mexico drops
Barceló expects its profit to fall 25% to €250 million in 2026, ending five years of annual growth.
The Spanish group says fewer US visitors are travelling to the Caribbean, especially Mexico, where it has a major hotel business.
Barceló made a record €330 million in 2025, and says its expected 2026 result would still be the third-highest in its 95-year history.
The company cites election uncertainty, safety alerts and seaweed on beaches as factors discouraging visitors.
A weaker US dollar also makes travel abroad more expensive for Americans and reduces the value of Barceló’s dollar earnings when converted into euros.
The group has operated in Mexico since 1985 and has 22 hotels there, with nearly 10,000 employees.
Barceló is still working to sell its entire travel division, Ávoris, but has not completed a deal on its preferred terms.
Barceló expects its profit to fall 25% in 2026 to €250 million, from a record €330 million in 2025.
The company cited lower US demand for Caribbean destinations, particularly Mexico, where it has a significant presence.
Its co-president and chief executive, Simón Pedro Barceló, said the expected result would still be the third-highest in the company’s 95-year history.
He identified election-related uncertainty, safety alerts, sargassum seaweed and the weaker dollar as factors affecting US travel to the region.
- Who
- Barceló, the Spanish hotel and travel group.
- What
- It expects profit to fall 25% in 2026, to €250 million.
- When
- The forecast is for 2026; it was reported on 13 October 2026.
- Where
- The decline is linked to reduced US travel to the Caribbean, especially Mexico.
- Why
- Lower US demand and currency effects are weighing on results. Barceló cited election-related uncertainty, safety alerts and sargassum as factors behind weaker US travel.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Barceló began a run of annual profit growth.
The company reached a record profit of €330 million.
Barceló acquired two hotels in Mexico City and Monterrey for $85 million.
Barceló expects profit to fall 25% to €250 million.
- Expected 2026 profit
- €250 million
- Expected profit decline
- 25%
- 2025 record profit
- €330 million
- Mexico hotel portfolio
- 22 hotels: 18 holiday hotels and four urban hotels
- Mexico investment
- €1.2 billion
- Mexico workforce
- Close to 10,000 employees
What people are saying
Our estimate is that we will be clearly below 2025 and 2024. And the main reason is the drop in demand from the United States to Caribbean destinations and fundamentally to Mexico, where we have a significant presence.
We are breaking a trend of improving our results every year that began in 2021. But we are still at an extraordinarily positive level of results. In fact, they will be the third-best in our 95-year history.
Sources
Related news
IMF raises Spain’s 2026 growth forecast to 2.5%
China will halve tariffs on Spanish olive oil from 2027
Spain’s Ibex seeks to hold gains as AI-linked stocks fall in Asia
Spanish employers must notify staff of internal job vacancies
Asterion agrees to buy French vehicle rental company Fraikin for about €2bn
IMF raises 2026 global growth forecast as AI investment offsets war pressures
AI-native companies are growing with far fewer employees
Workdays lost to strikes in Spain nearly double 2025 total in eight months
Spain looks to private investment for public infrastructure projects
Legal uncertainty is making property investors cautious in Spain
Spain expects Financia Europa account to increase tax revenue
