Hoteleros de Atitlán recortan personal ante escasa afluencia de turistas. A Monterrico sólo se llega por barco.
Hi everyone,
I found this article in elPeriodico regarding the state of the tourism industry in Guatemala. The article explains that because of more rain than usual in areas of Guatemala where the quality of the infrastructure is poor, tourism has been on the decline. The rain has ruined roadways and caused constant landslides in areas along Guatemala’s south coast and in the highlands. As a result transportation in and out of these areas has become very difficult and this is affecting tourism as well as trade.
The article states that although these conditions have not deterred tourists altogether, they have redirected them towards major cities in the country as opposed to smaller tourist spots in rural areas. The majority of Guatemala’s population is already found in major city centres and the increase of tourists in these areas leaves little room for rural Guatemala to prosper.
Agricultural trade has also been affected by the weather and road conditions. Lack of proper transportation routes mean that farmers are spending more than expected on exportation costs. María del Rosario de Falla, chairman of the National Poultry Association explains that “A veces tenemos que subcontratar transporte, costos que antes no teníamos, todo para trasladar productos en los puentes caídos donde hay que bajar la carga y pasarla a otro camión para que llegue a su destino final”, in effect doubling their transportation costs. Especially in Guatemala’s large agriculture industry, the extra transportation time not only affects costs but also the amount of time available to spend farming.
This is an issue that will only get worse for Guatemala’s farming and rural tourism industries. The more they use the battered roads, the worse they will get. Unfortunately the nature of the issue means that it is mostly climate-related and cannot be completely prevented. Also considering how many issues Guatemala has with public funds, the problem is unforunately not likely to be fixed through improved infrastructure anytime soon.
Jackie Belding
Published September 21st, 2010.
I feel like it's easy to see that the state of the roads is the source of the decline in tourism in rural areas as well as the increase in transportation costs. The issue is how to go about fixing these roads before they make things any worse. Jackie has touched on the first potential source of funding that could be put into road infrastructure, public funds. As discussed extensively in class, an accountable, honest and trustworthy government must be in place in order of the country to justify taxing people, with the plan to give back into the public sector. Unfortunately, the government isn't at this point yet, therefore making this source unrealiable. A second option is to use foreign funds (aid) to finance the projects. The debate on foreign aid can go on for hours, but I would say that foreign aid in a time of crisis such as this (due to natural disaster) can be vital to the country's revival. Lastly, there is the option of community up keep of the roads. This option can be very successful if all parties are able to contribute and charge a toll for road users.
ReplyDeleteThese are all potential solutions, but with another storm on the horizon, it's hard to say whether it is worth the time and effort to build these roads at the current time.