Adventure Tourism On the Rise in Mexico

Adventure Tourism On the Rise in Mexico

During the inauguration of the 18th Adventure Tourism Summit Mexican President Felipe Calderón spoke on Mexico’s potential for developing its economy in the adventure tourism sector. The event, which was held in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, consisted of a variety of forums hosted by tourism experts from all over the world.

Adventure tourism for Mexico has the ability to create jobs, spread awareness on the beauty of Mexico’s nature and historical sites, and advocate an important role for the indigenous cultures and communities to take part in a growing tourism industry. Indigenous cultures prevalent in Chiapas are an important part of Mexican history, and Mexican tourism officials want to involve them the adventure tourism industry. Mexico’s Tourism Ministry has pegged this year the “year of tourism,” and it has launched an advertising initiative in the U.S. with the slogan, “Mexico, the place you thought you knew.” At the event President Calderón stated, “We need for our natural resources, our enormous cultural wealth, to be able to be preserved with dignity (with) the income that adventure tourism provides, (with) the income that the national and foreign tourist leaves, and which specifically allows these communities to be able to get ahead.”

With the rise of the adventure tourism industry in Mexico, the country is committed to introducing more sustainable practices. At a press conference after the inauguration of the 18th Adventure Tourism Summit, the president of the Adventure Trade Association, Shannon Stowell, spoke about how Mexico hopes to extend the adventure tourism sector economy while remaining aware of the importance of the environment.