Home |
Site Map |
Mexico Travel |
Mexico |
Going Green
Other Mexico States:
Baja |
Chiapas |
Guerrero |
Mexico City |
Michoacán |
Tamaulipas
MEXICO -- In what promoters tout as Latin America's most important tourism convention, Mexico's Tourism Secretariat (SECTUR) held its 23rd annual Tianguis Turistico in Acapulco at the end of April. Tianguis, a Nahuatl word for "market" sums up both the character and dimension of this expo. According to Tourism Secretary Oscar Espinosa Villareal, this year's congress attracted 1,400 foreign guests and 2,500 Mexican participants. SECTUR estimated that participants in the conference's "business center" would negotiate more than $1.5 billion of business.
Of special interest were an increasing number of seminars related to alternative tourism - ecotourism, archaeology, mountaineering and water sports such as diving and rafting. For the third year in a row President Zedillo used his opening remarks to praise Mexico's wealth of ecological and cultural tourism alternatives.
The government is stepping up efforts to promote hotel construction on the "Maya Coast" between Tulum and the Belizean border. According to SECTUR, more than $1 billion will be invested on behalf of Spanish hoteliers from Palma de Mallorca in the development of more than 5,000 rooms on the Maya coast. Others are a bit more cautious in their forecasts.
"We will see additional construction along the coast, but it's hard to imagine 5,000 new rooms," said Ernesto Parra, Mundo Maya Promotions Director in Chetumal. "These numbers aren't often realistic at the beginning of development. We will see additional growth, but mostly in small bungalows. The true investment will be in the coastal roads improvement and tourism infrastructure in Chetumal."
Even if the numbers are over inflated, can such mega-investment be compatible with sound ecotourism - a niche of the tourism market which promotes conservation and local involvement? One of the Maya Coast project developments is taking place in the town X'cacel and has come under the gun for disturbing the beaches where endangered sea turtles come to lay their eggs. The project has been halted by the National Institute of Ecology (INE) until the University of Quintana Roo reestablishes its turtle protection program and research camps.
"We've made a number of important steps forward in developing regulations that assure quality control in this market, said ex-president Agustin Arroyo, now working with the Mexico City tourism office. "Because we've been able to deliver a consistent product, we can now embark on more innovative programs such as Aeromexico's which just launched the "Gran Plan de Aventura" packaging responsible adventure tourism with airfare and lodging.
Not everyone who offers nature or ecotourism in Mexico are members of AMTAVE. Many simply work out from environmental ethic and the knowledge that travelers are receptive to eco-friendly hotels and services.
"People talk about ecotourism, but the fact is that the tourism industry is always looking for a quick buck," said hotelier Doug Rhodes, owner of Hotel Paraiso del Oso in Cerocahui, Chihuahua. "Hotels throughout the Copper Canyon still lack waste treatment facilities. Some of the garbage is thrown into the canyon or disposed of near community wells." Rhodes said that tourists are willing to pay for such environmental guarantees and added that the technologies aren't that expensive. "It's just a matter of will," he said.
Some tour operators felt that the Tianguis did not offer them better opportunities for networking the world of green travel. "Basically, if you couldn't afford a space in the business center - and we were told it cost $10,000 - the chances of making contact was almost impossible," said Marjorie Anne Gutierrez, owner of the Mexico City-based Ogima Exploradores de los Ocho Vientos tour agency.
Worse, Gutierrez says that Mexico is not adequately promoting itself as an ecotourism destination. Until this reputation grows both domestically and internationally, many operators cannot afford to only market to the green travel market. "We have to diversity and include other products besides ecotourism to survive," she said.
A version of this article first appeared in the June, 1998 issue of Business Mexico magazine.
Home |
About |
Advertise! |
Books |
Central America |
Ecotourism |
Headlines
Learn Spanish |
Mexico |
Media |
Site Map |
South America |
World Travel |
Updates