Cruise Industry Players Team Up to Protect Cozumel

The government of Mexico, the cruise industry and tourism organizations launched an initiative to preserve the biodiversity of Cozumel, Mexico, by increasing cruise tourism sustainability practices.

Calling Cozumel the world’s most-visited cruise destination, and one with some of the most endangered biodiversity on the planet, Conservation International, along with Cozumel’s Dept. of Tourism and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, on behalf of its cruise line members, said it had signed the Mesoamerican Reef Tourism Initiative (MARTI).

With the goal to “strike the right balance between tourism and conserving the environment it depends on,” Seleni Matus, the MARTI advisor for Conservation International, said that “Maintaining the health of Cozumel’s natural assets is vital not only to global biodiversity but also to the island’s economic health and stability and the well-being of its inhabitants.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Cozumel’s cruise industry participants will enhance environmental awareness and education of cruise ship passengers, tour operators, service providers and the local community, and will improve island management of tourism infrastructure, including improving island traffic and waste management.

In the same breath, they will foster increased protection for Cozumel’s reef system and will promote consistent application and enforcement of laws and regulation.

In 2006, Cozumel had 1,058 cruise ship dockings, bringing approximately 2.6 million visitors to the island, Conservation International said. On peak days, up to nine cruise ships call at the island, which can bring more than 10,000 visitors in one day. The rapid growth in cruise tourism has put greater pressure on environmental resources.

Cozumel is part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, one of the world’s most endangered reefs, Conservation International said.