Using Storytelling to Promote Sustainability Practices at a Destination
Case Study: Mexico Tourism Board
In Brief
Mexico Tourism Board enlisted the support of GLP Films to spotlight responsible and sustainable tourism brands, hotels, and operators within the diverse destination of Mexico. In order to highlight best practices across the country, GLP produced a series of short-films ranging from luxury travel in the Yucatan Peninsula to community-based tourism in small mountainous villages:
- Community Tours Sian Ka'an: Mayans Staying Sustainable for the Future
- Hacienda Chichen Indigenous Mayan Communities Embracing Sustainable
- Pueblos Mancomunados: Community-Based Tourism
- Mayakoba Resort: A Luxury Resort With Foundation in Ecology
- Finca Argovia: Indigenous Communities Brewing Back-to-Basics Coffee
our solution
GLP Films helped Mexico Tourism Board identify the best sustainability stories across the country to be featured in the series of films. GLP offered guidance in storytelling, story selection, and sustainability to ensure the authenticity of the final product. Documentary-style storytelling was used to give viewers insight into the complex process of creating sustainably-minded tourism products. For example, Mayakoba Resort in Mexico boasts a luxury resort with a unique twist - the resort is built around the natural mangroves in the area, letting ecology dictate the design of the structure. The short-film on Mayakoba highlights the depth of this multi-year sustainable development project, such as the 50 scientists consulted during the design process to create a product unique to not only Mexico but the global community.
results
The series of short-films was showcased at the COP16 Climate Change conference, an event that produced the “most comprehensive and far-reaching international response to climate change (United Nations).” Taking place in Cancun, the conference brought together 12,000 participants from government representatives, NGOs, committed companies and over 1200 accredited members of the media. The films produced by GLP, put Mexico on the global stage as a leader in the sustainable tourism movement.
The short-films have been showcased at over twenty film events across North America, and featured by leading travel media including Travel & Leisure and AFAR.
“In the Fall of 2010, GLP Films visited Mayakoba as part of a mission to showcase environmentally sensitive enterprise in the country. GLP team spent several days here and produced some beautiful footage of the resort. We have used this footage on future occasions and we are delighted to recommend their cinematography as among the best we have seen.”