Academic trips- Contributing to educate Mexicans who are proud of their country
We contact our students with indigenous communities, with our natural wealth and their own history. In this way, we’ll educate a generation of Mexicans who can be proud of their country and can contribute to improve our country in a meaningful and sustainable way. We work in teams with educational institutions and teachers to take city students to visit those communities who are fighting to preserve their language, their traditions and environment.
On the other hand, communities that are looking for sustainability, whose only source of income are government programs, benefit from these visits because participants provide donations in species, money and labor. They thus learn about ...
About You
Contact Information
Title
Sr
First name
Eric
Last name
Alvarez
Your job title
Director General
Name of your organization
Viajes Académicos Taylor & Piña
Organization type
Business
Annual budget/currency
Annual Budget/Currency
Mailing address
Rio Duero #46. Col. Cuauhtémoc
Telephone number
5255-5533-6154
Postal/Zip Code
06500
Country
Mexico
Email address
Alternative email address
Your idea
This will be the address used to plot your entry on the map.
Street Address
Rio Duero 46
City
México DF
State/Province
Distrito Federal
Postal/Zip Code
06500
Country
Mexico
Geotourism Challenge Addressed by Entrant
quality of tourist experience and educational benefit to tourists , quality of benefit to residents for the destination .
Organization size
Small (1 to 100 employees)
Indicate sector in which you principally work
Tourism-related business
Year innovation began
2001
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Indicate sector in which you principally work
Education.
Name Your Project
Academic trips- Contributing to educate Mexicans who are proud of their country
Describe Your Idea
We contact our students with indigenous communities, with our natural wealth and their own history. In this way, we’ll educate a generation of Mexicans who can be proud of their country and can contribute to improve our country in a meaningful and sustainable way. We work in teams with educational institutions and teachers to take city students to visit those communities who are fighting to preserve their language, their traditions and environment.
On the other hand, communities that are looking for sustainability, whose only source of income are government programs, benefit from these visits because participants provide donations in species, money and labor. They thus learn about ...
IDB/Fomin
Si perteneces a un pais de Latinoamerica y el Caribe tienes la oportunidad de presentar tu iniciativa para acceder a fondos para innovaciones en turismo sostenible del BID/FOMIN (para mayor informacion leer la seccion sobre la oportunidad BID/FOMIN en la pagina principal del Desafio).
Deseo postularme.
Si perteneces a un pais de Latinoamerica y el Caribe tienes la oportunidad de presentar tu iniciativa para acceder a fondos para innovaciones en turismo sostenible del BID/FOMIN (para mayor informacion leer la seccion sobre la oportunidad BID/FOMIN en la pagina principal del Desafio).
Consumidores (viajeros), Prestatarios de servicios turísticos, Prestatarios de servicios no turísticos (proveedores), Grupos comunitarios autóctonos, Atractivos naturales y culturales.
Indica cuales de estas tematicas cubre tu innovacion (elige todas aquellas opciones que apliquen)
Innovación y diversificación en el desarrollo de productos turísticos, Estrategias y herramientas innovadoras para la promoción y puesta en mercado de destinos y productos en turismo sostenible y geoturismo..
Innovation
What is the goal of your innovation? Please describe in one sentence the kind of impact, change, or reform your approach is intended to achieve.
Getting city students closer to our cultural, historical and natural wealth through contact with communities, nature and historical sites.
Please write an overview of your project. Include how your approach supports or embodies geotourism or destination stewardship. This text will appear when people scroll over the icon for your entry on the map located on the competition homepage.
We contact our students with indigenous communities, with our natural wealth and their own history. In this way, we’ll educate a generation of Mexicans who can be proud of their country and can contribute to improve our country in a meaningful and sustainable way. We work in teams with educational institutions and teachers to take city students to visit those communities who are fighting to preserve their language, their traditions and environment.
On the other hand, communities that are looking for sustainability, whose only source of income are government programs, benefit from these visits because participants provide donations in species, money and labor. They thus learn about community tourism.
The indigenous civilizations that lived in Mesoamerica constituted the most impressive empire in the continent, which also was one of the most important of the world at the time in terms of science and extension. We believe that this culture’s greatness has to reemerge soon. Mexico needs an ideological revolution to help this greatness reemerge. If we can help our future leaders to emphasize on the value of belonging to a millenary and powerful culture, we’ll contribute to the ideological revolution that will result in a better country.
Explain in detail why your approach is innovative
It is innovative in three ways:
1) There are diverse organizations that are devoted to preserving values in specific areas. Many of these organizations launch community projects and need advertising and participants. We bring them big groups of people who consume their products and are willing to learn. However, we also support those communities that are not located in touristic sites and therefore have no other means of getting donations or subsidies.
2) While young people generally visit the beach or conventional destinations, we take them to visit places where they can learn and have fun with their friends at the same time. We know that a high school student, for example, will get many different learning experiences after these trips and will look for similar experiences when they can travel independently after graduating from college or constituting a family.
