CALL: Coast of Oaxaca and Chiapas; A Sustainable Ecotourism Destination

BlogMarket Ready Model Equipment ' CALL FOR PAPERS: Oaxaca and Chiapas Coast; A Sustainable Ecotourism Destination

What is it?

A Strengthening Program for leaders of social enterprises to position the Coast of Oaxaca and Chiapas, and their Protected Natural Areas, as sustainable destinations for nature tourism.

Who are we looking for?

Private and community ecotourism and adventure tourism companies (cooperatives or organizations) that:

  • Operate tourist activities within any of the following Protected Natural Areas:
    • Lagunas de Chacahua National Park.
    • Mexican Turtle Center: La Escobilla Beach Sanctuary and Morro Ayuta Beach Sanctuary - Barra de la Cruz.
    • Huatulco National Park.
    • La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve.
    • Puerto Arista Sanctuary.
  • Generate social and environmental benefits through the implementation of sustainable practices, or with a willingness to incorporate them.
  • Its tourism products promote cultural or environmental aspects of the region.
  • Willingness and commitment to participate in the program that will last approximately half a year (2021), and to share and replicate the capacities generated in the destination.

What benefits do participants receive?

  • Tools and capabilities to strengthen your company in four areas: commercial, operational, business and sustainable practices.
  • Connection with new commercial allies to promote your company and the Destination Costa Oaxaca-Chiapas.
  • Advice with specialized experts to prepare your company for the responsible reactivation of tourism, and have access to new markets.
  • Visibility in the media to reach new customers.
  • Integration in the Sustainable Landscapes Project, financed by Conservation International Mexico.

ALLIES:

semarnat conanp logo
SEMARNAT | CONANP
logo conservation international mexico
Conservation International | Mexico
gef mexico logo
gef | Global Environment Facility
monkey hand logo
The Monkey's Hand
logo mexican nature conservation fund
Oaxacan Fund for the Conservation of Nature
market ready model logo
Market Ready Model

Training Program for Trainers Sustainable Destinations and “Market Ready” *

March and April

Module 1

The Great Opportunity of Nature Tourism Are we ready ?: Induction to the Market Ready Model and Sustainable Livelihoods.

Companies will know the key criteria to access high-value markets (Market Ready), identify what they need to improve to connect with specialized high-value channels, visualize the tools and capabilities that they choose to strengthen in the business, operation, marketing and sustainable practices of your company. They will also assess the impacts your business has on the livelihoods of your destination.

May and June

Module 2

Market-Product-Impact Alignment:

The participants will align their current and potential market needs, the needs in the development of their tourism products and the current and desired impacts on the livelihoods of their destinations.

May and June

Module 2

Prototyping and validation of tourist experiences

Skills will be developed to create and validate prototypes with real clients, to learn quickly and make more efficient their investment of time, efforts and money in strengthening their business model with sustainable practices in the destination.

July and August

Module 3

Market Ready Finance

Participants will have basic tools to evaluate their business finances and make decisions based on them.

July and August

Module 3

Closing the Market Ready gap in the Costa de Oaxaca and Chiapas Destination

Participants will fill specific and important gaps to be “Market Ready” in areas of business, operations, marketing or sustainable practices.

July and August

Module 4

Marketing of experiences through direct channels.

Participants will have their marketing plan ready to build direct sales channels in their companies and tools to measure its effectiveness.

July and August

Module 4

Marketing of experiences through direct channels.

Participants will have their marketing plan ready to build indirect sales channels (through business partners) and tools to measure its effectiveness.

Sep.

Meeting of Experiences

Harvest of “Market Ready” learning and connection with the Media.

The destination companies will share their experiences on the challenges and learnings of the Training of Trainers process and will connect with the Media to give visibility to their companies and the destination.

* The Program is subject to change to align with the needs of the group based on its Market Ready Profile.

How to take part

Apply to this call. Deadline: February 13, 2021.

[1.] Fill out the form at the bottom of this page

[2.] Enter the page: https://marketreadytourism.org/autoevaluacion/ and complete the Market Ready Model Self-Assessment using this code: mktrdy-2010-103-costaoax

Selection of participants: In February a Committee will select 12 companies to participate in the Training of Trainers Program. The results will be announced by email. Each company will designate two people to attend the four modules of the Program with the commitment to carry out activities to strengthen their company and share experiences with their key allies.

