Mexico Launches Sustainable Tourism Investment Framework

Mexico launched the Sustainable Tourism Investment Decalogue to align tourism development with environmental policy through shared governance, conservation and investment criteria that provide greater certainty for projects. The framework is expected to influence tourism investment, infrastructure development and environmental compliance by integrating sustainability into project planning while supporting community-based tourism and ecosystem protection. It establishes a national policy reference for public and private stakeholders seeking to expand Mexico's tourism sector under long-term sustainability objectives.

The Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR) and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) presented the Decalogue for Sustainable Tourism Investment, a framework designed to guide the country's tourism development by attracting investment, creating jobs, and protecting Mexico's natural and cultural heritage.

Josefina Rodríguez, Minister, SECTUR and Alicia Bárcena, SEMARNAT, led the signing and presentation of the initiative. They emphasized that the framework will align tourism and environmental policy by facilitating investment through shared criteria that provide greater certainty for projects from the planning stage while strengthening the country's competitiveness.

The first five principles of the decalogue focus on strengthening sustainable tourism governance. These include establishing an interinstitutional working group; aligning investment attraction with environmental, economic and tourism legislation; promoting formal and inclusive employment opportunities for host communities; consolidating community-based tourism as a mechanism to distribute the benefits of tourism directly to local populations; and fostering balanced territorial development through stronger institutional coordination, infrastructure and connectivity to ensure investments are both sustainable and successful.

The remaining five principles address nature conservation. They cover conserving and restoring natural and cultural heritage; strengthening land-use planning and the protection of strategic ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs, cenotes and beaches; promoting efficient water management that safeguards communities' right to water; accelerating the transition to clean energy and reducing the sector's environmental footprint; and advancing a circular economy that minimizes waste while encouraging the sustainable use of resources such as sargassum.

Rodríguez emphasized that Mexico's natural and cultural wealth is the country's greatest asset as a global tourism destination, making it essential for the sector's growth to be accompanied by responsible investments that generate employment, promote regional development and directly benefit local communities.

"We promote our natural resources, which are Mexico's greatest asset as a tourism powerhouse, but today we are taking another step by working together to ensure that investment also contributes to protecting our environment. We want tourism to continue growing, generating jobs and well-being for communities, but always with environmental responsibility and respect for our natural and cultural heritage. Tourism has a future only if it protects what makes it possible," she said.

Bárcena noted that, for many years, tourism and environmental policy were treated as separate issues. "Megaprojects were built without proper land-use planning, aquifers were overexploited, mangroves, dunes and coral reefs were degraded, while local communities rarely shared in the benefits. Today we are building a different model because we understand that nature is the infrastructure of tourism, and that ecosystems, people and our biocultural heritage are the foundation of tourism today and in the future," she said.

She added that the decalogue is not intended to restrict investment, but rather to make it more viable and competitive over the long term. "We want people to visit Mexico because we are a country that protects its natural environment, strengthens its communities and demonstrates that conserving natural heritage is also the best investment for development," Bárcena said.

The framework is built around 10 principles: sustainable tourism governance; conservation of natural and cultural heritage in tourism contexts; employment and social inclusion in tourist destinations; community-based tourism and socioeconomic development; balanced tourism development; responsible tourism land-use planning and ecosystem protection; efficient water management in tourism; energy transition and climate action in tourism; a circular tourism economy; and sustainable tourism investment attraction.

Implementation, coordination and monitoring will be carried out through an interinstitutional working group responsible for advancing the strategies and actions needed to strengthen sustainable tourism investment and position Mexico as an international benchmark in this area. 

In 2025 Mexico welcomed a record 98.2 million international visitors, including 47.8 million overnight tourists, generating US$35 billion in international tourism revenue. The government also maintains a Tourism Investment Portfolio of 773 projects across all 32 states, representing more than US$42 billion in planned investment, underscoring the sector's role in driving regional development, employment and foreign exchange earnings.

Global Guidelines Reinforce Sustainable Tourism Agenda

The presentation of the decalogue aligns with international efforts to promote sustainable tourism. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the travel and tourism sector supports one in every 10 jobs worldwide, generates approximately 10% of global GDP and, in 2025 alone, contributed US$11.6 trillion to the global economy while supporting 366 million jobs.

To sustain this positive impact amid the challenges associated with peak travel seasons, the WTTC argues that destinations should redefine success by measuring performance not only through visitor arrivals but also through residents' satisfaction, long-term resilience and the value generated for host communities.

In line with this approach, the organism published the report Destination Stewardship: Creating Value for All, which outlines seven core principles aimed at fostering proactive and collaborative governance among governments, the private sector and local communities to protect destination identity while ensuring tourism benefits are shared more equitably.

The seven principles are: planning collaboratively; making residents' satisfaction a key measure of success; anticipating growth before pressures emerge; improving the use of data; diversifying tourism across seasons and destinations; turning tourism into shared prosperity; and strengthening preparedness for future challenges.

The report also recommends several immediate actions for destinations experiencing high tourism demand, including monitoring residents' perceptions, identifying areas under the greatest tourism pressure through data analysis, promoting lesser-known destinations, encouraging responsible visitor behavior, better communicating tourism's positive impacts and establishing coordinated response teams.

As examples of these strategies, the WTTC highlights destinations where similar approaches are already delivering results. In Madrid, a proactive tourism strategy centered on seasonality management, geographic diversification and public-private governance has helped build a value-over-volume tourism model before overtourism pressures intensified. Colorado demonstrates how collaborative governance, resident engagement and forward planning can shape more resilient tourism policy, while Bogotá illustrates how early investments in data collection and strategic planning have improved destination management and broadened the benefits of tourism for local residents.

"When destinations are managed well, Travel & Tourism creates jobs, strengthens communities, protects cultural and natural heritage, and delivers lasting prosperity. Destination stewardship succeeds when governments, local communities and the private sector work together with a shared vision for long-term success. Our seven principles provide a practical framework that destinations can adapt to their own needs, helping ensure tourism continues to deliver benefits for everyone," said Gloria Guevara, President and CEO, WTTC.