“And the infrastructure that would be needed for hundreds or thousands of people to go into that area is simply not there. “We believe we have enough quality guides to lead tours in these communities,” Mahler adds. Mahler is adamant that the government will work closely with communities to consult on any expansion and that the country’s thorough tour guide training program will ensure mass tourism to Maya villages remains contained. “I am a little worried that Toledo may be the next emerging destination, and there won’t be the safeguarding in place to stop just anybody from visiting the villages.” “But the Mayan villages definitely need some sort of protection. “I think realistically nothing is going to happen within the next five to 10 years,” Kuppinger says. “We’re updating our sustainable tourism master plan, which guides what we do to deal with modern-day issues.”īruno Kuppinger, who works with Mes, has carefully developed relationships with the Maya communities. “Obviously you need to focus on the sustainability of our cultures, natural resources and train our people to ensure that they are prepared to work in the tourism industry at a high level,” Mahler adds. There are numerous archaeological sites throughout the country, including in the Toledo region and surrounding Santa Cruz, which are a key attraction for foreign visitors. “ to invest in the infrastructure that supports tourism, such as hotel rooms, roads leading to archaeological sites and national parks.” “We believe we can continue to build the tourism industry if we build airports and air connections into the country,” says Anthony Mahler, Belize’s minister of tourism. “We are not confident we will be protected by the government if this suddenly becomes a big tourist destination, as has happened in other areas of Belize,” Mes adds.īelize’s Ministry of Tourism is planning wide-scale expansion of transportation infrastructure in the region, with the hopes of bringing more tourists to Toledo, the southern district bordering Guatemala.Ĭurrently, many of the major US cities are connected to the country, but there are no European flights. Tourism accounts for around 41% of Belize’s GDP, and so it is vital that it is developed mindfully and in collaboration with local communities. Mes and his family benefit from bringing tourists into their homes, but they are aware of the pitfalls, too. Mes takes his guests on a culinary exploration of everything that he grows: cacao, beans, chile peppers - to name a few - all pure, unrefined and straight from the earth. Visitors are invited to lift the impossibly heavy pestle to grind the corn, to mold it into dough and try their hand at shaping the tortillas, a surprisingly complex task for untrained fingertips. When Mes opens his home up to tourists, which he does with careful planning and the help of Bruno Kuppinger, a German tour guide that has been working in Belize for 25 years, he is keen to give them an immersion into his community’s everyday life. She deftly uses the heel of her hand to shape the dough into a tortilla, alternating with her fingertips to perfect the shape. In Mes’ home, a large circular structure topped with a reed-woven roof, his wife tends to a small fire while she tears off chunks the size of her palm from a large ball of white maize dough. “We have had to fight hard to protect our land and our homes here, and as the world is changing rapidly, it is becoming even more difficult to do so.”īringing power to the village will undoubtedly make their lives easier but in turn could threaten their traditions. “Our way of life here is very sheltered from the rest of the world,” says Mes. “We have solar panels on some of the houses,” Mes says, “but that’s rare.”Įlectricity comes with its own set of challenges. The village, like several others nearby, lies far away from the national electricity grid, making it logistically difficult and costly to electrify their communities. * Updated понеділок 3 Жовтень 2022 p.Despite this, bringing electricity to the remote area has been slow. Business Date to Date (exclude holidays).
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