Documento de base : EL TURISMO de NATURALEZA EN MEXICO, retos y oportunidades

In the CESTUR and SECTUR report «Elements to Assess the Economic, Social and Environmental Impact of Nature Tourism in Mexico» published in December 2007, the main causes of why the majority of community ecotourism projects in Mexico did not work were identified. .

“The Secretariat of Tourism of Mexico currently has a registry of more than 800 productive projects throughout the country that link communities with tourism development from the enhancement of their natural and cultural resources. However, in many cases it has not yet been possible to overcome the subsidized project model, with a very limited sales effort and consequently, the projects are not consolidated as life projects.

On the other hand, the generation of jobs in community companies is low or almost nil, since the projects have been founded on the uses and customs of the communities, tequio or slaughter, rather than on permanently hired jobs. The few jobs that have been created are oriented more towards operational services, especially food and accommodation; and in few cases, there is evidence of managerial or specialized jobs, except in the cases of guides for ecotourism projects.

The limited economic effects that nature tourism has had in the localities where community businesses operate are closely related to the low influx of visitors throughout the year. Part of this is explained by the lack of promotion, the isolation that the localities present in terms of the quantity and quality of the roads and means of communication, the need to have their own transportation systems, the lack of consolidation of the organizations communities as tourism service companies, and the nature tourism products they offer. «