It is a cliché of course, but there are no unmixed blessings. This is one of these things where there isn’t any one right answer… everybody SHOULD see Chichén Itzá, but if everybody does, then… what happens? Fame is nothing new for Chichén Itzá. Since the 9th century AD, when it was the political and religious center of the Itzáes until today, it has been astonishing visitors from the Spanish soldiers commanded by Franscico de Montejo to today’s hordes of national and foreign tourists. Almost one year ago, the most emblematic building, the Pyramid of Kukulcán (also known as «El Castillo») became one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. However, the new found dream of glory for Chichén is not free from its headaches. Hoteliers and tourism promoters literally cheered when Chichén Itzá was officially named one of the New Wonders.
Hacienda Xcanatún near Mérida immediately began including a guided road trip to the archaeological site in its three-night Wonder Package. Ultra-elite Esencia south of Cancún quickly announced a private airplane tour complete with guide and picnic lunch. Similar deals and tours have popped up throughout the Yucatán Peninsula, where the interior is finally claiming its fair share of the tourist trade. Mexican officials said the recognition awarded to Chichen Itza offered an opportunity to boost Mexico’s tourism industry, which has fallen off in recent years because of hurricane damage in the Yucatan Peninsula, drug-related violence, and reports of unrest in Oaxaca and other popular tourist destinations. «This designation will allow us to promote Chichen Itza as a global destination,» said Francisco Lopez Mena, president of the Consejo de Promocion Turistica de Mexico.
Tourism brought $13 billion into Mexico last year and was the country’s third most important source of foreign income, after oil exports and money wired home from Mexicans living abroad. 80% of foreign tourists visiting Mexico were from the U.S. There is however a speculation that the officials will have to begin limiting the number of tourists allowed at the site, which was already overrun by day-trippers before this new seven wonders brouhaha began. Excessive and uncontrolled tourism, damage to existing structures, souvenir vendors, new infrastructure, conflict with local landowners, research at the mercy of budgetary whimsy, and growing economic inequality are the seven headaches suffered by the newest of the seven wonders, which was declared part of UNESCO’s list of heritage in 1988. Mass Tourism and Damage The first alarms about the dangers of mass tourism in the archaeological zone of Chichén Itzá were raised by archeologists Peter J.S. Schmidt and Agustín Rock, at the beginning of 1990s. Presently, Chichén Itzá receives over a million visitors a year, making it the second most visited archaeological zone in the country, after Teotihuacán. By including Chichén Itzá as one of the wonders, the tourism sector, having already invested more than a million dollars in promoting the site, hopes to double the number of visitors, which implies extending the infrastructure needed to handle the visitors.
This will bring a huge number of visitors,» Federica Sodi, of the INAH Yucatan affirms. «The plans call for handling the tourists in a controlled form, but the place is not designed to lodge huge amounts of visitors.» Until 2006, tourists could do a quick visit to the site, which included a chance to climb well-known structures like El Castillo and to be photographed seated on the sculpture of Chac Mool.
Damage to the building, not designed for continual visits, forced the INAH authorities to prevent access, just as the New Seven Wonders advertising was coming out on the Web, prominently featuring the pyramid during an event. «All archeological sites in the world are at risk,» complained zone archeologist Peter J.S. Schmidt. «Nothing is forever. It’s too bad we can’t cover El Castillo, as a preventative measure.»
0 comments:
Post a Comment