Is it possible to develop a town in Colombia similar to Tulum, Mexico?

[Jeffrey Richard]

I've been researching the Colombian coast and believe there may be potential to create a destination similar to Tulum, Mexico that would attract international tourists. Tulum has beautiful beaches, trendy restaurants and shops, and eco-friendly resorts that make it very popular.

I'm wondering if anyone has insights into whether something like this could realistically be developed in Colombia? Are there specific locations along the coast that might work well for this? What would be the biggest challenges or hurdles to making it happen (e.g. infrastructure, safety, government support)?

I'd be very interested to hear thoughts from anyone with knowledge of Colombia and the tourism industry there. Do you think there is untapped potential to create a "Tulum-like" destination? What would it take to make it a reality? 

[Mike Lambert]

The answer is no, unless you have billions of dollars to your name and it doesn't necessarily has much to do with how nice these beaches are. And many would say thankfully but let's stick to the facts.

Tulum is an artificial creation decided and executed by the Mexican government, as part of its masterplan for the Riviera Maya. It had to spend billions of dollars in infrastructure to get hotels and airlines to do the same, which then would bring mass tourism. They had the money, the will and the marketing genius to pull it off. Colombia doesn't have the money, willingness or expertise to do that.

If any other Tulum-like place had to be created, the Mexican would do it. They have or can get the money, they have perfected the recipe. They should just rinse and repeat. And they have a huge amount of beaches much nicer than Tulum's or Colombia's, which are much more easily accessible from pretty much anywhere in the world where most tourism originates.

Yet, they won't do it. Over the last couple years, everywhere I go by the beach in Mexico (in much nicer places than Tulum), when I'm told the local zoning doesn't allow to build this or that and I ask why, the answer is invariably "We don't want to become another Tulum". It has become a running joke, as instead of asking, I nowadays say "I suppose we can't do this because you don't want to be another Tulum". Why is that? The eco-tourism is a marketing facade. More and more people see Tulum as an environmental disaster.

Most Mexicans and the majority of foreigners I've talked to definitely don't want another Tulum so be careful what you wish for. That included the original Tulum lovers, who've moved on to other places when massive development ruined what they loved. This leads to what you could do. You could build a little cabin, attract that kind of adventurous people. They'd like it and others could come. It could take decades to amount to anything or not and, without the proper infrastructure, would never go beyond. Also, I'm not sure what the zoning would allow you to do.

As a side note, a touch of personal opinion still, which is shared by many people I know and which doesn't directly affect the discussion. Colombia has nice cities but generally doesn't have the best beaches (there are exceptions, as was pointed out), including Cartagena. There are many closer countries and beaches that are so much nicer and much more easily accessible, no further than Mexico to start with.

Also, Colombians are no dummies. Don't you think they'd have figured it out themselves if there was such an opportunity?

Finally, I don't know what experience you have in real estate if any but you clearly think outside the box and it's a valuable trait to have, whatever you end up doing in the world of real estate or beyond.

Hope this is helpful.