There is a growing segment of tourists in Mexico who are not interested in expensive vacation spots that have been visited by millions of travelers. Environmentally minded tourists want to not only see unspoiled areas of this world on which we live, but they want to be part of helping to preserve it. With Mexico’s current focus firmly on environmental protection and restoration, now is the time – while prices on huge tracts of land are still relatively low – to invest in eco-tourism in Mexico, and especially in the State of Yucatan.

Unfortunately, it is easier to dream that one might like to get involved with eco-tourism than to actually do it. The greatest stumbling block to investing in eco-tourism in Mexico is knowing where to look for property. Mexico is a big country and future eco-tourism hot spots are not always easy to find… except in the State of Yucatan.

The Office of the Secretary of Fishing and Rural Development of the State of Yucatan has developed a comprehensive set of maps detailing the locations of many different types of rural vocations – and eco-tourism just happens to be one of them. The map showing the locations of current eco-tourism activity can be found here. Areas marked in green are the first areas in which to look for land for future eco-tourism projects.

Eco-tourism in the State of Yucatan, as shown on the map, is based on the beaches and in the southern and eastern forests. This means tourists can watch, and even participate in, conservation efforts aimed at ensuring that baby turtles make it safely to the sea, that data are collected on millions of banded flamingos, or that habitat for birds, jaguars, and other forest animals is protected. Providing the means for tourists to vacation “in” nature, rather than passing by it in a tour bus, is where successful eco-tourism is headed and should be a primary concern for all investors in this sector of the Mexican real estate market.

As an added bonus, a national highway project is building a brand new highway across the southern section of the State of Yucatan, linking it with the Caribbean coast. As reported in Yucatan Living, work on the highway has already begun and, within three short years, will connect all of the southern part of Yucatan with the Mayan Riviera and Cancun. Those who invest in eco-tourism in the State of Yucatan now will, without a doubt, be able to complete the development of their properties in time for the new Southern Highway to open sometime in in 2010.

The State of Yucatan, the center state on the Yucatan Peninsula, is unlike any other place in the world. There, eco-tourists can experience the environment as it has existed for thousands of years, be touched by the ancient, but still functioning Mayan civilization, then slip into nearby Merida for dinner in a 5-star restaurant and, perhaps, a performance by the world famous Symphony Orchestra of Yucatan. Eco-tourism, in the State of Yucatan, is – and will continue to be – a sound real estate investment.

Visit a map of the current eco-tourism hot spots in the State of Yucatan.