TERRITORIAL DISTRIBUTION AND TOURISM IN COZUMEL, STATE OF QUINTANA ROO, MEXICO

Abstract

When the Island of Cozumel was inhabited again in 1841, the economy of the village was based on the commerce of cotton, tobacco, cane, sugar, banana, corn and the export of henequén and chicle. The hype of the chicle industry contributed to the development of commerce and working sector, and through the transportation of resin, the marine activity was increased through the supply of commercial houses of the time [Coldwell and Joaquin], allowing the formation of a strong economic class: the commercial one. When the island was consolidated as a chicle port, there arises the need for lodging facilities, being the Hotel Louvre the pioneer (1924). However, because of the crisis of the resin, the Government decided to give away communal lands in the center of the territory, leaving the coasts to the development of tourism, which is the reason why the businessmen Coldwell and González bought the properties for such purpose, thus, the tourist activity emerges as an economic pillar of the village through lodging and diving tours. During the Nineties and along the growth of harbor infrastructure -3 wharves to hold 9 vessels-, Cozumel is positioned as the first destination of cruises at national and international level. Therefore, the State in its pursuing of currency generation and creation of jobs has used tourism as a tool to give continuity to the neoliberal model, having repercussions such as the transformation of space and its use, as well as the loss of the environment, combined with the formation of groups of power to ensure the permanence of the system.