Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 546–566, 2003 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Printed in Great Britain www.elsevier.com/locate/atoures 0160-7383/03/$30.00 doi:10.1016/S0160-7383(02)00103-2
LINKAGES BETWEEN TOURISM AND AGRICULTURE IN MEXICO Rebecca Torres East Carolina University, USA
Abstract: Establishing linkages between tourism demand for food and local agricultural production is critical in maximizing host country benefits. Drawing on surveys of Cancun hotels and Yucatan Peninsula tourists, as well as interviews with chefs, food suppliers, farmers, ejido comisariados and urban immigrants, this study takes a holistic approach to analyzing existing linkages between tourism and agriculture in Quintana Roo and understanding fac- tors constraining the development of linkages. The article contends that tourism and agri- culture linkages in Quintana Roo are weak due several constraining factors examined in depth. Conclusions suggest areas of potential for fostering linkages. Keywords: agriculture, Quintana Roo, Cancun, Mexico. 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Re´sume´: Liens entre le tourisme et l’agriculture au Mexique. Il est indispensable d’e´tablir des liens entre la demande alimentaire du tourisme et la production agricole locale. En se basant sur des enqueˆtes aupre`s des touristes a` Cancun et dans la pe´ninsule du Yucata´n, ainsi que des entretiens avec des chefs de cuisine, des fournisseurs d’alimentation, des exploitants, des commissions de coope´ratives [comisariados de ejidos] et des immigrants urbains, cette e´tude aborde de fac¸on holistique l’analyse des liens entre le tourisme et l’agriculture dans l’e´tat de Quintana Roo et la compre´hension des contraintes auxquelles est soumis le de´veloppement des liens. L’article affirme que la faiblesse des liens entre le tourisme et l’agriculture au Quintana Roo est due a` plusieurs facteurs limitants qui sont e´tudie´s en pro- fondeur. Les re´sultats de l’e´tude sugge`rent des possibilite´s pour l’e´tablissement et le renfor- cement de liens. Mots-cle´s: agriculture, Quintana Roo, Cancun, Mexique. 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
INTRODUCTION Tourism is now widely recognized as among the world’s largest industries. With approximately one-third of all expenditures directed toward food, creating linkages between tourism and agriculture holds great importance for host destinations. This is particularly true for developing countries that typically have large agrarian populations highly dependent upon farming. Government planners posit that tour- ism-driven demand for food should elicit a farmer response evident in both an expansion and diversification of agricultural production. Unfortunately, there is little evidence to suggest that international
Rebecca Torres is Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at East Carolina University (Greenville NC 27858, USA. Email
546 REBECCA TORRES 547 tourism successfully develops linkages with local host agriculture. Sev- eral researchers observe the failure of predicted linkages to develop (Be´lisle 1983; Momsen 1998; Telfer and Wall 1996, 2000). Indeed, in some cases tourism development harms local agricultural production by attracting land and labor away from the agrarian sector. To under- stand the complex relationship between the two, it is necessary to examine in depth the precise nature of linkages, as well as the con- straining factors and areas of potential. This article draws on extensive fieldwork conducted in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo from 1996 to 1998 to determine the level of existing linkages between tourism and agriculture in Quintana Roo and what factors constrain the devel- opment of linkages. This research is distinct from other studies of tour- ism and agriculture in that it takes a holistic approach, incorporating a diversity of stakeholder “voices.” Study results are situated within the framework of a growing body of tourism and agriculture literature. The Quintana Roo experience provides valuable insights for other regions in Mexico and elsewhere promoting linkages. Despite the popular belief that “agriculture is possibly the sector with which the potential for linkages is greatest,” (Jefferson nd), several scholars have suggested there is a notable shortage of studies examin- ing the relationship. Research has focused primarily on the impacts of tourism development on local agriculture (which is widely disputed), as well as factors influencing the strength of linkages. Government planners and policymakers emphasize the potential positive impacts, particularly the creation of new markets for agricultural products. However, upon closer examination, various negative impacts emerge. In particular, several scholars note a competition between the two, with tourism drawing precious land and labor resources away from agri- culture. Tourism development is also often associated with increased demand for imported food, resulting in foreign exchange leakages and competition with local production. Tourism typically fails to stimulate local agriculture, and in some cases it is associated with a relative decline in production. The potential for tourism to promote local agri- cultural development, nevertheless, is widely recognized. Scholars note cases of tourism demand stimulating the production of high value regional specialty foods and local fresh produce. They suggest that this industry may help boost the export of locally grown specialty products (Bowen, Cox and Fox 1991; Cox, Fox and Bowen 1994; Momsen 1998; Telfer 2000). Many factors are thought to influence both the characteristics and strength of linkages. They may be categorized as demand-related, sup- ply- or production-related, and marketing/intermediary factors. One principal demand-related factor influencing linkages is the nature of tourism development. Studies note a trend for foreign owned or man- aged enterprises to depend heavily on imports, thus developing only weak links to local production. Hotel industry size and class also appear to have an influence with larger and higher end hotels preferring imported foods over locally-grown products. Tourist food consumption and preferences are also important in defining tourism and agriculture relationships. Studies suggest that North American tourists demand 548 TOURISM-AGRICULTURE LINKAGES more familiar home country foods due to more conservative consump- tion patterns and a fear of food-related illness. Researchers suggest the opportunity for creating demand for local foods is greatest among certain nationalities and with more adventurous non-mass tourists. Another important factor that influences demand for local products is the promotion of regional foods (Gooding 1971; OAS/CTRC 1984; Momsen 1986; Telfer 2000; USAID and The Caribbean Development Bank 1984). Studies suggest numerous supply or production-related factors that may foster or constrain the development of tourism and agriculture linkages (Andreatta 1998; Be´lisle 1983, 1984b; Gomes 1993; Gooding 1971; Momsen 1986, 1998; Pattullo 1996; Telfer 1996, 2000; Telfer and Wall 2000; USAID and The Caribean Development Bank 1984). These factors include issues such as physical conditions; the nature of local farming systems; and the quality, quantity, reliability, seasonality, and the elevated price of local production. The level of local technological capabilities and the existence of food processing facilities also influ- ence linkages. Marketing/intermediary related factors also play a critical role in defining tourism and agricultural relationships (Be´lisle 1983, 1984b; Momsen 1972, 1973, 1986; Pattullo 1996; Telfer 2000; Telfer and Wall 2000; Torres 2000). One of the most important marketing/ intermediary issues is the availability and quality of regional transpor- tation, storage, and distribution infrastructure necessary to facilitate linkages. A lack of communication and exchange of information between the tourism industry and local producers also represents a significant constraint. Other important marketing/intermediary fac- tors, rarely mentioned in the literature, include entrenched monopoly marketing networks; mistrust between producers, suppliers, and tour- ism industry representatives; corrupt marketing networks; and the informal nature of local farming operations.
