In general, ecotours tend to be less expensive in Mexico than everywhere else. The overall climate allows participants more days of sunshine with little or no snow. Tours are conducted with small groups of 8-10 people. Each includes sampling of the local foods of the regions visited, with explanations about how the dishes are made. Participants are also shown the local flora and fauna, with experts on hand to explain their more interesting features.
Tours also incorporate relatively unknown handicrafts and folk art designs.
Ecogrupos de Mexico Leading the way in the current ecoturism movement is a young and dynamic enterprise called Ecogrupos de Mexico. Staffed almost entirely by people in their 20s and 30s, this company conducts alternative tours of Mexico. The owners are genuinely disturbed by such antics as the illegal harvesting of sea turtles. But they also worry about how workers who depend on these turtles for a living will find another way to make money without poaching an endangered species. One might assume that participants on such tours would, like its employees, be young people - professionals with a heightened concern for the environment.