Mexico Advances Coastal Tourism Sustainability Agenda

Public and private sector representatives met on Feb. 3-4 in Huatulco, Oaxaca, to define a national agenda for the management and conservation of Mexico’s beaches and coastal ecosystems under a sustainable tourism model.

The Solutions Forum: Beaches and Touristic Coastal Ecosystems brought together representatives from 13 states, including six state secretaries, five deputy secretaries and nine directors general, as well as national and international specialists, coastal communities, academia, civil society organizations and tourism-linked companies.

The event was organized by the United Nations Development Program in Mexico (UNDP Mexico), under the Kuxatur Project, alongside the National Fund for Tourism Promotion (FONATUR) and the Minister of Tourism (SECTUR), in coordination with the government of Oaxaca and the municipality of Santa Maria Huatulco. Organizers underscored that the event marked the first time Mexico’s tourism and environmental sectors convened to jointly design solutions for the country’s coastal future.

Gerardo Copka, Tourism Councilor of Huatulco, highlighted opportunities to strengthen local tourism and shift from a sun and beach model toward rural community tourism. Mexico has more than 12,000km of coastline, and its maritime area accounts for 62% of the national territory, making coastal zones strategic for both tourism development and environmental conservation.

Patricio Carezzana, Head of the Planning Unit, SECTUR, stressed the need to generate synergies to address current challenges facing beaches and coasts and encouraged participants to advance proposals such as the creation of a national beaches and coasts commission. Moreover, José Hernández, Deputy Secretary of Tourism Development, SECTUR Oaxaca, said the forum provided a platform to exchange experiences and strengthen beach and coastal management practices.

Silvia Morimoto, Resident Representative in Mexico, UNDP, emphasized the need to build joint solutions around coastal ecosystems so tourism can continue generating well-being without compromising natural wealth. She said well-managed tourism can strengthen local economies, promote gender equality, foster financial innovation and conserve natural and cultural heritage.

Marina Robles, Deputy Minister of Biodiversity and Environmental Restoration, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), called for transforming beach and coastal ecosystem management through an integrated approach involving all sectors. In her keynote address, she underscored the urgency of a restoration program that addresses the causes of degradation, promotes productive restoration and improves community livelihoods, and proposed advancing toward a national seas and coasts policy integrating fisheries management, tourism and conservation.

During the forum participants addressed land-use planning, conservation financing, responsible tourism management, community participation, governance, integration of biodiversity criteria into the tourism sector and digitalization. The program included keynote lectures, expert panels, working groups and field visits to the Bahias de Huatulco National Park to connect technical analysis with on-the-ground experience.

Among the forum’s main outcomes was an agreement to draft an initial roadmap with viable proposals, establish interinstitutional commitments and identify financing mechanisms and strategic partnerships to advance sustainable tourism models that protect biodiversity and strengthen local communities.

As part of a broader federal strategy, authorities highlighted the National Strategy for the Cleaning and Conservation of Mexico’s Beaches and Coasts 2025–2030, which aims to eliminate 100% of plastic waste on beaches and coasts by 2030 and strengthen shared responsibility among PET producers to reduce plastic pollution.

In parallel, SEMARNAT, in coordination with the Federal Commission for Protection against Sanitary Risks, launched the Playas Mx mobile application, which provides public access to water quality data for 289 recreational beaches across 76 tourist destinations nationwide.

Organizers said the forum represents a step toward consolidating a national agenda for conserving tourism-linked coastal ecosystems, positioning sustainable tourism as a driver of Mexico’s economic, social and environmental development.