Gay Nagle Myers
Cozumel wants to be one of the world’s leading sustainable destinations and has charted out an action plan focused on conservation and protection of resources.
The destination attracts more than 240,000 overnight visitors and 3 million cruise passengers per year. The challenge is to balance visitor growth while protecting its natural resources and cultural heritage at the same time.
The plan is the result of input from local government officials, tourism representatives and the private sector over a 10-month period to plot a roadmap addressing critical issues, according to Federico Ruiz, Cozumel’s deputy technical secretary for sustainable development.
Initiatives include the development of a guide to highlight the island’s natural, historical and cultural assets, establishing a water conservation and reuse program and implementing standards of quality for all in the tourism sector.
“These are an integral part of our long-term, 20-year sustainable tourism plan, which was recently completed,” Ruiz said.
A recent progress report noted that Cozumel ranked high in several areas, including safety and security of visitors and heritage preservation, but needs to incorporate culture into the tourism product and to tackle energy issues.