LINKAGES BETWEEN TOURISM AND AGRICULTURE Cancun, once a desolate barrier island on the northeast coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, inhabited only by a handful of fisherman, subsist- ence farmers, and small-scale coconut producers, is located in what was the most remote, sparsely populated region of the tropical forest enclave of Quintana Roo. This “empty quarter” (Torres 1997), the rural production space of Maya peasants, would undergo a radical transformation to become the consumption space for millions of tour- ists from across the globe. In the 60s the Mexican government selected Cancun as the site for the first Planned Tourism Development “experi- ment,” a mega-resort based on a Master Integral Plan, which would serve as the cornerstone of a new externally-oriented national econ- omic development strategy. In 25 years, Cancun has exceeded the orig- inal planners’ expectations to become Mexico’s leading resort, attracting more than 3 million tourists a year (FONATUR 2002). It has evolved from an exclusive high-end resort catering to the international elite “jet set” to become the archetypical Fordist mass resort (Torres REBECCA TORRES 549
2002a), serving millions of middle class, predominately American, “sun-and-sand” tourists on discounted package tours. The predominant form of agricultural production in Quintana Roo was, and today remains, traditional subsistence milpa (corn and beans) shifting cultivation (similar to that practiced in Maya communities since Pre-Hispanic times). Of all land in Quintana Roo, 89% is commu- nal, cultivated by farmers with usufruct rights, yet formally held within uniquely Mexican collectives or landowning structure known as ejidos (INEGI 1991). At Cancun’s inception, FONATUR, the Mexican tour- ism authority, declared the development of regional agriculture as an important goal of the new resort. Development planners intended to create an interdependent regional economy, with modernization and diversification of local agriculture to provide an inexpensive source of high quality fresh foods for hotels. In various attempts to stimulate production for tourism, the government sought to provide ejidos with credit and aid packages targeted at tourism-related production, a regional school for agricultural workers, hydroponic farming, and other agrarian experiments. Most of these disparate efforts have been poorly financed, small-scale, limited in duration and lacking in resolve. Government support for projects often did not extend beyond prom- ises, partly due to the climate of political corruption in which promot- ing small-scale production was perceived to offer little value. As a result, none of the efforts have produced lasting, tangible results. Links between the sectors in Quintana Roo have, with minor exception, failed to materialize. While this situation can be attributed to many factors, in a state where nearly all human and monetary resources are concentrated on tourism to the exclusion of everything else, perhaps simple neglect of agriculture bears the greatest blame.
Study Design and Methodology This study takes an integrated approach to capturing the complexity of the intersection of global food regimes, international tourism flows, and local agricultural communities. This is achieved by incorporating a wide diversity of voices: farmers, ejido comisariados (elected directors), tourists, tourism decision-makers, chefs, government bureaucrats, food suppliers, rural-to-urban immigrants, and village people. Fieldwork was conducted in the Mexican states of Quintana Roo and Yucatan over 16 months from October 1996 through January 1998. The study employs both quantitative and qualitative methods to permit triangu- lation of results. The quantitative component comprises five extensive surveys: 60 Cancun hotels, 55 Cancun restaurants, 615 Yucatan Penin- sula tourists, 340 Cancun immigrant households, and a one-day Oxkutzcab (Yucatan) produce market assessment. The qualitative component (which includes some quantitative elements) incorporates intensive depth interviews with 15 Cancun tourism food suppliers, 14 ejido comisariados, 11 farmers, and a one and a half year case study of a Cancun milpero (milpa farmer). To ensure confidentiality, names of informants and supplier companies have been changed. The analysis of research questions presented in this article draws primarily on the 550 TOURISM-AGRICULTURE LINKAGES quantitative hotel survey, and to a lesser extent the tourist survey. While discussion of methodological details is limited to these two components, all elements of the study inform the analysis. Further methodological details concerning other study components are detailed by Torres (2000). The hotel survey focused on determining the existing patterns of food supply and demand, levels of linkages between tourism and agri- culture, and obstacles as well as areas