Community-based ecotourism to meet the new tourist's expectations: an exploratory study

 
Case 2: Mayas of Guatemala
(Chazel, 2007)  
 
Mayas represent nearly 60% of the population of Guatemala, but this community lives in a 
marginal economic and social situation. It is destitute while at the same time its culture is one of 
greatest riches of the country. Ak' Tenamit is a local association, founded in 1992 by Steve 
Dudenhoefer, two English volunteers and villages leaders. The association aims to improve the 
living conditions of the Maya communities of the rural region of Izabal by improving their access 
to basic health care, education and by developing income-generating activities. Today the various 
programs of the association federate 9,000 Mayas living in 45 villages of the area. An all-
indigenous board that is elected by the communities it serves runs the association and its 
programs. 
Since 2000, Ak' Tenamit has maintained a community-based ecotourism program. Traditional 
accommodations, located within the small Maya villages, allow tourists to live a one-off 
experience within the community. “These activities bring incomes with the families implied and 
contribute to finance the health and education services and infrastructures offered” explains 
Audrey Lamothe, a volunteer at the association (Chazel, 2007). The involvement of the 
communities in this form of tourism exceeds creation of incomes. The stress is laid on the 
comprehension and the practice of the cultural and spiritual aspects specific to the Maya.
The area concerned by the Ak’Tenamit’s project is located in Rio Dulce National Park. The 
tourist structures were design to limit the environmental impact. 
Community-based ecotourism thus generates twofold positive effects for the communities. On 
the one hand, it provides income for the families and on the other hand, it promotes their lifestyle 
and their culture. The project is particularly important for the young Mayas because it provides 
job opportunities, thereby detracting the sense of need to leave and look for work in urban 
centers.

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