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Counterpart's Maya Community Tourism Program |
Easter Week Success Story: Chisec And Cancuen The Maya community-based tourism program that Counterpart International -CPI- has been implementing since May 2003 in the northern region of Alta Verapaz in Guatemala is proving that tourism can be a tangible income alternative for the poor Q'eqchi' villages whose families live with less than one dollar a day. |
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| CPI is currently implementing this program with the full support from the INR USAID office in Guatemala, under the Strategic Objective 2: Economic Freedom: Open, Diversified and Expanding Economies. The core of the tourism program consists in technical assistance for local Maya-Q'eqchi' tourism organizations who believe that tourism can bring a benefit to their villages. | |
| The communities beneficiating from CPI´s interventions offer quality ecotourism products in a variety of natural and cultural attractions. The Sepalau Lagoons are four impressive lagoons of crystalline turquoise waters surrounded by a lush tropical landscape. Jul Iq' and B'omb'il Pek are two impressive cave systems where the visitor can admire extraordinary rock formations and the first cave paintings discovered in Guatemala. San Simón River , with its crystalline turquoise waters and exotic limestone walls surrounded by lush rainforest is the perfect setting for exciting river tubing tours. |  |
| In the Candelaria Caves National Park there are also two Q'eqchi communities who offer cave tubing, interpretative trails and dry cave tours, Candelaria Camposanto and Mucbilha' I . Located on the banks of the Passion River, in Sayaxché, Petén , Cancuen archaeological site was an important commercial hub between the highlands of Guatemala and the lowlands of Petén and México during the late Maya classic period. These community-based ecotourism destinations offer excellent eco-friendly tourist infrastructure, and local guides offer interpretative guiding services. | |
Marketing studies undertaken by CPI and the visitor's statistics at each site have defined that Easter Week is their highest tourism season, which consists of Guatemalan tourists who take advantage of the long vacation of "Semana Santa". The number of visitors to these sites during that time usually constitutes 30% to 50% of the total visitation throughout the year. Therefore, CPI and the local tourism associations designed a tourism development plan for the region and decided that the official public launch of the sites would take place during Easter week: the 3 rd week of March 2005. |
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Hotel hygiene training in Mucbilha' There was a lot of work to be done. An Inauguration Committee was organized with members from all the communities where Emergency, Safety and Organization plans where developed. The local guides went over previous trainings, and were also evaluated to reach a high quality standard to provide an excellent service. CPI also implemented a number of workshops such as food service, hygiene and cooking, tourism group management, hotel hygiene and management, impact assessment and alleviation, safety measures for community and the tourists, first aid and search and rescue, among others. |
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Tourists at Cancuen Visitors' Center during Easter Week Each site needed to finish its basic tourism infrastructure. In the archaeological site Cancuen, excellent eco-friendly infrastructure was installed such as a Visitors' Center with fascinating archaeological information, an elevated wooden trail with interpretative signs, a camping area, restrooms with showers, a small restaurant, and site monument's replicas made by local artisans where installed. |
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Tourists at Peña del Tigre Ecolodge In Mucbilha' I, a lovely four room eco-lodge called "Peña del Tigre" was made ready for the public. Also, interpretative signs with interesting information about cave formation was installed in their Visitors' Center. Each community built restrooms, made a painted entrance sign to each of their sites and wooden directions signs were installed throughout the different trails in all the sites. All the sites were ready. |
CPI and local communities implemented a national marketing campaign, including the creation of a promotional video presented on TV programs, publication of advertisements on tourism magazines, distribution of brochures in selected feeder markets, articles on newspapers, design of a web site ( www.puertamundomaya.com ) and participation in tourism events. |
| Amazingly, 1500 tourists visited Cancuen and Chisec during Semana Santa, doubling up the numbers of 2004 Easter week, leaving revenues of over Q.40,000 (US$5,265). In total, more than 150 families benefited from these profits, which represent 65% of their income for the month of March. The local tourism associations of these Maya communities were presented a great opportunity to benefit from tourism during Easter Week, and they were able to take advantage of it, by providing high quality guiding, cooking, parking and other tourism related services. | |
| If sustainably managed, like the communities in Alta Verapaz are doing, tourism represents to poor communities a tangible income generating activity that is culturally sensitive, contributes to the conservation of their natural and cultural heritage and is increasingly attractive to the modern traveler. |  |