Community-Based Tourism Is Changing the Face of Cancun, Mexico Katherine Martinko - treehugger
go to original May 19, 2014

Maya Ka’an is the name of a new project that promotes symbiotic travel while educating travellers specifically about Mayan culture. (Maya Ka'an Travel)

Imagine a vacation that takes you into the humble palm-thatched hut of a Mayan elder, a 96-year-old abuelo, who recounts glorious tales of battles and trickery between the Mexican and Mayan armies in the early twentieth century. Picture visiting the peaceful rainforest of a center for alternative medicine, where wise Mayan women teach about the healing power of plants. Now imagine drifting down a turquoise canal dug by ancient Mayans, with a majestic temple rising behind the mangroves. Forget resorts – this is the kind of vacation you’ll want to have in Cancun, Mexico!

An exciting new tide of change is sweeping through the Yucatan. Indigenous, community-based tourism initiatives are springing up, offering experiences that are adventurous, educational, and far more authentic than anything resorts have to offer. These are different from ‘eco-tourism,’ which strives to bring people into contact with pristine nature, whereas ‘sustainable’ and ‘community-based’ tourism can occur anywhere, with an emphasis on leaving minimal impact and supporting locally run operations that directly benefit a community.

Community-based tourism is meant to be advantageous to all. Tourists learn there's a lot more to Cancun's surrounding area than just beaches, and get to support grassroots tourism that’s run by locals who truly care for, and take care of, the places visited. Local Mayans receive a much-needed part of the income that tourism brings without going to work in hotels; they can show off the beautiful and unusual sights where they live; and they preserve age-old traditions through talking with tourists, since the centuries-old taboo on sharing information has been lifted.

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