Cancun, Quintana Roo — The Cancun tourist zone has been declared a Priority Area for Sustainable Tourism Management, classified as a mature destination, with the aim of curbing uncontrolled growth and limiting environmental impact under the Sustainable Tourism Master Plan 2050.
The decree, published in the Official Gazette of the State of Quintana Roo, specifies that the zone’s delimitation is intended to promote sustainable use of the biocultural heritage linked to tourism through planning, management, regulation, and monitoring of actions that foster competitiveness, environmental regeneration, and the well-being of the local community.
The designated area covers a discontinuous polygon totaling 1,181.25 hectares. Given its characteristics and classification as a mature destination, an intervention strategy focused on comprehensive renewal of various elements affecting competitiveness, sustainability, and local prosperity will prevail.
Activities, experiences, or services developed within the zone are linked to tourism and include, but are not limited to: shallow-draft nautical, sun and beach, sports, romance (weddings and honeymoons), ecotourism, wellness, cultural, meetings and events (MICE), urban business, medical, gastronomic, and religious tourism.
To achieve these goals, programs related to the environment, mobility, and human settlements will be implemented in accordance with current regulations.
The Quintana Roo State Tourism Secretariat (Sedetur), in coordination with municipal authorities and the Destination Management Organization, will be responsible for formulating the corresponding Management and Conservation Plan, as well as planning, coordinating, monitoring, executing, and evaluating the determined actions.
The Management and Conservation Plan for the Cancun Priority Area for Sustainable Tourism Management will include at least: objectives and policies; administrative rules; annual operational program; evaluation and monitoring; accountability mechanisms; and strategies and actions for management, protection, and interpretation of biocultural heritage; management and operation program; research and monitoring.
Management, conservation, monitoring, and surveillance actions will be carried out by the Destination Management Organization, the body responsible for planning, coordination, and management.
According to Sedetur, the issuance of the declaration is a fundamental step to ensure that Cancun evolves from being merely a successful destination to one that is truly prosperous for its residents. The Priority Area for Sustainable Tourism Management is the legal mechanism that allows for delimiting, organizing, addressing, and strengthening tourism comprehensively through better public policies.
In essence, it is the legal instrument that will enable a pact of unity among the public, private, academic, social, and environmental sectors to ensure orderly, fair, competitive, sustainable, and prosperous development, guaranteeing that no one is left behind while maintaining Cancun as a global tourism benchmark.