3) We help teachers promote meaningful learning that is related not only to the specific subject they are teaching, but also to educating future leaders who are upright, responsible and proud.
Impact
Describe the degree of success you have had to date. How do you measure, both quantitatively and qualitatively, the impact on sustainability or enhancement of local culture, environment, heritage, or aesthetics? How has it transformed or contributed to the power of place or demonstrated the sustainability of tourism? How does your approach minimize negative impacts?
Quantitatively, the impact is measured by the number of institutions and the total number of people who participate in our trips. We went from having 2 schools and 57participants in 2002 to more than 40 schools and nearly 2000 participants in 2009 (estimated).
Qualitatively, we conducted a survey to all our participants: 93% of them say they would choose us again and would recommend our service to other people.
The local community also benefits in different ways. They get donations and their community is advertised by participants who tell others to visit these places and often come back when they finish school. We also raise awareness among participants on the preservation of our country’s resources. The sponsorship of my groups, that tend to be repeated each year, contributes to the sustainability of each community projects. On the other hand, participants’ awareness minimizes short term negative impact and leaves a powerful mark in their minds that is transmitted to their friends and relatives. Education is the foundation!
In what ways are local residents actively involved in your work, including participation and community input? How has the community responded to or benefited from your approach?
We try to make all community members feel involved in the project to see how they can benefit from taking care of their resources and preserving their culture. For example, at a conference with an indigenous woman who was candidate to the Nobel Peace Price, we encouraged local women to prepare a gastronomic display for the group. During the meal they showed the traditional dance of the region. After this, local and visiting students together attended a lesson with more than 500 people. Finally, there was a conference with community authorities on local traditions.
How does your program promote traveler enthusiasm, satisfaction, and engagement with the locale?
“I would never have thought that…” is a phrase we usually hear. During our trips, there’s a metamorphosis from those young boys and girls who travel to get credits for a course and have fun, to caring young people who want to help the community. It’s amazing to see how adolescents are moved when the free a two-day old turtle. They often name the turtles and help them make their way to the sea. I guarantee that none of the boys who have saved a turtle would think of consuming any product that promotes their hunting.
Describe how your work helps travelers and local residents better understand the value of the area's cultural and natural heritage, and educates them on local environmental issues.
All trips have a learning objective. Those who work for the development of their community are passionate about what they do and transmit. One can learn a lot from a committed person showing their everyday life. It’s not about teaching concepts but about transmitting the passion of those understand the importance of preservation, even if they have no education. Participants can learn to make low consumption wood ovens but they alsolearn that thanks to their use, the Monarch butterfly’s habitat has been preserved year after year.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
How is your initiative currently financed? If available, provide information on your finances and organization that could help others. Please list: Annual budget, annual revenue generated, size of part-time, full-time and volunteer staff.
The project is completely self-sustainable and does not require additional funding. Every participant pays for the cost of their own trip and takes their own donations. If MIF/IDB co-finances this project, all resources would be directly channeled to indigenous communities who need them and don’t have the means to learn about this support. There’s no fixed budget, it varies according to the number of passengers. We are currently 4 full-time staff and one part-time. We have no volunteers but we have 11 employees in our database who are eventually called. .
Is your initiative financially and organizationally sustainable? If not, what is required to make it so? Is there a potential demand for your innovation?
The project is completely sustainable from the financial point of view, which is evidenced by the constant growth during the last 7 years. The potential is great. Every year, 165,000 young people study in private elementary and high schools in the Federal District only. The project currently covers the Federal District and suburbs, but we want to implement it in most of the most important cities of the country within a 5-10 year period.
What are the main barriers you encounter in managing, implementing, or replicating your innovation? What barriers keep your program from having greater impact?
Basically there are 2 barriers:
1) Teachers’ negative perception about travelling with students. Most of them think it’s difficult and it implies too much responsibility. However, we have never had a serious security incident, or any kind of problem with the equipment used during the excursions. This speaks about the students’ understanding and commitment.
2) Despite the fact that those organisms that regulate educational institutions officially support this type of projects, there are many bureaucratic requirements that make it difficult for schools to get the authorization needed for these trips. The additional work required is often the reason why institutions choose not to travel to avoid any problems.
What is your plan to expand or further develop your approach? Please indicate where/how you would like to grow or enhance your innovation, or have others do so.
In August 2009 we’ll count with at least 3 new staff members who will be trained to be able to cover the increasing number of schools. At least one of these people will be trained to start implementing the project in the province. Those who open an office in a province will no longer be considered staff, they will become partners. We expect that once these people have been trained each, one of them will train 2 or more people to achieve a pyramid growth. Our aim is to implement the project in 200 schools in at least 5 cities by 2014.
