The training day “Water, Mountains and Destination Sustainability”, organized by SAK Wine & Travel, the Mendoza River Water Fund and GenB Economía, presented sustainable tourism as an effective tool to preserve the destination.
More than 30 tour guides and drivers took part in the training day “Water, Mountains and Destination Sustainability” (Agua, montaña y sustentabilidad del destino), held at the Salón Vendimia of Universidad del Aconcagua. The event was organized by SAK Wine & Travel, the Mendoza River Water Fund (Fondo de Agua del Río Mendoza, FARM) and GenB Economía, with the support of Universidad del Aconcagua, which provided the venue.
The meeting started from a central premise: in Mendoza, without water there is no tourist destination. From there, sustainable tourism was presented as an effective conservation tool, with the focus on the role of guides and drivers, who are in direct contact with visitors.
Lía Martínez, MSc, Executive Director of the Mendoza River Water Fund, led the session on water resources and water security, which covered the origin of water, structural scarcity, nature as infrastructure, and conservation and restoration experiences. Martínez explained that more than one million people depend on a single water system, that 86% of surface water goes to agriculture and that 49% of the wetlands surveyed show signs of degradation. She also presented the Fund’s strategy to restore high Andean wetlands, with a target of 6,300 hectares over ten years.
Florencia Strugo, founder and director of Ecosigna, with a degree in Environmental Management and a master’s in Climate Change Economics and Law, presented the wetland restoration project in Vallecitos, led by FARM and The Nature Conservancy: 18.2 hectares under sweet briar (rosa mosqueta) control, 399 native plants established and 3 hectares protected. She also proposed actions for every tour, such as staying on authorized trails and avoiding stepping on the high altitude meadows known as vegas. Rubén Massarelli, from the Directorate of Protected Natural Areas of the Mendoza Ministry of Energy and Environment, spoke about public use, conservation, management plans and good practices in mountain destinations. Sol Cavichioli, economist, holder of a master’s in Social Innovation and director of GenB Economía, led the session on carbon footprint and sustainable management, covering measurement, reduction, offsetting and responsible communication with visitors. Mauricio Capitani, from Aconcagua Visión, a pioneer in responsible mountain tourism in the province, presented a success story in destination sustainability, focused on the role of operators, service providers and visitors.
On behalf of SAK, María Ángel Pasquariello, Director of SAK Wine & Travel, highlighted the value of these initiatives. “Mendoza is a desert: without water there is no tourist destination. Training the people who accompany travelers every day is the most direct way to make sure every tour helps protect what makes us unique,” she said.
The day closed with the presentation of SAK’s 2026/2027 season, aimed at bringing what was learned into the travel experience. Participants will receive a digital certificate of attendance.
A partnership for water and sustainable tourism
During the event, SAK Wine & Travel and the Mendoza River Water Fund signed a four year Cooperation Agreement that creates a joint framework to design, implement and evaluate actions that contribute to water security, ecosystem conservation and the sustainability of Mendoza as a destination, with a focus on the Mendoza River basin. Its lines of action include training guides, drivers and service providers, raising visitor awareness, promoting good practices and developing pilot experiences that can be replicated across the sector. The partnership builds on the work started with the guide “Mendoza, the Secret of Water: A Guide for Interpreters of the Oasis” (Mendoza, el Secreto del Agua: Guía para Intérpretes del Oasis), developed jointly by both organizations.
About the organizers
SAK Wine & Travel is a tourism company with more than 15 years of experience in Mendoza that has been running SAK in Action, its sustainability program, since 2020. The Mendoza River Water Fund is the first water fund in Argentina, a collaboration platform between the public and private sectors working to ensure water security in the basin. GenB Economía is a consultancy specialized in carbon footprint and sustainable management.
This initiative stems from a joint proposal by SAK and FARM, conceived as a pilot experience, with the goal that in future seasons more and more tour operators will join and train their guides to promote sustainable tourism in the destination.
See the highlights of the training day in this reel and follow us on social media to learn more about SAK in Action and the work we do with guides, drivers and partners to protect water and the Mendoza destination.
Paula is a travel communications specialist with solid expertise in wine tourism and adventure travel in her native Mendoza. She combines a background in audience analysis with a deep understanding of today’s travelers to craft effective, user-centered, and sustainable content strategies. Her approach blends creativity, data, and a strong commitment to the responsible development of tourism in Argentina.