Abstract
Among the countless attractions awaiting tourists in Mexico are towns characterized by an exceptional atmosphere, which in conjunction with natural environmental attractions, leads one to believe that these places are magical. The promotion of tourism in Mexico rests on the principle of cultural and environmental diversity and includes a development program called Pueblos Mágicos. This program is designed to help expand small towns’ tourism offering and to create new jobs in the service sector that normally accompanies tourism. This growth in the employment level is supposed to produce a direct impact on the lives of members of the local community in terms of their standard of living and quality of life. The aim of the present paper is to examine the effects of the implementation of this program in a comprehensive manner. The viewpoint examined is that of the local population and its living conditions. Employment levels in towns designated Pueblos Mágicos are examined in the paper, as is the rate of business development. A comprehensive index is used in the study to analyze these issues. The index of exclusion in the study also varies from town to town—both statically and over time. The paper also examines a number of other studies that have focused on the benefits and downsides of this program. Thus, the aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the effects of the introduction of the tourism development program Pueblos Mágicos (PPM) from the perspective of its impacts on the quality of life of the residents of the affected towns, based on statistical data such as job growth rates and marginalization, as well as a review of existing studies. Research has shown that the Pueblos Mágicos program has not substantially improved the quality of life of residents in Mexican towns designated Pueblos Mágicos. In fact, in some cases, the quality of life has, in some respects, declined over the course of the program’s functioning. However, it is conceivable that with a proper town vetting process the program may yet produce better results in terms of improvements in the quality of life of Pueblo Mágico town residents.
Highlights
Tourism is one of the most important and most dynamic economic sectors in Mexico, which happens to be one of the most important tourist destinations in the world in terms of international tourist volume, as measured in 2018
The analysis of changes in employment levels in the tourism sector and changes in the level of exclusion of local residents shows that program Pueblos Mágicos (PPM) has not substantially improved the quality of life in towns designated “Pueblos Mágicos”
The admission of a town to the PPM leads to an array of changes that may or may not be positive
Summary
Tourism is one of the most important and most dynamic economic sectors in Mexico, which happens to be one of the most important tourist destinations in the world in terms of international tourist volume, as measured in 2018. High tourist interest in Mexico can be explained by its wealth of resorts, environmental attractions, and cultural sites associated by most tourists with the monumental remnants of former civilizations dating back at least hundreds of years. Small towns are a tourist attraction in Mexico and often provide some vestiges of their colonial past, as well as a unique cultural atmosphere. In conjunction with additional characteristics such as interesting environmental features, these small towns represent exceptionally unique places on the map of Mexico, they remain undervalued as tourist destinations
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