The Story
What is the origin of your innovation? Tell the Changemakers and media communities what prompted you to start this initiative.
I come from a family devoted to tourism for more than 40 years. They taught me how to value and respect our country, its history, culture and wealth. After working in the business industry for 5 years I was disappointed by the cynicism and lack of social responsibility of companies and decided to make good use of the contacts I had in the tourism industry thanks to my family.
I have always felt the need to feel good about what I do and to transmit the pride of being a Mexican and the importance of Mexico as a world power. I also believe that education is the only way to achieve the change Mexico needs. When I was an elementary school student, a teacher took us to the Independence Trail. Today, after 20 years, I still remember most of the places I visited and what I learnt. The excursion consisted in random visits to cities with historic relevance, without visiting communities or non-tourist sites, but it still was one of the best in my life.
Once I had the potential market and a mission, I visited the central and south-eastern regions of Mexico and I saw not only tourist sites, but also their people, their communities and wealth. After several months of knocking on people’s doors without any reply, I found a school that believed in my proposal. Eight years later, we count on more than 40 schools in the Federal District and we are planning to implement this project in some of the most important cities of the country. We even had a weekly session at Guillermo Ochoa’s radio newscast, where we advised the audience on different places they could visit to be in contact with the communities, our history and nature.
Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers' marketing material.
I have a major in Marketing from Monterrey Technological Institute (ITESM). I belong to a family who’s been at the tourism industry for more than 40 years. After working for companies like PepsiCo, Mexicana, Nestle and 3M I decided to devote my life to help teachers educate Mexicans who can be proud of their country.
The company has grown from 57 passengers in 2002 to nearly 2000 in 2009, with a staff of 5 people.
Describe some unique tourist experiences that your approach provides. Be specific; give illustrative examples.
The Project is based on 3 main elements that are normally present in each of the trips.
1) Community: What happened to the Mayas, Purépechas or Totonacos? Nothing. Mexican cultures are alive and are being recovered thanks to the support of those who are proud of them and fight for their preservation. For example, we have taken groups of more than 250 students to donate school objects, to have Purepecha lessons at an elementary school in Ihuatzio, to donate blankets in Satiago Tultepec and to the theater to see a performance against alcoholism in Hña-hñu.
2) Nature: hundreds of students rescue turtles and free them in Oaxaca, Guerrero or Michoacan. They know the falls in Puebla’s mountains; they see the rivers in Veracruz or the jungle in Campeche. Every time a student is face to face with nature, they magically turn into ecologists who defend nature.
3) History: a country’s history should not be read but experienced. We not only visit historical sites in the country but also experience them. For example, we recreate the ball game in front of 120 UPL students in Teotihuacan.
What types of partnerships or professional development would be most beneficial in spreading your innovation?
The most beneficial partnerships in spreading this innovation would be those that include teachers and educational institutions such as UNAM or SEP (Ministry of Public Education). Supporting these types of activities and assigning them academic value would contribute to a larger number of students who can access these experiences. I hope that one day the direct contact with our communities, nature and our history becomes a school requirement for all levels.
 | 157 weeks agoEric Alvarez said: Hello Ms. Frasz, Thank you for reading my entry and sending these questions. 1. I am afraid I do not have teaching guides as I am ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 157 weeks agoDana Frasz said: Dear Sr. Alvarez, Thank you for submitting your entry. I have a few questions: 1. You mention that you help teachers promote ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 159 weeks agoEric Alvarez said: Gracias Lorena, Pues me parece un proyecto maravilloso y muy acorde con lo que yo intento hacer. Como este es un segmento con el ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 159 weeks agoLORENA GARCIA DURAN said: HOLA ERIK, EFECTIVAMENTE LOS ALUMNOS DEL TEC DE MONTERREY CAMPUS SANTA FE HAN ENTRADO AL PROGRAMA DE CHANGEMAKERS LLAMADO UNIVERSITY ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 160 weeks agoEric Alvarez said: Hola Dulce María, Muchísimas gracias por el interés que muestras en mi proyecto. tu análisis FODA es acertado, se nota que leíste con ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 160 weeks agoEric Alvarez said: Hola Clara, Muchas gracias por tus comentarios, solamente quisiera aclarar que mi nombre es Eric. Daniel es una persona que tuvo la ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 160 weeks agoClara Torres said: Hola Daniel Te felicito por el proyecto y por el giro que le has dado a esta empresa turistica. Me queda una duda: el turismo ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 160 weeks agoDulce María Sánchez said: Primero que nada les envión un cordial saludos y felicitación por su proyecto. En lo personal me agrado bastante, porque me gustaría ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 160 weeks agoEric Alvarez submitted this idea. |
| 160 weeks agoEric Alvarez said: Hola de nuevo Daniel. Gracias por darme tu correo y tus sugerencias, definitivamente empezaré a investigar acerca de cómo propagar ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