of potential for fostering link- ages. The survey of 60 hotels (conducted over a five-month period in 1997) is a 48% sample of all 125 Cancun hotels. With respect to rooms, the sample represents approximately 66% (14,488) of a total of 22,072 Cancun hotel rooms (Cancun Hotel Association 1996). The hotel sam- ple was stratified by class, emphasizing Gran Turismo, five-star and four- star hotels (as these typically have restaurants), although all classes were included. The study sample distribution of rooms according to class was similar to official statistics for all Cancun with 36% Gran Tur- ismo rooms; 37% five-star rooms; 21% four-star rooms; four percent three-star rooms; and two percent < two-star rooms. This constitutes a representative sample of Cancun hotels that procure food. Seventy per- cent (42) of the surveys were completed by executive chefs, who were targeted as preferred respondents, 15% (9) of surveys were completed by food and beverage managers, and a further 15% (9) by other rep- resentatives designated by the hotel (such as individual restaurant or hotel managers). With chefs comprising the majority, survey respon- dents will be referred to as “chefs” throughout this paper. The Yucatan Peninsula tourist survey focused on determining food consumption by nationality and guest type in order to establish existing patterns of demand, and to identify obstacles and potential for stimul- ating new demand for locally grown products. The survey involved a random sample of 615 tourists awaiting flights in the Cancun Inter- national and Charter Airport departure lounges distributed across five interview days (one day per month in February, April, May, June, and July of 1997 to ensure that both high and low season periods for dom- estic and international tourism were represented). The sample was stratified by nationality to ensure an accurate geographical distribution of tourists flying through the airport. The result was a study sample closely resembling official tourist nationality data, with 59.5% Amer- icans, 1.0% Canadians, 20.7% Mexicans, 9.9% Europeans, 7.6% Latin Americans, and 1.3% others. To obtain a more qualitative understanding of tourism and agri- culture relationships, as well as insights into the diverse Quitana Roo agricultural landscapes, in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 ejido comisariados, 11 farmers, and 15 tourism food suppliers. Depth interviews were semi-structured, loosely following a questionnaire guide developed for each type of respondent. Whenever possible, depth interviews were triangulated with and complemented by mul- tiple field visits, participant observation, supplementary interviews, and secondary data. Farmers and ejidos were selected to represent the diver- sity of farming systems in the state. All municipalities, with the excep- tion of Solidaridad (the new, largely farm-free municipality in the REBECCA TORRES 551 center of the state) were represented in the farmer and ejido interviews. Both Cancun and Oxkutzcab (Yucatan State) food suppliers were selec- ted to represent different product category supply chains.
Geographic Origin of Hotel Food Supply Based on the survey of 60 hotels focusing on food procurement pat- terns, it is clearly evident that linkages between tourism and agriculture are weak (Table 1). The names of all food suppliers and producers in the following analysis have been changed to ensure confidentiality. Only a small proportion (approximately 4%) of fruit and vegetable volume purchased comes from Quintana Roo producers. Quintana Roo farms also supply a small proportion (9%) of poultry to Cancun, and this is mostly through links with the Polli and Avimerc agro-indus- trial farms in neighboring Yucatan state. Quintana Roo provides almost no meat, dairy, packaged, and bulk commodity products to the hotel sector. One notable exception is the local fishing industry, which sup- plies over one-third of hotel demand for seafood. Yucatan state also provides 40% of this product procured by Cancun hotels. The main local seafood suppliers have contracted with regional fishing cooperat- ives to take direct delivery of a significant portion of the local catch. There are also instances of large hotels entering into direct supply agreements with fishing cooperatives and private fleets. These direct contract agreements have had mixed results, are generally only attempted by the largest hotels, and seldom lead to long-term arrange- ments. Neighboring Yucatan state plays a relatively important role in supply-
Table 1. Volume of Food Products Purchased According to Place of Origin
Other Quintana Mexican Foreign Food Category Roo Yucatan States Sources Unknowna
