Tourism in natural protected areas in Mexico

Abstract

The notable emergence of tourism, especially sustainable tourism, as a source of employment and economic resources, allows the opportunity of an alternative to economic and social activities. The Natural Protected Areas (NPAs) are fundamental instruments of environmental policies to preserve biodiversity and the ecological goods and services of a nation, and an engine of sustainable development. There are many institutions and international instruments that promote sustainable tourism as a strategy to preserve NPAs and their cultural resources, at the same time allowing the development of local economies. Mexico, which is one of the highest biodiversity countries of the world, has promoted NPAs as legal mechanisms to encourage the conservation of many regions all over the nation that have a unique biological processes and a high degree of conservation and/or preservation. The Mexican government has assumed the responsibility by establishing different instruments of environmental policies, particularly NPAs that include environmental programs based on regional analyses, different hydrological, economic, and social characteristics. The National Commission of Natural Protected Areas estimates that around 5.5 million tourists annually visit the 176NPAs of Mexico from across the country. The future management of NPAs in Mexico – 13% of the country – is difficult, but shows good prospects especially in the state of Baja California Sur, which has the biggest coastline extension and highest NPA percentage in the country.NPA tourism is considered as a highly regarded opportunity for the development of Mexico’s economy because it provides a significant value to the natural elements of the area, also increasing the quality of life in local communities and the health of the ecosystems.