Xola Consulting Team works with Mexican Secretary of Tourism to Generate Recommendations for Future Adventure Travel

(Santa Fe, NM) - January, 4 2010: Xola’s Christina Heyniger, Jessica Reilly, and Antonio del Rosal of the Adventure Travel Trade Association wrapped up site visits in three Mexican states—Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Chiapas—at the beginning of December 2009. Based on site assessment and evaluation, the Xola team developed an adventure travel product model for each of these states, including strategies for the implementation of marketing and monitoring plans, as well as a comprehensive plan for approaching the actionable development of adventure travel in Mexico.

The project began by conducting an assessment of current resources and product offering for the international adventure traveler; from this analysis, Xola determined the top region for product development. In Veracruz, the team saw operators working to preserve their water resources for extensive Class III-V whitewater kayaking and rafting, as well as a budding kite surfing scene near beaches where sea turtles nest almost year-round. In Oaxaca, the cultural offering in the capital city, from mezcal to mole, modern art to ancient architecture, had the potential to blend with a mountain biking route connecting Dominican monasteries, or a surfing trip complemented by sea turtle research and swimming in bioluminescent plankton. The wildness of Chiapas was evident from the mysterious, mountainous, and magical streets of San Cristobal de las Casas, to the howler monkeys calling eerily around the remote Mayan site of Yaxchilan, deep in the jungle and only accessible by boat on the Usumascinta River.

Xola’s forthcoming report recommends decentralization to build competitive markets, in recognition that adventure travelers are growing more sophisticated and expanding beyond the one-size-fits-all mass tourism of the past, and it is at the local level, without standardization, that travelers will find the unique and authentic experience. With leaders like Pablo Ruiz Lavalle at Tierra del Sol in Oaxaca, and Bruno Thieselmann at Argovia Finca Resort in Chiapas, Xola witnessed first-hand the power of operators to work creatively and preserve their natural and cultural resources for locals and international travelers.

To learn more about Xola in Mexico, email Jessica at jessreilly@xolaconsulting.com.

 

About Xola Consulting, Inc. Xola (www.xolaconsulting.com) specializes in sustainable adventure tourism market development, providing technical assistance to governments, adventure tour operators and destination management organizations. Xola also publishes Off the Radar (www.travelofftheradar.com), an online newsletter and website providing information to adventure travelers about the best sustainable adventure travel destinations and trips.

Download a case study description of the project

Photos by Jessica Reilly