Tulum to become a launch base for trips to the stratosphere
Quintana Roo, specifically Tulum, has the right characteristics to serve as a take-off base for flights to the stratosphere currently being offered by international companies, for which reason an approach is being sought with one of them in order to present the benefits of the destination, announced Marc Pujol, president of the Mexican Confederation of Employers (Coparmex) Riviera Maya chapter.
“The first destination that will start in two or three months is the United Arab Emirates, where they have the first space trip to the stratosphere, 50 kilometers up in a balloon, a four-hour trip. The second place is Seville, Spain, and we are trying to be the third”, said Pujol in a press conference in which he presented his work plan after being appointed president of the national Coparmex tourism commission.
He explained that an analysis was made of the necessary logarithms to make these trips and it turned out that the Tulum area has the right coordinates to be able to make them, for which he will promote from this position at a national level to bring this type of tourism to the state, which would leave a substantial economic spill. “If we achieve this, we would put Tulum and Quintana Roo on the world map,” he said.
Currently several companies, such as Virgin Galactic, SpaceX or Blue Origin are developing space tourism with different strategies. The company that the Coparmex Riviera Maya team has been in contact with is EOS X Space.
EOS X Space has designed and coordinated the manufacturing engineering of a 100 percent zero emissions pressurized capsule with capacity for seven passengers plus a pilot, capable of ascending to 40,000 meters above sea level and landing back on Earth. The capsule will be propelled by a helium balloon on ascent and a parachute on descent. Space tourists will be able to observe the curvature of the Earth and the darkness of space. The cost of this trip is approximately $150,000.
“Having the base here will generate a new market of high level people that will come to the Riviera Maya and of course will leave an important income because it is of high purchasing power, in the end it is adding up,” said the president of the local Coparmex.
In addition to this point, Marc Pujol presented his work plan for the national tourism commission of the business organization, which has six main lines of action: Innovation (promoting smart cities and digitalization), Digital Nomads (implementing certifications for safe destinations for this type of tourism), Medical Tourism (creating a national cluster), Sustainability (carrying out environmental and sustainability self-management programs), Legislative (approaching congressmen for issues such as the Federal Tourism Law and the Law of Islands) and Tourism Network (tourism promotion and institutional and governmental business alliances).
