By Jeff Fischer
The Maya Forest is Central America’s largest remaining block of tropical rain forest. Much of it is protected in the Mayan Biosphere reserve, a nature reserve ten times as large as Yosemite National Park in the United States that is located in Guatemala. Inside the reserve there is over 2000 species of plants, over 50 species of mammals, and an uncountable amount of other animal life. (World Conservation Monitoring Center) Though this land is officially a "preserve," the social and economic strife in this region of the world make this forest particularly vulnerable to ecological destruction.
The poverty of this region makes its native residents unable to help and, more importantly, unconcerned with its ecological preservation. Many are forced into an unforgiving agricultural economy, supported many times by slash and burn deforestation to create farmland. Even more of a threat is posed by outside organizations attempting to plunder the land for its plethora of natural resources, notably the logging industry. Satellite photos show a stark line separating the deforested and unprotected Mexican territories and the protected, lush greenlands of the Guatemalan side of the border. But even political borders cannot stop the pillage completely, and bandits steal into the protected forests to extract trees of the valuable species such as mahogany and cedar. (Norris) With extreme population growth and ever increasing poverty, it is clear that the Mayan forest region must find a source of income alternative to the previously mentioned destructive methods.
The answer to this problem may lie in the ever-growing industry of tourism. In 1995, tourist spent 3.4 trillion dollars and by the year two thousand the figure is expected to surpass 4.2 trillion dollars. (Flynn) This figure indicates the growing ease of travel as well as the increased standard of living in many first world countries, and what better way to combat the growing disparity between the rich and the poor than to bring the money directly to the poor people. Tourism in itself, however, does not guarantee that funds will be delivered directly to the people most in need. A major concern is also the effect on the environment, as thousands of tourists trampling a piece of land every year can have the same negative effects as cutting down trees or searching for oil.
The answer to control these potential problems may lie in creating a form of tourism that has come to be known as eco-tourism. Eco-tourism puts a high priority on conserving both the natural environment of an area as well as the culture of the native people. This has benefits for both the tourists and the natives. The tourists get a complete cultural experience, as they are immersed in and environment modeled as close as possible to a native culture for the duration of their stay. The natives benefit economically from the money that the tourists bring to their community. However, for these benefits to fall into place it is necessary for the tourism industry to be implemented slowly and carefully, with thought put into how it will effect all facets of the local area.
The way to design eco-tourism plans effectively is to always keep the two main goals in mind: first, to protect the natural environment as well as the indigenous culture, and second to benefit the local economy by tapping the almost overbearing potential that the world tourism industry has shown. When considered together, these two goals go almost hand in hand. The tourists are attracted by the relatively undisturbed sense of culture and nature, and this encourages the natives to become more active in the conservation efforts in order to attract more tourists, and thus more revenue. (Flynn) This creates a sort of cycle that builds upon itself to allow the industry to grow. Before this cycle is implemented effectively, however, there are major roadblocks that must kept in mind. Otherwise, the eco-tourism industry will collapse on itself and none of the goals will be accomplished effectively.
One of the most difficult hurdles to overcome is to balance the modern conveniences that first world tourists expect with the desire to keep these regions relatively undeveloped. Already there are resort type hotels, boasting any number of activities such as biking and windsurfing that threaten to turn areas such as these into a sort of Guatemalan Hawaii. Though these types of institutions can bring money into the area, care must be taken not to create too many resort type settings. To properly benefit the native communities the tourism industry must become a community effort, where people must interact with many different locals through guided tours, marketplaces, restaurants, etc., and large self sufficient resorts do not allow that type of interaction.
A related problem to that may be raised if the tourism industry starts to become successful is the temptation to try to milk the financial gains so much that the conservation commitment is forgotten. The only way to combat this is through strict regulation of what can and can not be done as far as development is concerned. The reason this becomes a danger is that resort hotels are often sponsored by major corporations and thus are a relatively cheap way for the local government to attract tourists. Unfortunately, as occurs so often in big business, these companies are only interested in making money and have no designs on maintaining the goals of responsible eco-tourism. The poor Latin American communities have no choice in the matter because they do not possess the resources to start a tourism industry on their own. Other methods of funding must be found, and this is where non-governmental organizations come into play.
Non-governmental organizations are generally non-profit conservationist organizations that can help these communities by giving information on how to start a tourism industry that involves the entire community effectively and with monetary aid raised by the organization. (Norris) With the guidance of this type of organization, governments can more effectively create legislation and allocate funds to allow controlled growth of the eco-tourism industry. There are several general rules that should be kept in mind. These important guidelines will help keep the native community involved and benefiting from the tourists, and will help ensure that the environment is not harmed.
