FYI - Forwarding an email from Desi Rollo-- desirollo@laplayadelcarmen.com -- as
it sounds interesting. I have no other knowledge or background about this
website. - Ron
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEB SITE SPARKS INTERNATIONAL CONTROVERSY OVER TOURISM IN MEXICO
(WWW.LAPLAYADELCARMEN.COM)
16 September 1999
DATELINE--México D.F., México
In celebration of México's Day of Independence, la Colectiva para el
Desarollo Sostenible de México (the Collective for the Sustainable
Development of México) has produced a new World Wide Web site that
confronts the worsening ecological and social situation in the Mexican
state of Quintana Roo.
This unique and entertaining Web site, www.laplayadelcarmen.com, is
designed to inform both international tourists and other interested parties
on the state of affairs in the areas south of Cancún.
"Polluted Beaches Don't Sell."
La Playa del Carmen.com highlights the increasing numbers of both
exclusively foreign-owned business and large resorts in an area that was
once a source of income to small and mid-sized Mexican-owned businesses.
La Playa del Carmen.com also details the ongoing destruction of the
"Riviera Maya'"s single greatest resource: it's natural environment,
without which, the region's tourism industry is doomed to collapse.
Over 21,000 new hotel rooms will be added to the region in the next decade
and most developers admit they have not obtained permits for their
construction. Local business leaders and environmentalists warn that it may
already be too late to undo the damage done.
Local Corruption and World-Class Condominiums
Using financial figures, published transcripts and interviews from sources
such as the Wall Street Journal, La Jornada, Quintana Roo's Por Esto!, the
United Nations Human Rights office and the World Tourism Organization, La
Playa del Carmen.com paints a gripping picture of a Mexican community in
the throes of a painful transition.
Visitors to La Playa del Carmen.com learn about the disappearance of
Mexican restaurants in La Playa del Carmen and the shift away from local
artisans in the retail sector.
La Playa del Carmen.com also identifies some of the culprits responsible
for this latest "saqueo" and degradation of México's national patrimony.
Making Unmanaged Tourism An International Issue
Written in a friendly and casual tone and illustrated with colorful
photographs of Playa del Carmen, La Playa del Carmen.com is sure to be
viewed by hundreds of thousands of potential tourists from around the world
over the course of the next year. The WWW site has already been registered
with 18 of the world's top search engines and will include sections in
Spanish, Italian and German in the coming months.
La Playa del Carmen.com is the first WWW site to discuss the social,
ecological and economic impact of tourism on the so-called "Riviera Maya"
region of the Yucatán peninsula in México. It is also the first
travel-specific cyber-activism site.
La Playa del Carmen.com was created by the Collective for the Sustainable
Development of México (CDSM) to serve as a friendly guide to ethical
shopping for tourists everywhere and as a wake-up call to Mexicans who may
not realize what is happening to their natural resources and national
fortunes as a result of clandestine transactions and unscrupulous
development.
Sustainable Tourism is the Only Future
La Playa del Carmen.com provides tourists with easy-to-use checklists for
making sure that their visit to Playa del Carmen and the entire so-called
"Riviera Maya" will help bring prosperity and justice to the residents of
Quintana Roo.
Some of the suggestions made to tourists who wish to visit La Playa del
Carmen.com include shopping locally-owned and operated businesses, eating
local cuisine, not buying all-inclusive vacation packages that reroute
tourist spending away from local workers into the pockets of foreign
companies, keeping a respectful distance from ecologically sensitive areas
and keeping an open mind about the host culture.
To learn more about La Playa del Carmen.com, please visit the WWW site:
www.laplayadelcarmen.com
or contact La Colectiva para el Desarollo Sostenible de México:
e-mail:
prensa@laplayadelcarmen.com
telephone:
(52) 55 18 82 48 México City, México
(415) 789-8383 San Francisco, USA
mailing address:
A.P. M-2246
Mexico D.F. 06002
MEXICO
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