Turismo arqueológico como alternativa de desarrollo local en la Riviera Maya, Quintana Roo

Abstract

This paper discusses the importance of archaeological tourism in the Riviera Maya of Quintana Roo, Mexico, as an alternative for local community development. Through the construction of a critical conceptual framework it is part of the thesis that there are archaeological sites discovered by rural and local communities that are not formally recognized by state and federal authority for tourism promotion and economic benefit to these communities. Through participant observation, semi-structured interviews and in depth with local actors, the results show that in addition to the existence of numerous archaeological remains to carry out this activity, communities have built another way of being and sightseeing, as opposed to the dominant idea of this as a commodity. The policy aimed at archaeological tourism is contradictory, and it is recommended that those emerging forms of archaeological tourism is recognized and supported as an autonomous activity for the tourism official.