From June 27th to 30th, a visit was made by the Expert Coordinator of Sustainable Tourism from the German Agency for Cooperation (GIZ) in the municipality of Cozumel, Karola Tippmann, to the municipality of Calakmul with the objective of exchanging experiences on sustainable tourism with services providers, representatives of the Tourism Committee and local government authorities.
The event was coordinated by the Selva Maya Program as part of efforts to promote sustainable municipal management based on the wealth of nature and cultural tourism resources of the Biosphere Reserve and Archaeological Zone of Calakmul, recently declared as world cultural and natural Heritage
The visit included a tour of some of the most interesting sites for tourists such as the archaeological sites of Calakmul, Becán and El Hormiguero; the community ecotourism centers in the towns 20 de Junio (La Mancolona), Eugenio Echeverria Castellot and Ejido 20 de Noviembre and meetings with representatives of tourism project organizations, as well. Meetings were also held with the directors of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve and the Tourism Office of Calakmul, partners in this tourism development initiative.
Finally, in the framework of the Assembly of the Tourism Committee of the Sustainable Rural Development Municipal Council, Karola Tippmann made a presentation on his impressions regarding the tourism projects of Calakmul, emphasizing the vision of the promotion of sustainable development through tourism. She considered that the region is in a process of solid development, although with a basic infrastructure of tourism (hotels of different levels, roads, restaurants of different categories) and with the important presence of local and european tourists. Although she pointed out that the main attraction are the archaeological sites that connect the Municipality of Calakmul with the mayan world in the historical, ecological, cultural and coexistence aspects; It will be important to consolidate the development process in three horizontal areas: i) Organizational structure, ii) Creation of sustainable products and iii) Promotion measures.
