Building a New Biocultural Synthesis: Political-Economic Perspectives on Human Biology

13. The Biocultural Impact of Tourism on Mayan Communities

Chapter 13 The Biocultural Impact of Tourism on Mayan Communities Magali Daltabuit and Thomas L. Leatherman Throughout Latin America and much ofthe developing world, nations are turning to tourism as a path of economic development for generating much needed foreign exchange. Mexico is the leader of this trend in Latin America, and a primary destination is Quintana Roo on what is called the Mexican Caribbean. In the last two and a half decades, the recently formed state of Quintana Roo on the eastern portion of the Yucatan peninsula has experienced a massive penetration of tourism, transforming it from one of the most isolated areas of Mexico into a tourist bonanza. This development has been an unqualified success for the Mexican government and international investors, but less certain is how this change has affected the Maya: their environment, diet and health, and culture. It is clear, however, that rapid tourism development in this region has economic and sociocultural costs for local populations (Pi-Sunyer and Thomas 1997). As environmental resources and labor become increasingly commoditized and symbols of prestige become increasingly Western, substantial disruptions to local patterns oflife are inevitable. Among the areas most vulnerable to disruption are subsistence strategies, modes of household and community organization, gender and social roles, and the nature and meaning of cultural identity. These social disruptions have counterparts in human biological costs as Mayan populations become assimilated into a tourist economy. Yet, there has been little consideration of how social and economic changes in the contexts of tourism development might be linked to biological changes in nutrition and health. This paper presents a short history of tourism development in the Yucatan and examines its potential role in affecting transformations in the local society, economy, and patterns ofhealth in the Mayan community of Yalcoba. It addresses the pervasive problem of tourism's impact on 317 318 Building a New Biocultural Synthesis indigenous societies and documents the way macro political-economic processes (in this case tourism) interconnect with local histories to affect the biology of individuals. Specifically it examines patterns of diet, nutrition , and health in Mayan households and explores how gender differences in illness might be related to shifting gender roles and women's work in household reproduction. Tourism and Development Third World countries have climates, cultures, and landscapes that are attractive to the people of industrialized nations: sun and sand, "rustic" ways of life, exotic landscapes. The interest of third world countries to promote tourism is based on the fact that it generates jobs and profits for foreign exchange. Yet, tourism also intensifies migration patterns, increases the peripheralization and marginalization of local communities, and displaces existing economic activities such as farming or fishing that are basic for the survival of local populations (Jud 1975; Manning 1982; Pi-Sunyer 1977; Smith 1982). Massive tourism emerged after World War II and is an international industry that transports and entertains millions of individuals that travel between developed countries or between developed countries and the Third World (Pi-Sunyer 1981, 1982). This industry is made up of the airlines , the large hotel consortiums, travel agencies, car rental agencies, construction companies, and so on. While tourism is clearly one of the most important elements in the economic development ofthe third world countries , it is a remarkably capital-intensive industry. It requires large expenditures for building infrastructure and purchasing sophisticated technologies ---expenditures most developing countries can not afford without foreign investment. As a result, most ofthe hotels, travel agencies, and airlines are owned by foreign companies, which means that a large portion of profits from the tourist economy flow to the home nations ofthe multinational corporations that dominate the tourism industry worldwide (Smith 1982; Callimanopulos 1982). This has led Smith (1982) to characterize tourism as a phenomenon sponsored by the government, regulated by international agencies, and supported by multinational enterprises. In virtually all instances, massive tourism is a form ofdevelopment initiated and controlled by external agencies and institutions. Participation of local groups in planning and management is absent or minimal, and little concern is given to the long-term consequences of tourism for the local The Biocultural Impact ofTourism on Mayan Communities 319 inhabitants or the environment upon which they depend. More recent developments in eco-tourism and archeo-tourism are based in a concern over environmental preservation and sustainability. But while they may entail more direct contact between tourists and rural indigenous populations , local populations are still largely left...