Community tourism project in the Mexican Caribbean seeks to stop youth migration

A group of young people from the Mayan community of Tihosuco, in the Mexican Caribbeandeveloped the community tourism project “Historic Tihosuco, the house of the Batabes” as an alternative to avoid migrating from the region.

For them, the only guaranteed future was to dedicate themselves to self-consumption agriculture or move to nearby tourist destinations such as Cancun, the Riviera Maya and Tulum.

But when they were about to graduate with degrees in alternative tourism at the Mayan Intercultural University of Quintana Roo, they declared their rebellion against that future and began to develop “Historical Tihosuco, The House of the Batabes”, a community tourism project.

Felipe Neri Dzidz Pool, a guide certified by the Federal Secretariat of Tourism, recalled the first steps they followed with the project, which now extends to several indigenous and rural populations.

The first obstacle they encountered was the lack of accommodation in Tihosuco, a town that in March 2019 was declared by the National Institute of Anthropology and History as a Zone of Historical Monuments.

With ingenuity, creativity and a lot of insistence, they managed to convince several heads of families to condition the traditional Mayan palapas as places to stay, which were immediately uploaded to platforms such as Airbnb and Facebook.

“In the part about what the lodging is, we had to talk with the family, also make them aware, tell them that it is also something very important to highlight the part about what the main houses are.as”, he explained in an interview with EFE.

The group of students looked for palapas that met all the conditions of safety, beauty and, above all, that respected the traditional construction of the area, in order to offer visitors unique and unforgettable experiences. Currently there are about 10 families that have joined the project.

“Visitors, for example, have stayed from one day, up to 5 days or up to a week, because the experiences not only stay in Tihosuco but we have also visited other communities that belong to the Mayakaan destination.”, he commented.

At 19 years old, Ángel Eduardo Moo Dzidz is studying for a degree and works as a community guide in “Historical Tihosuco”, but at 15 he was determined to emigrate to the United States and he did not stop talking about the “American dream” and the opportunities he would find. across the border.

Little by little, Ángel became involved in his cousin Felipe’s project and over time he realized that things were changing in his community and that he could achieve more things than he had imagined.

“I have been since we started 4 years ago, I am currently following and apart from the fact that I am a collaborator, I am also a guide”, he explained.

He admits that he realized that he could have better economic conditions and that the benefits were extended to more young people like him.

“We are opening new doors so that they do not leave and stay here”, he commented.

Ángel participates in the tours offered by “La Casa de los Batabes” for bird watching, the tour of the area of ​​colonial houses and monuments that are part of the Caste War, bike rides, to learn about traditional medicine and have a tour to see snakes and other nocturnal species.

According to the records of the “Sacred Paths” Tourism Network, a group made up of 7 community companies that are located in the Mayakaan Destination area, in 2022 they received 23,027 foreign tourists, mainly from Europe, and 13,836 national tourists.

Source: EFE