- Innovative Tools for encouraging Tourism sustainable Development in Mexico: Litibu, State of Nayarit, Mexico    402 kb by    Aldape, Guadalupe | guadalupe_aldape@hotmail.com    Short Outline The FONATUR approach for launching a new tourist resort on the northwest coast of Mexico comprises a new punctual and conservative strategic vision which encounters local involvement, market competition and environmental awareness. Abstract This paper will analyse the extent to which innovative tools for fostering tourism sustainable development have evolved during a lifespan of 35 years in Mexico. It will make a comparison between two strategic tendencies that FONATUR has implemented. It will show how far new components of the planning process such as public participation and local initiatives as well as environmental concerns have modified the previous vision and how efficient is the new vision intended to be. Since 1970´s tourism sustainable development on the coasts of Mexico has been supported by Planning Agency FONATUR. FONATUR (National Trust Fund for Tourist Development) collaborates closely with the Ministry of Tourism. During the 1970s and 1980s FONATUR focused solely on one type of strategy: tourism promotion on regions that lacked important settlements, showed characteristics of severe poverty, abandonment and were in great need of major economic activities. Thereafter FONATUR has developed five Integral Resorts namely Cancun, Los Cabos, Ixtapa, Huatulco and Loreto. In these regions, FONATUR has become main facilitator of the development process. Whilst it has supported local government, it has also supervised and subsidised private investment. FONATUR has participated in a variety of actions that comprise fund raising, acquisition of land, site development design and construction, promotion of urbanised plots of land and recovery of funds to pay back public debt. Nevertheless in the beginning of the XXI century, FONATUR has bet on a new strategy for tourism promotion. This time the attention has turned to the state of Nayarit, north of Puerto Vallarta, west coast of Mexico. In this project, FONATUR intends to take a secondary -perhaps conservative- role in the development process. The goals have not changed nonetheless investment and risks have been diminished. FONATUR still supports local authorities. Though it focuses on punctual sites and actions. FONATUR invests on urban works, however main airport and cruise premises already serve on the site. FONATUR has developed a tourism golf cluster called Litibu which integrates itself as a new competitor in an existing market. More rigid environmental limitations and the voice of local groups, reduce the spacious room FONATUR once had for tourism development on Mexican coasts. Keywords Development strategy Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2007: Urban Trialogues   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper