Dear readers, tourism is by its very nature an activity that promotes inclusion.
If tourism is well planned and managed, it has the potential to help bridge the gaps that exist in our world, connect societies, and ultimately, contribute to minimizing social divisions.
As you all know, during 2021, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in its World Tourism Day theme, presents an opportunity to look beyond and recognize that behind each number, there is a person, principles that will guide the path of tourism in the years to come.
The UNWTO urges us to ensure that no one is left behind as the world begins to open up again and look towards the future, and in this tourism reactivation undoubtedly, people must be at the center of recovery plans.
Mexico, like many other countries, has a national development plan, and upon analyzing it, I find that this plan consists of twelve guiding principles, three general axes, and the vision towards 2024; all of which define the priorities for the country’s comprehensive, equitable, inclusive, and sustainable development.
Likewise, the plan sets as its central objective “the general well-being of the population”, while one of its guiding axes indicates “not leaving anyone behind, not leaving anyone out”.
I want to highlight that in the sectoral tourism program outlined in the National Development Plan 2019-2024, it is proposed that tourism, in addition to preparing itself constantly to face the challenges that arise daily, must undertake a complete renovation that allows it to be understood in a different way and focused on being a tool for social reconciliation, capable of significantly contributing to poverty eradication and the creation of a fairer and more equitable country, in total accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals.
In general, tourism activity has presented socioeconomic imbalances due to the lack of inclusion in the benefits generated by the use of natural, cultural, and biocultural resources.
As an example, the destinations of Cancun-Riviera Maya and Mexico City account for 58.1% of international tourists in the country, fostering the exclusion from development of many potential tourist destinations, including municipalities with tourist vocation, UNESCO World Heritage cities, and magical towns, a situation that surely occurs in other countries.
That is why in Mexico, and particularly in this administration, a new tourism model is proposed, which will have a social, inclusive face, and an unrestricted respect for human rights, allowing more Mexicans, regardless of their condition, to improve their quality of life through access to responsible and sustainable tourism for the country’s development and the well-being of its population, providing the opportunity for more people to enjoy the great cultural, natural, and biocultural heritage that they rightfully possess and the consolidation of the domestic market.
An important challenge will be to strengthen substantive equality to make tourism a right for all Mexicans and not just for those who have the opportunity to pay for travel.
With the participation of the public, private, and social sectors in the development of tourism activity, cross-cutting actions will be implemented to contribute to eradicating inequality, discrimination, and violence.
Tourism must be seen as a tool for reconciliation that allows for the mending of the social fabric and must act as a mechanism for the conservation of customs, territories, identity, culture, languages, and the legacy of indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples and communities.
Today, we can see with new hopes the reactivation of this sector so important for our country, and an example of this has been the launch of the National Crusade for the Digitalization of Magical Towns, in which through an alliance with Google, various SMEs, small enterprises, and hotels within our magical towns, will have the opportunity to be more present and strategically on the web.
We are witnesses and cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that today most trips are planned through internet searches to select destinations and places where different experiences will be lived. However, unfortunately, most establishments in magical towns are still not on any of the various platforms, so through this alliance with Google, they will have the opportunity to be present in travelers’ searches competing in the international tourism market.
In this regard and by way of conclusion, we must consider inclusion in all tourism programs and plans of our countries, only then can we be more competitive in each of the wonderful destinations that the world has given us.
