ABSTRACT
This chapter concerns the tourism geography of Latin America, comprising Mexico and the countries of Central and South America. These countries, south of the US border, form a cultural entity where the Iberian culture and languages are dominant. The USA dominates the market for tourism to Mexico and Central America, but tourists from Western Europe are of growing importance to most South American countries and there is potential for the long-haul market to grow. Beach tourism is of major importance in Brazil and Mexico, but elsewhere cultural tourism based on traditional lifestyles and heritage sites is of more significance. Ecotourism is growing in importance, particularly in the more remote areas of Central and South America, but it has often failed to benefit indigenous communities. ‘Soft’ and ‘hard’ adventure tourism are other growth markets, mainly in South America, based on spectacular scenery and vast areas of wilderness. Business tourism is also likely to increase in those countries which are undergoing rapid economic development, such as Brazil. Although incomes are generally low throughout Latin America, domestic tourism is significant and there is a considerable demand for outbound tourism to Europe and the USA from a growing middle class. Concerning negative factors, it can be seen that political instability, inadequate infrastructure and ineffective marketing have held back tourism in broad parts of the region.
In this chapter, the nature of tourism resources and the methods used to classify and evaluate them are discussed. A consideration of the key factors favouring the development of tourism resources, and subsequently the evolution of destinations, will lead to an appreciation of the need for tourism planning, marketing and sustainable development. At the world scale, both physical and cultural features are key factors influencing tourism development and it will be seen that specific types of recreation and tourism can be matched to the appropriate resources. Attractive coastlines, mountains and lakes – the most popular locations for recreation and tourism – are valuable tourism resources but culturally developed resources are considered by society to be of economic value as well. The world pattern of supply of tourism resources is by its nature uneven; resources are usually shared with other users and are both fragile and perishable. As countries realize the negative impacts of tourism, so planning to safeguard these resources has become vital. It will be seen that planning aims to minimize the costs of tourism and to maintain the integrity of the resource base. At the national scale, classifications of tourist attractions which include the whole resource base are useful. Evaluations of the potential of the resource base to satisfy tourist’s demands allow possible future areas for recreation and tourism to be identified. These evaluations can then be applied at the local scale to resort developments with their distinctive morphology and mix of service functions. Within this context, the cycle of resort development is considered.
