Volunteers and "Ethnic Tourist" in a Mayan Community in Yucatan

Abstract

Essentialization and spectacularization are strategies which sustain many ethnic and volunteer tourism projects. In this article, we analyze how these strategies are employed by the group Conservación y desarrollo A. C. with the objective to improve the impoverished socioeconomic conditions of the Mayan village of Ya’axnaj, Yucatán. This type of project additionally aims to strengthen the Mayan identity, through the involvement of volunteer tourists in their development projects as well as the use of customs and cultural practices for income generation. Chaksiinikché is the local cooperative in charge of all the logistics with the volunteers, while Advocating for a Better World is the agency that sends the tourists.