Fruits 4.5% 20.1% 68.1% 0.7% 6.6% Vegetables 3.4% 22.8% 68.1% 0.4% 5.3% Meats 1.0% 20.0% 48.0% 25.0% 6.0% Poultry 9.0% 64.0% 17.0% 5.0% 5.0% Seafood 35.3% 40.0% 17.4% 2.8% 4.5% Dairy Products 0.0% 8.0% 70.0% 7.0% 15.0% Commodity Foodsb 0.0% 4.7% 80.6% 6.6% 8.1% Packaged Goodsc 2.0% 2.0% 84.2% 6.0% 5.8% a Due to the complexity of agricultural distribution systems, respondents did not know the exact origin for all products. b Commodity foods include rice, wheat, sugar, salt, oil, flour, and other bulk products. c Packaged goods include all canned, jarred, bottled, or wrapped products (e.g., pickles and ketchup). 552 TOURISM-AGRICULTURE LINKAGES ing Cancun hotels (Table 1). Approximately 20% of fruits and 23% vegetables by volume come from Yucatan state, and are mostly chan- neled through the Oxkutzcab wholesale market. Yucatan stands out as the principal supplier of poultry (64%), mostly through the highly successful Polli and Avimerc vertically integrated agro-industrial groups. Yucatan also supplies approximately 20% of Cancun’s meat requirements, which is a reflection of the recent growth of Poc Chuc’s agro-industrial hog operations and the ongoing success of the tra- ditional Tizimin cattle region. Carnes Sanitarias, a nascent Merida- based cattle agro-industry is employing US-style grain-fed finishing and slaughtering in an attempt to supply prime cuts to the tourism indus- try. It is important to note that unlike Quintana Roo, Yucatan has been able to benefit from backward linkages to tourism through its emerg- ing agro-industries. Yucatan, with its strong Merida-based entrepren- eurial elite—a legacy of the henequen golden age—was better pos- itioned to develop agro-industries having the capability to provide the supply. Yucatan industrialists also have the advantage of the state’s much higher land pressure, yielding significantly more agricultural laborers willing to work for less. In Quintana Roo, on the other hand, wages have been driven up by strong labor competition from tourism, thus increasing production costs and rendering local products less competitive. Despite recent strengthening of regional linkages with Yucatan, the majority of fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, packaged and bulk commodity goods are imported from other regions of Mexico. Most fruits and vegetables are procured in the enormous Mexico City Central de Abastos wholesale market that concentrates products from across the country. Hotel wholesale food suppliers find it most efficient to send a truck to the Central de Abastos where they can purchase a wide range of inexpensive products in a single trip. In contrast, the level of foreign imports to Cancun hotels are surprisingly low given the large number of American and other foreign tourists (Table 1). Meats, at 25%, is the category with the highest level of foreign imports. This is consistent with other studies that find meat to have among the highest import levels (Be´lisle 1984b; Momsen 1972, 1973, 1986; USAID and Caribbean Development Bank 1984). Most meat imports are beef prime cuts demanded by tourists who prefer the grain-fed flavor of US beef over less expensive pasture-fed Mexican cattle. To a small degree, some packaged, commodity bulk and dairy products are also imported from abroad (mostly specialty items not available in Mexico). Cancun differs from many other Caribbean resorts highly dependent upon foreign imports. As transportation and communication links with the interior of Mexico have improved over time, Cancun has been able to achieve significant reductions in foreign imports (an option that simply does not exist for small islands with limited land resources). The low level of foreign imports is a function of resort maturity, price- consciousness favoring cheaper domestic products, peso devaluations rendering imported products prohibitively expensive, availability of high quality domestic products, and improved transportation links to the rest of Mexico. REBECCA TORRES 553
High-end hotels tend to import significantly more food than do lower-end hotels. Interestingly, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed no statistically significant difference in imports by hotel nationality of ownership, as noted in other parts of the Caribbean. Nationality of franchise did not appear to influence food procurement patterns. That statistically significant differences did not emerge in this broad analysis is most likely due to the relatively undifferentiated nat- ure of Fordist tourism in Cancun. Of all hotels surveyed, 87% were Mexican owned and half of all franchises were Mexican. National hotel franchises, including Fiesta Americana and Camino Real, operate in a manner similar to American chains such as the Sheraton and the Hyatt Regency. Therefore, nationality of franchise does not appear to be a strong distinguishing factor in Cancun as in other parts of the Carib- bean. Given the distinctive nature of the Fordist resort, differences in linkages with local agriculture by different hotel characteristics did not emerge as strongly as in other research.
