Mexico and particularly the region of the Sea of Cortes have the highest potential to impel the nautical tourism. On the one hand, their proximity with the enormous potential market of the west of the American Union, and by the other, their vast natural and marine resources provide them with an extraordinary vocation for tourism. The Sea of Cortes constitutes, without a doubt, one of the regions of greater nautical-tourist potential on world-wide scale, which confers competitive advantages to him that must be taken advantage of.

At the present time important opportunities appear to impel their development:

• The growth of the nautical tourism depends to a great extent on the economic strength of the emitting countries. In that sense, the United States will continue consolidating like one of the strongest economies of the world.
• The nautical industry of the United States is determined to continue with its plans of expansion, reason why they set out to recover his historical growth, of the order of 4% to annual 6%, in the next years (Big Boat Bull Market Drives Marine Business in 1997. National Marine Manufacturers Association).
• The west coast marinas of the United States, particularly of California, are saturated or very near their saturation and are insufficient to take care of the growth of the market. That unsatisfied demand can be taken care of in Mexico to count on the conditions that facilitate the internment and permanence of the boats.
• The main potential market of greater boats is conformed by the boats of 30’ to 55’ of length, which faces limitations to sail great distances, due to its smaller autonomy.

In Mexico the nautical tourism is still an incipient activity, due to the lack of regional and nautical infrastructure, particularly in the mid region of the Baja California Peninsule, that facilitates the internment of boats, combined to the lack of information and certainty in the proceedings. Altogether, these factors are translated in conditions of insecurity and distrust that discourage nautical tourists.

In order to take care of this situation and to detonate the gradual growth and sharp of the nautical tourism in the region, and to contribute this way to the fortification of the competitive capacity of the country, reorienting the efforts towards an integral advantage of the tourist potential, FONATUR with their experience like precursory organism of the tourism planned in Mexico, decided to carry out the project Escalera Nautica del Mar de Cortes (referred only as Escalera Nautica), that is oriented to the development of a new product directed towards one of the markets of greater potential world-wide: the nautical tourism.

The Escalera Nautica is a two main stages project, with regional and national perspective, from the advantage of the existing infrastructure and with minimum investments of development, will offer to an integral supply of infrastructure and services of nautical support, aerial wagon and, and will generate synergy and notables multiplying effects of the investment, promoting with this aim the determined participation of the Secretariats of State with attributions in this matter, of the Governments of the States of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora and Sinaloa, of thirteen coastal municipalities in those states, as well as of private investors and the social sector.

Also, it is inserted in the national and sectorial strategies that they persecute to stimulate the regional development, leaning in the participation and initiative of the state and municipal governments and of the deprived sector, to impel programs who tie to the tourist centers with their regions of influence and to extend to the populations the derived benefits, in a frame of integral planning that responds to the social criteria, environmental and economic sustainability.
By all it, it comprises of the strategic projects that the administration of President Vicente Fox has decided to impel, offering all his endorsement to him.

Its beginning represents the opportunity to give a definitive impulse to the tourist activity of Mexico responding to four basic premises that today orient the toursim industry:

• Diversification of the tourist supply
• Impulse to the sustainable regional development
• Low cost with high yield
• Fast implantation

For more information Please consult:

www.escaleranautica.com