China to be honored guest at 35th Festival Cervantino in Guanajuato
Working to
Protect the Yucatan Peninsula’s Ecosystems
The
beaches, mangroves, jungles and reefs of the YucatanPeninsula will continue to amaze
tourists and future generations thanks to new government initiatives designed
to protect the rich ecosystems that have made the region one of the top
destinations for tourists in Mexico.
The
country is working to create the Mexican Official Criteria for Sustainable
Tourism (NOM), which will use, in part, the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria
created by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) as a point of reference. The
goal of the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria is to establish the
specifications and requirements that all hotels and real state developments
should have in their design, construction and operation in order to guarantee
their sustainability. Business men, academics, civil organizations and local
authorities will work together next year to define the criteria that will apply
to developments in the states of Quintana Roo, Yucatan
and Campeche.
The
Mexican Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources, along with the UK
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the international
Rainforest Alliance, is currently working with 30 hotels in the region that are
being validated for their economic, environmental and social aspects. The
results will be available in March 2009, to serve as indicators for next
year’s development of the NOM.