Strengthening Program: Each company will designate two people to attend the four modules of the Program with the commitment to carry out activities to strengthen their company and share experiences with their key allies.

Meeting of Experiences:

A space to share the results generated during the Program, learnings and next steps to strengthen the coast of Oaxaca and Chiapas as a sustainable and “Market Ready” ecotourism destination. We will invite the media and destination managers The perfect opportunity to trigger changes!

Frequent questions:

How much? This Program is financed by Conservation International Mexico, so the participating companies must only cover their transportation expenses (transportation, lodging, food) to the places where the Strengthening Program is carried out. Market Ready. Each module will take place in a different place on the Oaxaca-Chiapas coast.

How much time should be devoted to the Program? One full day in person during the months of March, May and July; and approximately 3 days a month for 6 months to apply tools that will strengthen your company. Also a couple of days in September to attend the Meeting of Experiences.

What happens if I don't complete the entire Program? We will ask the selected companies to sign a letter of commitment at the beginning. In order for you to take advantage of the tools and experts included in the Program, you must complete the Modules and attend the Meeting; If you don't, you will miss out on the opportunity to boost your company's market and the entire destination.

How are you going to select the companies? Through a Committee made up of key allies from various institutions and organizations, using some previously established criteria to ensure that companies are committed to the process, the environment and society.

About the project:

In 2018 the project "Sustainable Landscapes Oaxaca-Chiapas" began as a collaboration between the Mexican Commission of Protected Natural Areas (CONANP), Conservation International Mexico (CI Mexico), and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). ). The project seeks to establish a difference with what has been done so far in terms of biodiversity conservation in Mexico by integrating the economic perspective into integrated management in three landscapes of great biological diversity and that provide a multitude of ecosystem services: the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, the Sierra Sur and the Isthmus of Oaxaca and the South Pacific Coast of Oaxaca and Chiapas.

Integrated landscape management involves collaboration between multiple stakeholders in order to achieve biodiversity conservation, promotion of sustainable practices and improvements in the social and economic conditions of local communities. The project emphasizes productive landscapes and their associations to the market, especially in the corridors that link Protected Areas. This is the case of the Oaxaca-Chiapas Coast, in which the vast majority of nature tourism companies on the Chiapas and Oaxaca Coast operate within a Protected Natural Area or in its area of influence.

In this context, the project “Training of Trainers for the Cultivation of Sustainable Destinations and Market Ready® in the Coast of Oaxaca and Chiapas GEF Sustainable Landscapes Project ”with the aim of develop, market and responsibly promote new tourism products in the region, with sustainability criteria and a market approach, through the Market Ready model® and the methodology of Cultivation of Sustainable Destinations.

What is Market Ready?

An international methodology to create certainty and organize the nature tourism sector. It focuses on responding to market needs, is oriented to the design of high-value tourism experiences and is structured to generate positive impacts on sustainable livelihoods of local communities associated with Protected Natural Areas. It is implemented following 4 steps:

  1. Market Ready Assessment: to define the profile of the companies and the destination from a market perspective
  2. Market-Product Alignment: Current and target market, competitive analysis and ideal customer profile. Co-design, prototyping and validation of experiences.
  3. Development of the experience: Strengthening of capacities, equipment for the operation of the experience.
  4. Marketing of experiences: Creation of commercial alliances, marketing to target markets, media and public relations.
What is the Cultivation of Destinations?

A program aimed at strengthening specialized capacities in leaders of nature destinations that focuses on creating the right conditions for social enterprises and managers to promote sustainable tourism.

The Cultivation of Sustainable Destinations seeks to develop four strategic areas:

  • Community of undertakings: intensifying the sense of community between companies and managers of the destination.
  • Connection with the value chain: favoring personal and professional connections between key actors within the destination's value chain. 
  • Strengthening specialized capacities in companies and managers: providing tools that allow them to access and respond professionally to markets and promote landscape management. 
  • Access to key resources: providing opportunities and key resources for social enterprises and destination managers.

In case of doubts, contact us by email: natalia@lamanodelmono.org