Tourism still suffers from several ills

MEXICO CITY (El Universal).— The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said that despite the dependence of countries in the region on tourism, there are problems of informality, sustainability, environmental, social, cultural and governance issues that must be addressed.

For all of Latin America, tourism “represents high levels of foreign direct investment, employment and economic benefits.” In 2023 alone, Mexico received “42 million tourists out of the 76 million who visited Latin America and the Caribbean.”

Furthermore, “of the 118 billion dollars that came in total, Mexico received 30.68 billion dollars, 26% of the total.”

Leda Peralta, head of the Agricultural Development and Climate Change Unit of ECLAC in Mexico, explained that despite the economic importance and the impact on employment, 52 out of every 100 people who work in tourism do so in the informal sector, especially women.

She added that the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the “persistent challenges facing tourism, such as the high concentration of economic activity in some communities and countries in the tourism sector, the precariousness and feminization of jobs, and the low resilience to the impacts of disasters, climate change, and social, political, and economic shocks.”

There is also talk of the importance of “sustainable tourism”, which “contributes to exports, is a source of investment and employment, and has a high participation of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).”

Related