Five Central American countries host today the Mayan culture. Called The Mundo Maya, this joined destination encompasses lush nature, unique biodiversity, over 150 archeological sites, and the living Mayans. The project Emblematic Community Tourism Projects of the Mundo Maya seeks to bring to the traveler the history of the Mayan civilization, while experiencing first hand traditions.
The Mundo Maya destination has innumerable natural, historical and cultural resources and its strategic location close to strong emitting markets allows it to have multiple attributes to position itself as one of the leading destinations in Latin America. However, it is necessary to endow the communities with realism and be aware that the destination has shortcomings that the international visitor is increasingly demanding and that, according to the Ritchie & Crouch model of competitiveness, they may suppose limiting factors that decrease its competitiveness.
In June 2018, I visited the emblematic community tourism projects of the Mundo Maya Organization, as part of the project undertaken by Planet 4 People. Work was done with indigenous communities of the Mayan World such as the Tzutujil in Lake Atitlán, Guatemala, Lacandones and Chol in Mexico, and Creole communities in Copán, Honduras and Uaxactún, Guatemala, among others.
The objective of the tour was to see and collect information on the emblematic projects, to engage with the communities and to better understand the existing offer and demand of the region. The findings served to generate recommendations for the development and positioning of their community projects.
