Translations

RUTOPÍA, the Mexican Airbnb at the service of indigenous communities

7. Community involvement

Sector Services

Year 2019

Country Mexico

Transmitter

Context

RUTOPÍA is an online travel platform that provides Mexican communities with commercial tools to sell their tourism offer. In a collaborative logic, it connects communities and travelers in search of authentic experiences.

This initiative responds to a challenge for communities: they have the talent and infrastructure to offer popular tourism offers but lack the commercial means to reach the market. Moreover, Mexican tourism is centralized around tourism hubs to the detriment of these communities. To address this problem, Rutopía provides them with reservation software, payment methods and customer service to help them exploit their tourism potential.

As part of a collaborative approach, this activity allows the creation and redistribution of value and benefits both communities and travellers.

Objectives

Enabling indigenous communities to sell their tourism offer
Decentralize tourism and create economically stable communities
Fostering ethical and sustainable tourism
Enhancing the country's cultural and natural heritage and preserving biodiversity
Offer a unique, complete and safe experience to travellers

APPROACH

Rutopía offers an alternative to classic tourism thanks to an economic model based on a horizontal structure. Its services benefit the communities that keep control of their offer, with Rutopía simply facilitating the exchange.

To do this, it relies on pre-existing community projects identified by local tour operators. From the outset, these communities are provided with the various resources necessary to develop their tourism offer. Indeed, they are already organized in balanced working groups, composed of the various complementary roles within the community. These include guides, agricultural experts, cooks, artisans and drivers. They also have a common decision-making process.

Rutopía is in charge of accompanying them in the formalization of their tourism offer and providing them with the commercial tools to offer it online. For this purpose, a reservation software, means of payment and customer service are made available to the communities.

In a collaborative logic, the indigenous communities, the main actors in this approach, directly receive 80% of the benefits resulting from this activity in order to stimulate and stabilize the local economy. At the same time, they enhance the value of their heritage and preserve their environment.

Tourists, for their part, benefit from a unique, safe and complete stay and contribute to the enhancement of the territory.

The success of this model is based on the 20% profit made on each transaction, ensuring its long-term viability.

CONTRIBUTION TO COMPANY PERFORMANCE

In 2 years, Rutopía has collaborated with 140 communities
Expected growth of 80% next year and plans to expand into new South American countries
Thanks to its business model, Rutopía returns 80% of each transaction to the local communities and makes a profit of 20%
2018: WEGE award for its circular economy model, 2019: Hult award for its social entrepreneurial spirit
Recent partnership with Airbnb

Benefits

Creation of local jobs and increase of the population's income
Revaluation of the heritage and cultural heritage of each destination
Creating social links with local communities
Development of eco-responsible and sustainable businesses
Increase in the number of visitors to these places: 38 million foreign travellers in 1 year

This Best Practice has been translated voluntarily by an anonymous contributor. If you have any comments, please contact mpaquin@reseau-alliances.org.