How one Mexican beach town saved itself from ‘death by tourism’

The sunny coastal town Puerto Escondido was on a direct path to overcrowding and devastation. But the community fought back.

Puerto Escondido, Mexico – With its bucolic beaches, lush greenery and kaleidoscopic sunsets, it is not difficult to see why the remote tropical paradise of Puerto Escondido has become so popular.

The coastline, tucked away on the southern Pacific hip of Mexico’s Oaxaca region, is a mecca for surfers, bar hoppers and bohemian beach bums. Wildlife abounds, with pelicans perched on rocky outcroppings, buzzards gliding overhead, turtles and dolphins making appearances at sea and random iguanas scurrying about.

But because so many are choosing to experience this beach oasis, the town faces a problem that plagues similar destinations around the world: the rising tide of tourism and a lack of preparation for it.

A decade ago, Puerto Escondido was a rather unassuming place largely off the international radar, save for a smattering of retirees from North America and surfers from Europe and Australia. But around that time, a flurry of articles drew an abundance of attention to this secluded Shangri-la due to a combination of word of mouth driven largely by the rising influence of Instagram and a boom of tourism across Mexico in general.

Since then, the impact of the town’s growing reputation has become starkly apparent.