Images of floods, beaches full of seaweed, dry landscapes, and tourist infrastructure destroyed by the last hurricane demonstrate the vulnerability of the tourism business time and again. Although the urgent must be addressed, at the same time it is a priority to prepare the business for a future with a more extreme and uncertain climate.

The Guide is the first of its kind in Mexico and offers innovative recommendations for companies to integrate climate change and adaptation approaches during the planning processes of real estate tourism investment projects.

Infrastructure damage in Los Cabos from hurricane Odile in 2014. IMPLAN Los Cabos

Among the recommendations, green solutions are emphasized, providing long-term social, environmental and economic benefits –not only to businesses, but also to the tourist destination and its inhabitants.

As mentioned by Dr. Rafael del Villar, advisor to the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) at the event: “This guide will help make the tourism sector in the country more competitive; it will do so by reducing the cost of investment through actions of risk mitigation and reduction, and also by facilitating that these investments are in line with the growing demand for environmentally friendly tourism.”

Guide cover. GIZ-ADAPTUR.

The presentation took place within the framework of the ADAPTUR project on November 13, 2020, with the participation of around one hundred people with a high level of influence, including executives from 40 leading investment companies, developers and consulting firms in the sector, as well as the National Tourism Promotion Fund (FONATUR), the Resident Directorate of GIZ in Mexico, the General Directorate of Climate Change Policies (DGPCC) at SEMARNAT, the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC), the Bank of Mexico and representatives of the state and municipal governments of Guanajuato, Nayarit, Jalisco and Quintana Roo –among others.

The document is available for download at ADAPTUR (in spanish) and in english click here.

For the first time, these reports offer economic figures of what it would mean to lose natural capital (beaches, reefs, jungles, forests, etc.) and the services they provide (water, protection, scenic beauty, etc.) for tourism businesses in San Miguel de Allende, the Riviera Nayarit-Jalisco and the Riviera Maya.

Cover of the report for Riviera Maya. GIZ-ADAPTUR

Likewise, it estimates the annual losses associated with the direct impact of climate change on buildings (hotels) and supporting infrastructure (roads, hospitals, airports, etc.).

To cite one example, if San Miguel de Allende does not carry out adaptation actions, it is estimated that by 2030 it could face an annual economic risk between $10.28 – $17.11 million dollars, considering that the scarcity of water as well as floods present the highest risks for the operation of businesses.

Damages from Hurricane Kena in Puerto Vallarta in 2002. Vallarta Opina.

Among the recommendations for destinations, the design and implementation of a policy has been proposed, for the comprehensive management of water; the restoration of reefs, sea grasses, beaches and forests; and the creation of cooperative alliances between the public and private sectors to promote adaptation to climate change.

Additionally, the digital platform Economic Risk Information System (SIRE-ADAPTUR) was designed, which presents the results of the reports. The interactive tool to evaluate the cost of water production, and an extensive collection of geographic and climatic maps (location of properties, risk map, climate change scenarios, and distribution of natural assets –among others), aim at supporting decision-making for resilient tourism development.

The reports were published in October 2020 and were elaborated by the consulting companies E-blocks S.A. de C.V. and ERN Evaluación de Riesgos Naturales, in collaboration with 60 hotel companies, local environmental and tourism authorities, academic experts, civil society and members of the ADAPTUR project.

They are available for download at the following link: SIRE (eblocks.mx)

SIRE-ADAPTUR platform: GIZ-ADAPTUR.