Have you ever wondered if mass tourism actually spoils the very thing it comes to observe in a foreign country? I've been wondering this a lot lately. Does the onslaught of tourists flooding into a particular place to enjoy what that place has to offer end up becoming the source of that place's ruination? This is both confusing and, of course, a bit hypocritical of me, a travel writer, to even suggest. It has, however, been on my mind. More than once, I've met or corresponded with those who have visited my adopted home of Guanajuato because of the articles my wife and I write. Based on our first two books, one couple attributes their moving to Guanajuato to us. So, in a very real sense I am a source of this problem. I am drawing people here. Hypocrisy? Massive tourism can put a strain in the infrastructure of any place. Basic services such as water gets stretched to the max. Water, something Americans take for granted, is not as renewable a resource in Guanajuato as it is in most places in the States. Guanajuato is a mountain desert with a Steppe Climate. It is dependent on the annual rainfall (or lack thereof) to refresh and replenish its reservoirs. The current problem is the last two rainy seasons have not been "up to snuff." The rains have been sadly lacking and now we're in trouble. The influx of tourism this year is making it worse. It seems the tourists just keep coming and coming. This is a good thing for the merchants but how will the city keep the water flowing? Normally, the city implements water rationing measures. The city cuts off the water supply to certain residential areas throughout the city in hopes of conserving water. Rationing in the neighborhoods is even more severe when the tourists come in hordes, straining the system in the hotels and hostels. The city officials cut water off from the residents so the tourists can bathe and flush the toilets. The priority here seems a bit a skewed. Are not the city services meant for those who support these services by paying their taxes? I mean, who should come first, the tourists or the citizens of Guanajuato? One of my wife's private ESL students told her a horrifying example of how this water shortage works: 1. They have to take sponge baths with their bottled drinking water that they heat on the stove. 2. They have to find a friend or family member somewhere outside the neighborhood with running water to take a weekly shower. 3. Her husband and son have to walk to a public water source to fill buckets with water to flush the toilet. This goes on while water for the tourists flows freely. I can guarantee you the tourists don't have to go in search of water to go potty or to sponge out their pits. It would be lovely if there were a steady and renewable supply of water all the time for everyone. There isn't! And it seems to me that those who live here, who raise their families here, should have priority. The main problem is the tourism season for most Americans and Canadians is June through August. That is our rainy season, and if the rains don't come ?there is no water. Would the tourist season suffer? Maybe. But, the tourists would then be able to have an opportunity to see first hand how real Mexicans in Central Mexico are often forced to live. |
