The Mayakoba resort is a luxury development located south of Cancun in Mexico’s pristine Riviera Maya that has received recognized by the Rainforest Alliance for its outstanding advancements in sustainable tourism. It is the first time this organization has ever honored a tourism destination.  Mayakoba earned this impressive distinction thanks to continued efforts by the resort complex to institute a wide range of water and energy saving practices, as well as a number of other sustainability policies and procedures, including promotions that encourage visits to local communities.

Andres Pan de Soraluce of OHL Development, stated, “We have been working with the Rainforest Alliance since 2010 to comply with the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria’s internationally recognized recommendations for socially, environmentally and economically sustainable tourism, and we encourage other tourism properties in Mexico to do the same.”

The Mayakoba resort complex, just north of Playa del Carmen real estate, actually consists of three independently owned resorts, the Fairmont Mayakoba, Rosewood Mayakoba and Banyan Tree Mayakoba.  The development has done a remarkable job of combining luxury and comfort with the natural environment, at the same time putting a strong emphasis on sustainability and eco-friendly initiatives. The property is surrounded by an amazing ecosystem that has served as the focus of the project throughout its development, with great care given to maintaining the surrounding landscape and wildlife, which is essential to achieving the vision of sustainability that the entire Mayakoba project was founded on.

The Mexico Ministry of Tourism is also working with the Rainforest Alliance to support its efforts to educate the business owners and the general public throughout southern Mexico about the concept of adopting sustainable tourism initiatives. At this time, more than 30 hotels and resorts throughout Quintana Roo, Campeche and the Yucatan Peninsula have already initiated socially and environmentally sustainable practices after holding training sessions with representatives from the Rainforest Alliance.