Planeta.com Conferences

Re-Imagining Mexico Ecotourism Conference
Resumes September 2002

Click here to visit the Yahoo Groups archive.

Planeta.com | Site Map | Events | World Travel | Mexico | Mexico News | Mexico Books | Mexico Ecotourism Network | Re-imagining Mexico Ecotourism Conference

In order to facilitate the networking of professionals working to improve ecotourism in North America, Planeta.com will reconvene the Re-Imagining Ecotourism in the Americas Conference which originally took place in May 2000. The conference resumes the last week of September to commemorate World Tourism Day during the International Year of Ecotourism. One of the products of will be a review of official tourism portals' coverage of ecotourism on a country-by-country basis.
Participants in the Re-Imagining Mexico Ecotourism Conference are invited to register for the larger Re-Imagining North America Ecotourism Conference. Register by sending a blank email to na_ecotourism-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or register online
>> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/na_ecotourism

History

The ground-breaking Re-Imagining Mexico Ecotourism Conference was the first online conference to focus specifically on ecotourism in Mexico. The event took advantage of the synergies among professionals, particularly among local operators, officials, travel writers and agents. Ecotourism -- see our definitions page -- is a novel means by which tourism can benefit local communities and the environment.

More than 100 people registered for the first stage of this event. Participants discussed the status of ecotourism in Mexico as well as the perception of this niche in the domestic and international arenas. Participants also developed pecific proposals to make improvements. More than 90 messages were posted and highlights have been edited for a summary document.

What was accomplished

1) We held this conference!

While it was an exhausting week, it was a great honor for Planeta.com to host such an event and participants were able to take part even though they live great distances from each other. Participants registered from the following countries: Canada, England, Guatemala, Ireland, Mexico, Pakistan, Thailand and the United States. Mexico was represented by participants living in Durango, Mexico City, Quintana Roo and the Yucatan. And, not surprisingly, there was a good deal of interaction with Mexicans living abroad.

2) First-hand information was shared.

Mexican travel operators -- from agencies, hotels and the national ecotourism association -- took the opportunity to discuss the development of ecotourism in their country. Journalists, travel agents and students from other countries provided their own experiences and views on how Mexican tourism is viewed from abroad.

Future Plans

Planeta.com will host additional online conferences and maintain the Mexican tourism mailing lists via the Red Mexicana de Ecoturismo. We are also developing resources for the International Year of Ecotourism.

Conference Guide:

Yahoo Groups Archive
- Conference participants have complete access to the archives.

Participants
- The participant list is culled from the introductory messages.

Sponsors
- Kudos to our co-sponsors: Amtave, Canyon Travel and Greenbuilder.com.

References
- For the past five years Planeta.com has published in-depth articles about Mexican ecotourism. Here are a few articles that serve as useful references.

Making the most of this conference
- Online conferencing is relatively new. Here we present strategies for conference participants

A word about the conference format

The conference was open to professionals (from the tourism industry, government, journalism or academic fields) with at least two years of experience. Participants were asked to introduce themselves, discuss current practices and develop creative strategies. Messages in English or Spanish were welcome. Posts were moderated to avoid repetition and to keep the conference on topic (focusing on Mexican ecotourism).

Preparation

Participants were asked to prepare the following:

1) A short introduction.
This should be your very first message. Please give your name, affiliation, a short summary of your experience in this field and a web address (URL) where readers can find out more about your work. Please be brief -- no more than 500 words. A directory will be created from this data and posted online during the conference.

2) A status report of current ecotourism practices or perceptions.
Professionals working in this field have plenty of first-hand experience. Share a few anecdotes about the current state of Mexican ecotourism by providing a thumb-nail sketch of what is and is not working.

3) Three questions you would like to have answered in this conference.
The questions will be posted online as well as the answers.

4) A proposal for specific actions or networking that would improve Mexican ecotourism.
Feel free to email colleagues and produce a joint proposal.

Registering For This Conference

To view the archives, you need to register for the Re-Imagining Mexico Ecotourism Conference. Send a blank email to reimagining_mexico-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and you will automatically be subscribed. You can also register by visiting the conference archives online Yahoo Groups: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/reimagining_mexico. There is no fee to register. Conferencing took place from September 4-8, 2000 and no additional discussion is taking place on this particular list.

Conference Program

The Re-Imagining Mexico Ecotourism Conference took place online the Internet from September 4-8, 2000. We also offered the following special programs for those in Mexico City:

September 4 - Internet Workshop, 1-2pm
Lafoel Internet Service, Donceles 80 and Calle Brasil

September 5 - Internet Workshop, 1-2pm
Lafoel Internet Service, Donceles 80 and Calle Brasil

September 8 - Gathering/Lunch, 3-5pm
Plaza de Artesanias Xochicalco, Plaza San Juan (Centro Historico, between Ernesto Pugibet and Ayuntamiento and across from the San Juan Market and the Torre Telmex)

Also, each morning from 9-9:30am, Mexico City time, we took part in a morning online chat!

PLANETA.COM GUIDES

The award-winning Planeta.com website has a number of resources online for professionals interested in Mexican ecotourism. We also sponsor a number of mailing lists.

Book: Mexico: Adventures in Nature
Mexico Travel Services
Exploring Mexico City -
Exploring Ecotourism in the Americas Resource Guide
Mexico Ecotourism Network/Red Mexicana de Ecoturismo

>> http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/mexico/re-imagining/mexico2000.html