Mexico has become a tourism powerhouse, with an impressive 9.4 percent jump in international visitors this past year. This brings the total to over 32 million arrivals, making Mexico the ninth most visited country in the world and the second most visited country in North America after the United States, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
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The rise in Mexico’s international popularity is due to the efforts of the Fondo Nacional de Fomento al Turismo, the Mexican government’s tourism investment arm, which is a national fund for tourism development. Fonatur was created in 1974 to invest in (and incentivize the development of) new infrastructure, hotels and other tourism-related businesses in designated regions throughout the country. These projects are known as integrally planned resort centers.
First, the agency identifies an intrinsically desirable area for the creation of a tourism zone. Then it develops a master-planned community, including a residential section for permanent residents complete with schools, hospitals and markets and a tourist area with hotels, shopping centers and golf courses. In many cases there are also protected zones for ecological conservation where no development can take place.
At the moment, Fonatur has six areas designated as integrally planned resort centers across Mexico: Cancún, Ixtapa, Los Cabos, Loreto, Nayarit and Huatulco. Of the six resort centers, Cancún and Los Cabos are the most popular tourist destinations and clearly the furthest along with the execution of their community master-development plans.
Based on the success of Cancún and Los Cabos, the Mexican government recognized the huge potential of its other master planned tourist communities, particularly Huatulco. As a result, the Mexican government and Fonatur have committed a considerable amount of resources to the development of the Huatulco area, including $1.4 billion for infrastructure improvements. They have also established an inter-institutional agreement that has government entities on the federal, state and local levels working to stimulate tourism growth in the area.
Huatulco, which was formerly called Bahías de Huatulco, has a population of 50,000 and is situated on Mexico’s Pacific coast in the state of Oaxaca about an hour south of Mexico City by plane. This master planned tourist community has a total area of about 50,000 acres, with 90 percent set aside for ecological conservation and the remaining 10 percent being developed for tourism and residential communities.
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Huatulco has more of a small town feel than other tourist hotspots in this country like Cancún and Los Cabos, making it more appealing for retirees and expats seeking a more authentic experience. The area, situated at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains, features a series of natural bays, small coves and 36 white-sand beaches that span 20 miles of Mexico’s Pacific coastline.
Huatulco is divided into four districts: Tangolunda, Santa Cruz, La Crucecita and Chahué. Tangolunda (also known as the “hotel zone”) is where most of the area’s luxury resorts are based. Just inland from the beach areas is La Crucecita, Huatulco’s main town, where you find amenities such as grocery stores, pharmacies and restaurants. In Santa Cruz, just south of La Crucecita, is a large pier where cruise ships dock and a marina. Between three and six cruise ships arrive per month during the high season. This area also features small shops, restaurants and bars that cater to the visiting cruise ship passengers. Chahué, between Tangolunda and Santa Cruz, is home to the most popular beaches in Huatulco, as well as an 86-slip marina with a beach club that’s open to the public.
Huatulco is an extremely eco-friendly community. It was awarded the Green Globe certification as a sustainable tourist area, the first location in the Americas to receive this recognition. Huatulco’s energy is wind-driven, and all the hotels, restaurants and nightclubs operate on renewable energy. The area is served by a state-of-the-art water and sewage plant that minimizes the waste and pollutants that find their way to the ocean.
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When Fonatur first started developing Huatulco in 1985, the goal was to create another tourism destination similar to that of Cancún, albeit an eco-friendlier version. Huatulco has yet to reach the level of success experienced in Cancún, which is one of most successful tourism development efforts the world has ever seen. However, according to government hotel occupancy statistics released in May 2016, Huatulco has been able to achieve occupancy levels of almost 65 percent, compared with 79 percent in Cancún.
As the Mexican government continues to make the investments in Huatulco, tourism might further increase. This might increase demand for rental units and increase housing values. However, property prices have not yet spiked, and you could own a home in the sun in Huatulco for as little as $150,000.
Kathleen Peddicord is the founder of the Live and Invest Overseas publishing group.
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Mexico’s New Retirement Destination: Huatulco originally appeared on usnews.com
