The Huatulco area is centered around the small towns of La Crucecita, Santa Cruz, Chahue and Tangolunda. It is a FONATUR ('Fondo Nacional de Fomento al Turismo') project and one of its most successful designated tourist areas. FONATUR is also responsible for the resorts in Cancun, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Los Cabos and Loreto Bay.

Huatulco's tourism industry is centered around its nine bays; four of which have been designated as ecological preserves where no development is permitted. Huatulco has a wide variety of accommodations to suit just about all budgets. From rooms for rent, small economy hotels, vacation condominiums and luxury villas, along with several (All Inclusive) resorts standing on the shores of Tangolunda Bay. The Las Brisas (Formerly the worlds largest Club Med), the Dreams Resort (Formally the Gala Hotel),the Barceló, Crown Pacific and the Camino Real Zaashila are examples of the most popular larger resorts in the area.

Huatulco's main attraction are its nine bays and thirty-six beaches, many of which are pristine and undeveloped, and accessible only by boat. With the help of local guides and tour operators, one can explore the beaches and bays in relative privacy, or if you choose you can scuba dive or snorkel to see the abundant tropical fish and the beautiful coral reefs.

In addition to the beautiful bays and beaches, one can explore and shop in the small communities of the Huatulco area, such as La Crucecita, Santa Cruz or old Santa Maria Huatulco (the district's municipality).

When doing so, one can travel between the communities by bus or taxi. The entire area has a "small town" feel about it and is rarely crowded with tourists with the exception of the Christmas and Semana Santa (Easter) holiday periods.

Approximately 80% of all tourism in Huatulco is domestic in nature and only about 20% of Huatulco's tourism is foreign, mainly because direct international air access is limited to flights from several Canadian cities, Chicago and Houston all others having to make connections through Mexico City. Huatulco has a small but very attractive international airport just 10 min from the main commercial center, La Crucecita and just 20 minutes from the large resort hotels in Tangolunda Bay. The peak season for foreign tourism is typically December through April.

In May of 2006, British tourists began traveling to Huatulco on direct flights from Manchester Airport operated by First Choice Airways (These flights have since been discontinued). There are also direct charter flights available from Chicago and Denver in certain months of the year, and from the cities of Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Toronto in Canada, during the winter months. Continental Airlines also offers a non-stop flight from Houston (IAH) to Huatulco (HUX) during the peak season.

The numerous small towns making up Huatulco such as Santa Cruz, La Crucecita, Chahue and Tangolunda are located in an "ecological zone" with much of the area being protected from future development. All of these areas are serviced by modern water and sewage treatment systems so that you can actually drink the water from the tap (unheard of in most Mexican resorts) and no sewage waste goes into its pristine bays. Huatulco has been awarded the Green Globe certification, the only resort in Mexico to receive this prestigious award (Green Globe is the worldwide benchmarking and certification system for the travel and tourism industry across the triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental management).