Tourism and Recreation

This goal captures the quantity and quality of experiences that people have when visiting coastal and marine areas.

CORE DEFINITION

Focus: Value that people derive from experiencing and enjoying coastal areas
Not about: Revenue or livelihoods generated by tourism (covered under Livelihoods and Economies)
Emphasis: Personal and cultural value of coastal recreation experiences

Key Questions

How (ideally) do we measure the quantity and quality of people’s experience from visiting coastal areas?
How do we define the reference point?
How do we incorporate sustainability into the assessment?

Examples of reference points from other OHI assessments:

Reference Point Type	Example
Government-defined objectives	Increase tourism by 20% by 2050
Local preferences +	Desire for quiet vs. busy beaches
Carrying capacity	Maximize tourism relative to carrying capacity
Stable tourism levels	No net losses or gains in tourism over time
Tourist density comparisons	Compare tourists/km² with other regions

+ Often a policy tension: governments promote tourism for jobs, while communities experience social and environmental impacts

These are some of the points discussed by the Expert Working Group.

Tourism Types Mentioned:

Massive Tourism:
Large-scale government-promoted developments
Community Tourism:
Includes efforts like:
- Resilience MPAs with island communities
- CONAP collaboration
- Guaymas community-led initiatives
Ecotourism:
Even NGO-led efforts can cause unintended harm

Key Issues Identified:

Government Promotion: Strong push for large-scale tourism throughout the Gulf
Environmental Regulation: Weak regulation, especially around beach development
Community Impact:
- Need to balance economic benefits (e.g., jobs) with environmental and social costs
- Highlight alternatives to mass tourism

Additional Considerations: