The opportunity is part of a new partnership between Sustentur and the Travel Foundation
Today (23 July 2020) we announced a new partnership with the Mexican sustainable tourism initiative, Sustentur, to support Mexico’s tourism recovery. The partnership was launched at an online event, “Tools and a new vision to aid tourist destinations in recovery”, attended by nearly 100 representatives from the tourism sector including local governments, business associations, universities, NGOs and tourism companies.
At the event, Jeremy Sampson and Terry Brown from the Travel Foundation described the “root-cause” issues in tourism, such as poor understanding of tourism’s impacts and the lack of collaboration within a fragmented industry, which were evident even before the pandemic and have led to vulnerabilities for destinations (for more on this, see our report with Cornell University and EplerWood International, “Destinations at Risk: the Invisible Burden of Tourism”).
Vicente Ferreyra Acosta from Sustentur explained that, to address these and “Build Back Better”, the partnership will focus on 4 areas:
- Sustainable destination management. Supporting management organisations to plan and deliver a recovery that is long-lasting and beneficial for communities.
- Adapting and diversifying tourism products. Designing new products and experiences that create strong and broad local supply chains.
- Training and support for community organisations and small enterprises, to build their capacities to develop within a new tourism model.
- Stakeholder engagement to foster a shared agenda for tourism recovery.
To celebrate their partnership, the Travel Foundation and Sustentur are offering pro bono recovery planning support for up to 10 destinations in Mexico and the wider Mesoamerican Reef region. Based on the Travel Foundation’s Recovery Plan Assessment Framework, successful applicants will attend an online workshop programme in September. This will provide them with knowledge and tools to review and strengthen their destination recovery plans to:
- Maximise benefits for local communities
- Meet development priorities
- Adapt to changing market demands and future trends
- Achieve long-term economic resilience, inclusivity and sustainable, managed growth
It is also a chance for those selected to show how they are responding to post-pandemic recovery on the international stage, through the Travel Foundation’s and Sustentur’s extensive network of global travel brands.
For application details, please first contact Vicente Ferreyra Acosta at: vicente@sustentur.com.mx The deadline for applications is 25 August 2020.