Archive for May, 2007

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Chiapas Ecotourism

Tuesday, May 1st, 2007

The main reason of my trip to Chiapas was meeting the local guides I work with and finding new contacts. I was walking around San Cristobal with one of our tour providers, when I found an ecotourism centre called Sendasur. I thought it was another local operator, but he explained to me Sendasur is actually an association created by the private initiative of 16 community centres and 4 ecotourism operators (including his own company) to promote the development of eco and sustainable tourism in Chiapas.

I think this reality is just brilliant, and it is the perfect example of how private businesses can cooperate towards a common goal, generating profits with some ethics without the need of any support by the government or NGOs.

What I also like about Sendasur is that it managed to put together various ethnic communities, who now work together for the conservation of their environment.

Their mission states: “we are committed to preserve and revitalize our natural and cultural environment, and to help the development of alternative and sustainable tourism in Chiapas. We work together for equality and tolerance, as we are convinced that our strength comes from our differences.”

I am really happy gloCaltravel is now working with Sendasur, and I wish there were more associations like this in other Mexican states. They would help outbound eco-operators like us a lot, offering updated information about different community and ecotourism projects.

Posted in ecotourism, sustainable development | 2 Comments »

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