Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Mexico participated in the "Tourism for a Sustainable Future” forum in Brazil last week to discuss the main challenges facing tourism, and ways in which governments can encourage sustainable and environmentally friendly tourism.

The forum was organized by the World Tourism Organization (OMT) and was a side event at the Rio+20 People’s Summit.

“We are here in Rio, 20 years after the Earth Summit, first, to renew our previous promises and also to define our objectives for a better future," stated Taleb Rifai, the secretary general of the OMT.

Mexico's subsecretary of tourism, Jorge Mezher Rage, said that the nation is deeply committed to sustainable development in the tourism industry, and has already created many competitive but sustainable tourist destinations in the country.

Mezher Rage also said that Mexico also offers sustainable development and safe conditions for the rural and urban communities that live in tourist destinations.

“We have worked in a coordinated way to meet the requirements and employ the strategies outlined in the Comprehensive Tourism Act," he said "We are committed to the preservation and proper and sustainable use of our tourist destinations."