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not. Respondents who mentioned aesthetics as a reason that tourists come to Mahahual had a WEALTH score of .974 higher than the respondents that did not.
MIGRATION was significantly related to the statement that tourism has had no effect on the respondents’ lives. Respondents who mentioned this category have
been in Mahahual an average of 9.4 years longer than respondents that did not. The number of days per month that respondents reside in Mahahual is
significantly related to the statement that tourists come to Mahahual because of the relatively low cost. Respondents that mention this statement reside in Mahahual an
average of 8 days per month less than residents that do not.
10.4.2 Discussion of Perceptions about Tourism
The majority of respondents claimed that tourists visit Mahahual primarily for the natural resources and beauty of the area. Natural resources were also the number
one reason that respondents themselves moved to Mahahual Sections 6.3, 10.6. This indicated that respondents have a degree of confidence in the natural resources of the
area, and believe that these are valuable enough to attract people.
The perceptions regarding tourism varied considerably among respondents with different socioeconomic characteristics. Almost all of the respondents would like
to see tourism in Mahahual develop. However, those that would not like to see tourism develop had significantly more education than those that would. The negative
effects of tourism on Mahahual will include the displacement of local residents and their traditional resource use patterns personal communication, Fide Caribe
representative 799, habitat destruction, and changes in the social and cultural characteristics of the community. These repercussions may be more obvious or
viewed as more serious to the more educated. Respondents with more education also mentioned the quality of life available in Mahahual as a reason for migration to the
community sections 6.3, 10.5. Clearly those that moved to Mahahual for the quality of life that the community offers were not interested in seeing it degraded for tourism.
Many respondents viewed tourism as a means of economic opportunity and social development. Younger respondents were more likely to be interested in tourism
as a means of employment. Most respondents who mentioned that tourism would bring employment believe that their role would be to transport tourists to the various
dive locations, including Banco Chinchorro. However, to effectively compete as professional guides, residents must adapt to the needs and demands of tourism. This
will require capacity building in foreign languages, training in hospitality, and maritime safety, among others see chapter 12.
While most residents are interested in the ability of tourism to provide jobs, there is a lack of experience dealing with tourism among some sectors of the
community. Almost 40 of the responses implied that tourism has not had any
impact on their lives. These respondents were significantly more likely to have resided in the area longer. Correlation of socioeconomic variables indicates that AGE
and MIGRATION were positively correlated section 6.7, thus it is younger people who are both interested in and being affected by tourism.
To effectively integrate long-term residents into an ICM program, follow-up research should be conducted to find out why they have not been affected by tourism.
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Reasons may include long-term residents of the area being more set in their ways and are not as successful at adapting to the various demands that tourism careers would
require. If this is the case, it is likely that when tourism develops in Mahahual the long-term residents will be less likely to integrate into the tourism-based economy and
will attempt to maintain their current resource use patterns. Since certain fishing practices such as nets, longlines, and spear fishing are incompatible with tourism
activities, such as scuba diving and snorkeling i.e. there is a potential for a diver or snorkeler to become entangled, hooked, or shot, tourism development will displace
fishing and other traditional resource use patterns. If long-term residents are unwilling or unable to adapt to the alternative livelihood options, attempts at capacity
building or other integration strategies targeted toward them will be ineffective. Since the total number of long-term residents was relatively low, an ICM strategy utilizing
grandfather clause type arrangements regarding current resource use patterns could be made for long-term residents.
Wealthier respondents were more likely to believe that tourists come to Mahahual for aesthetic reasons. Wealthier respondents also claimed that they have
learned things languages, recipes, new ways of thinking from tourists. This may be because the richer respondents own the tourist facilities i.e. restaurants, boats, hotels,
and have more exposure to tourists. Wealthier respondents being exposed to outside ideas from tourists supports the previously mentioned theory that wealthier people
have access to different types of information than poorer people.
In general, the analysis of perceptions about tourism supports the need for capacity building in the tourism trade throughout the community. The majority of the
community is interested in engaging in tourism, but there has been no formal training that would allow them to reap the benefits of the proposed development. Training and
sensitization about tourism should reflect the needs and desires of the various socioeconomic sectors. For example, younger respondents are expecting employment
from the proposed tourism, primarily in providing transportation to and from Banco Chinchorro; thus, maritime safety, foreign language skills, and micro loans to
purchase necessary safety equipment would be valuable to that sector. More educated respondents do not want to see Mahahual destroyed by tourism, thus they may be
interested in becoming involved in developing and implementing regulations that would help to protect and preserve Mahahual’s cultural and environmental resources.
10.5 Thematic Apperception Tests 10.5.1 Description of Thematic Apperception Tests