Before tourists find the rainforests an attractive place to visit site improvements must be made to areas such as small local villages. Poor sanitation and infrastructure are almost always a problem in these places, and it must be assured that the first world guest will be able to stay in some sort of comfort regarding these matters. Also, appropriate boardwalks and trails must be developed, not only for the guest’s comfort, but in order to give them some guidelines on where it is appropriate to walk and not walk, helping assure the protection of the local ecosystem. (Zeppel) Systems must be in place that allow the hosts to manage the visitors behavior. These can include direct control over guest activities such as where they can take pictures, and local guides who caution the guests to be careful and encourage them to follow local customs during their stay. Education be the locals is also important. Tour guides can provide cultural information, and elders and other locals can give cultural interpretations. The natives must be the ones to set the limits on where tourists can go, what sacred grounds they can access, and what cultural knowledge and rituals they should have access to. In all cases, the important factor is that the hosts maintain contact with the tourists in all parts of their stay.
The interaction between natives and guests facilitates the meeting of both major goals in the eco-tourism ideal. It benefits the natives as they are directly involved in the tourists and thus see the financial benefits without a middleman, and it benefits the rainforests by allowing the natives to impose whatever limitations they wish on tourist’s activities. In addition to these goals, it also creates a more authentic, enjoyable experience for tourists who are trying to immerse themselves in a foreign culture while on vacation. Thus native-tourist interaction is one of the most important aspects of creating a good eco-tourism environment.
Before anyone is benefited, however, the tourists must get to the site, and this does not happen magically once all the above components are in place. Much time and money is needed to being tourists to the region, but this can be minimized if five steps are followed. (Flynn)
First, tourist attractions must be identified. In the Mayan forest, these are natural or cultural sites of interest. Hundreds of these exist, and they range from unexcavated ruins, to lakes and rivers surrounded by an abundance of wildlife. Even remote villages can be used as cultural attractions, as long as the villagers are willing and able to take advantage of the opportunity it provides them.
Once these sites have been identified, it is imperative to create good products out of them. This includes making it viable for guests to get to the attraction, places to stay, and ways to get around once the guests are a the site, even if this means construction of simple trails. More importantly, the attraction must be well staffed and guided, and marketed and sold. Nothing becomes popular without proper marketing, but with the popularity of the rainforests in recent conservation efforts as well and the mystique of the Mayan culture, this should not be difficult. Why eat in the Rainforest Café in Los Angeles when you can stay in an actual rainforest in Guatemala?
Third, High industry standards must be set and met in all aspect of the industry. This includes making sure to many visitors do not ruin the appeal of the attractions to others, which is a difficult task to justify if a site becomes popular and the demand for accommodations goes up. It also means that the sites should not make themselves overly touristy by allowing the sale of cheesy imitation products and goods. (Flynn) If the integrity of the community is kept high, so will the value to the tourists and the industry will continue to thrive.
Fourth, The attractions must be marketed and promoted aggressively. Tourists need to know about these opportunities to take advantage of them, and this requires cooperation between the very smallest guide up to the governmental organizations. Because the tourist industry is so competitive, the government must bear a huge load in marketing the sites. If done effectively, this marketing will pay itself back in the form of tax dollars brought in by the tourists.
Finally, building industry cooperation is crucial to the success of the industry. United organizations can more effectively lobby for aid from the government and Non-governmental organizations, and financial assistance is needed for such items as added security, investment, and quality control. One guide outpost may not be able to get heard, but working together will benefit all involved.
These five steps do not guarantee success, but they do provide a framework for what needs to be done to create an industry with the best chance of succeeding. By using steps instead of doing things in a haphazard manner the best chance of success is created.
The good news for the Mayan forest region is that tourism is already being used effectively as a major industry, not only in other tropical regions such as Mexico and Costa Rica, but within Guatemalan borders as well. Tikal National Park, a site within the Mayan Biosphere reserve, is already a large tourist attraction. Tikal is the largest excavated Mayan ruins in existence, and was established as a national park in 1955. (World Conservation Monitoring Center) Since 1985 28.8% more people have visited Tikal every year and in 1996 130,000 made it a destination on their holidays. (Flynn) This clearly indicates the potential this region has in terms of tourist appeal.
Unfortunately, the average stay for a visitor in the Mayan Forest region was only forty-eight hours. Most of the money spent by these visitors was concentrated in Guatemala City in the hands of tour guides and airlines. (Flynn) With the thousands of potential attractions packed into this region there is no excuse for this lack of distribution. With the foresight and plans outlined above the potential of this region can be tapped and the people will benefit enormously.
Conclusion
With global employment in tourism expected to reach 250 million dollars by the year 2000, tourism is becoming one of the worlds prime industries. Third world countries like Guatemala are finally starting to see the benefits of this trend. In 1996, a half a million tourists came to Guatemala. (Flynn) Tourism could become a major factor in creating a more productive economy in third world countries, especially those like Guatemala, that have so much to offer in the form of the natural and cultural beauty that exists in places like the Mayan Biosphere Preserve. To make this transition ethically and properly, however, the method of tourism must be monitored, and eco-tourism can be the way to create opportunities for the native communities without destroying the local culture and environment. By adhering to strict codes of conduct, the potential of that is the world tourism industry can be realized in Guatemala.