| Picture: Image Bank |
Cancun’s beaches are among three priority areas to benefit
from a new responsible tourism project in Mexico.
Also included on the project’s action list is the
preservation of the Riviera Maya’s cenotes – freshwater
pools popular for swimming and snorkelling – as well as a
plan to increase sales of local crafts.
The Mexico Tourism Board, responsible tourism organisation The
Travel Foundation and the Centre for Environmentally Responsible
Tourism announced they were to start work on a new responsible
tourism project focusing on the Riviera Maya, which includes
Cancun, at World Travel Market (Travel Weekly October 29 2004).
Details of the action plan have now been agreed.
The Travel Foundation director Sue Hurdle said: “The initial
reception in Mexico has been very positive. We hope our efforts
will help raise awareness and produce something practical for UK
tour operators to use.”
It includes working with local hoteliers and suppliers to minimise
the impact of tourism on the region’s beaches. Steps include
reducing the waste and litter deposited on beaches and encouraging
hotels to use eco-friendly detergents.
The organisation also aims to raise awareness of the negative
impact tourism can have on cenotes. It aims to develop damage
limitation strategies so tourists can visit cenotes with minimal
environmental impact. This could mean, for example, looking at the
location of toilets at the sites and ensuring sewage drains do not
impact the area.
Hurdle said many of the handicrafts in local shops and markets on
the Riviera Maya are imported. The strategy includes plans to
educate shop owners and hoteliers on where they can source locally
made products.
Meanwhile, the MTB is also concentrating on developing the Costa
Maya, where the Riviera Maya ends, and which stretches down the
east coast of Mexico to Belize.
The aim is to develop the region as an upmarket eco-tourism
destination.
MTB UK regional director Manuel Diaz-Cebrian said: “The
destination is not intended for the mass market; the idea is to
create hotels that don’t impact the environment.”
Plans include a new One&Only Resort in the area, although the
location has not yet been confirmed.
