20 Community Tourism Projects in Quintana Roo Seek to Formalize Their Operations

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Twenty community tourism projects — ten from Quintana Roo and ten from Yucatán — have completed a training program backed by the European Union and both state governments, part of an effort to bring them into the formal economy and connect them with established tourism companies.

Eduardo Lépore, director of the European Union’s Decent Work program, said the initiative brings together the public, private and social sectors. After roughly a year of work, organizers handed out training certificates and business plans on Wednesday to the participating groups from Quintana Roo.

The Capacity Development and Strengthening of Community Tourism Groups program aims to improve the tools these organizations use to run their projects and to help them build commercial ties with private businesses.

“One of the main topics has been the need to strengthen the different community tourism groups in this state, as well as in Yucatán,” Lépore said.

Lépore said moving toward formal status is one of the pilot project’s goals. Representatives of business groups took part in the certificate ceremony, part of an effort to bring communities and tourism companies closer together.

He added that the collaboration seeks to strengthen tourism overall, with particular attention to community-based tourism, which he said is included in the Mexican government’s National Development Plan.