The National Fund for Tourism Development (Fonatur), the Ministry of Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation (Secihti), the Rosario Castellanos National University (UNRC) and UNESCO opened the “Community Tourism Meeting: Research, Innovation and Community Networks,” designed to link science and academia with public management and the work of service providers across the country.
The Director General of Fonatur, Sebastián Ramírez Mendoza, underlined the need to transform the tourism industry into a knowledge- science-based sector, and called on the academic community to recognize the strategic value of research in this field.
… it is an industry of such dimension and impact in our country that it needs to be linked to the production of knowledge (…) That is why we must ensure that tourism increasingly becomes an industry based on knowledge and science, and that science gets to know the industry better.
Sebastián Ramírez Mendoza, director general of Fonatur.
Ramírez Mendoza identified three core challenges for advancing community tourism: a stage of close interaction among researchers, authorities, and community service providers, which this first Meeting at UNRC seeks to address; generating in-depth knowledge to understand the social and environmental impacts of the activity and apply continuous improvements; and exporting this innovation model to Latin America and beyond, to consolidate Mexico’s leadership as a benchmark for ethical and sustainable tourism.
Secihti’s Undersecretary of Science and Humanities, Violeta Vázquez-Rojas, reported that the Government of Mexico is supporting 53 research projects conducted at 30 institutions to strengthen community tourism, productive development, training, and the social economy. These projects aim to generate useful knowledge to address national priorities and contribute to community well-being.
Vázquez-Rojas explained that 33 of these projects are present at the Meeting and work directly with fishing communities, cooperatives, tourism collectives, producers, and service providers from different regions of the country. They include initiatives in the Gulf of California, the Mixtec region, the Ek Balam archaeological site, Cofre de Perote National Park, the Sierra Negra of Puebla, and the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, which is also home to its World Heritage site, as well as projects with traditional cooks and mezcal and coffee producers.
One of the Meeting’s main goals is to advance the National Research Network for Strengthening Community Tourism by bringing together academic institutions, authorities, and service providers.
UNRC Rector Alma Herrera Márquez highlighted the University’s commitment to working hand in hand with people and leaving behind classrooms disconnected from reality. Together with the Ministries of Education and Tourism, the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas and Fonatur, the University has created a diploma course in community tourism and promoted field projects in places such as La Magdalena Contreras and Tlalpan, in Mexico City.
UNESCO continues to support Mexico’s national community tourism policy, whose value was reaffirmed by Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, through a decree that declared community tourism an activity of public interest and national priority in March 2026.
Since signing an agreement with the Ministry of Tourism, which launched a series of training sessions with groups and communities in nine Mexican states and led to the National Guide to Community Tourism Experiences, UNESCO has provided technical support to Mexican authorities.
