Partnering with Playa Viva
The Juluchuca Watershed and town are located on a long stretch of beach about 20 miles south of Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo
An exciting partnership is developing in Mexico! In late 2020 we began collaborating with Playa Viva, a boutique hotel located south of the Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo coastal resort area. We were invited by its founder, David Leventhal, and are collaborating with its all-female management team. Playa Viva is a founder of and a leader in the Regenerative Travel movement. Together we have been learning, leveraging mutual strengths, and deepening our shared commitment to a new model for tourism, coastal development, and rural community well-being in Mexico.
Playa Viva represents a more positive approach to tourism than we conventionally find on Mexico’s coasts. In Cabo del Este, unbridled development driven by tourism is perhaps the greatest threat to the community and ecological values of our special region. Typically, coastal tourism in Mexico reflects a government-led “sun and sand” model like Cancun, Ixtapa, Los Cabos, and Huatulco. This model helped catapult Mexico to world leadership in tourism, but has significant limitations. Too often resort towns evidence deep economic inequity, environmental degradation, disappearing traditional communities and culture, and a host of high costs borne by the community.
Playa Viva has an entirely different approach. It works to not only preserve but also restore the abundance of the local ecosystem and improve health, education, economic development and overall community wellbeing. The hotel hires locally first; its 35 local staff are motivated to ensure the hotel not only provides a positive guest experience but also remains a positive force of change in the watershed. Often guests actively partner with or fund community projects during and after their stays at Playa Viva. The resort reinvests its own capital and directs guest to support:
Local environmental conservation - mangrove and coastal lagoon restoration, watershed education and restoration, and an initial fishery health evaluation (with our own Pablo Castro)
Enhanced community services - in-school and extra-curricular support for area youth, support for local teachers and students, and recycling programs
Local economic development - employing and training local residents
Local food systems - a permaculture program and test farm that demonstrates earth-friendly agricultural methods, trains local farmers, and opens sales channels to new market opportunities
Playa Viva is at the forefront of the emerging trend for hospitality companies to be measured not just by being sustainable but also by challenging them to be regenerative, as recently reported in the New York Times. We are proud to be drawing upon Playa Viva and Regenerative Travel’s experience to support and inspire the emergence of new coastal tourism business models in Cabo del Este and Baja California Sur, while helping Playa Viva deepen the impact they are achieving in their own watershed.
A powerful, collaborative partnership with some of Mexico’s most interesting social impact innovators is emerging from LegacyWorks’ convenings with Playa Viva, and we look forward to sharing more about these efforts in the coming months. For now, we leave you with thought-provoking content from Playa Viva, Regenerative Travel and this whitepaper on the principles of regenerative travel.