Cancun Hotel Food Suppliers Supply of food products to Cancun hotels is dominated by a small number of specialized wholesale suppliers in each product category. Hotel survey results indicate that the top five suppliers of vegetables, fruits, fish, poultry, and prime beef, collectively provide more than 50% the total Cancun tourism market volume for their respective cat- egories. Vegetable and fruit supply is perhaps the most restrictive of all markets in the Cancun food supply arena. It is dominated by large wholesalers El Jardin, Frutas del Jardin, Vegas, Manuel’s and Frutas Selectas. Frutas del Jardin and Vegas (that between them control approximately 25% of the market) are owned by the same family. Powerful fruit and vegetable suppliers offer monetary “incentives” (or kickbacks) to certain chefs and food and beverage managers that are reported to exceed their salaries in some cases. This payoff system effectively limits smaller, and perhaps more competitive suppliers, from certain tourism markets. Occasionally, personal links to chefs and food and beverage managers can create direct entre for some small producers and suppliers. Nevertheless, the supply of fruits and veg- etables is dominated by specialized wholesale suppliers that provide 85% and 84% of each, respectively (by volume) to Cancun hotels. Supply of seafood is, as with fruits and vegetables, dominated by a small number of suppliers. The dominant ones derive their market strength from the complex relationships they have crafted with the major Quintana Roo fishing cooperatives. Several of the principal sup- pliers such as El Pescador and Mariscos Congelados also employ their own small fishing fleets to catch a portion of their product offerings. For this reason, there are more direct producer links for seafood than for any other product category. Approximately 56% of all seafood vol- ume is provided to hotels directly from producers through a variety of arrangements. In interviews with suppliers and chefs, the seafood sup- ply network has been referred to as a “mafia” that is particularly notori- ous for the “incentives” they offer to chefs and food and beverage man- 554 TOURISM-AGRICULTURE LINKAGES agers. The high cost of seafood in Cancun can partly be attributed to the monopolistic market for fresh seafood, strong demand by tourists, and depleted stocks from over-fishing. Supply of poultry is unique in Cancun because it is completely domi- nated by a single vertically integrated company, Polli. Based in Merida, Polli is among the top three poultry growers and suppliers in Mexico. Its dominance derives from its high efficiency and low production cost structure. Polli delivers products directly to the large high-end hotels, and also maintains local wholesale outlets from which it supplies super- markets where smaller, low-end hotels, restaurants, and the public can purchase products. The predominance of Polli, as an agro-industrial producer, is evident in the relatively high percentage of poultry volume hotels buy directly from producers (48%). Quintana Roo’s poultry requirements were, at one time, supplied by a number of discrete, rela- tively small ejido-based poultry growers. Most have now been closed, either for reasons of disease, inefficiency, or inability to compete with agro-industrial producers. Only highly integrated companies such as Avimerc and Polli, which directly import feed ingredients, will remain competitive into the future. While Avimerc has recently invested in a new, modern poultry finishing facility in Tulum, virtually all broilers delivered to the hotel market still originate in neighboring Yucatan. Small-scale Quintana Roo producers could conceivably compete in the Cancun poultry market if they focused on more specialized products such as free-range chickens and relatively rare poultry such as ducks, Cornish hens, and turkeys. This type of production could target both high-end exclusive hotels and emerging “new” consumption expressed by “alternative” tourists. The existing structure of supply and demand in Cancun hotels reveals few differences by hotel characteristics such as size, class, nationality, franchise, room price, and mode of operation. This differs from results reported by other studies which note significant differ- ences in tourism and agriculture linkages by nationality of hotel owner- ship and management, hotel size (Be´lisle 1983, 1984b; Bowen, Cox and Fox 1991), and hotel class (Be´lisle 1984b). As noted earlier, this is a function of the relatively undifferentiated and standardized Fordist tourism landscape that manifests itself in strikingly similar patterns of supply and demand for food across suppliers and hotels, respectively. Cancun, the product of “top-down” Planned Tourism Development was established as an “instant” mass resort in contrast to many Carib- bean resorts which, having evolved through Butler’s (1980) early “exploration” and “involvement” stages, exhibit a more diversified tour- ism landscape. With greater diversity in hotel and tourist character- istics, these Caribbean resorts demonstrate more variation in patterns of hotel demand and supply, and linkages with local agriculture.
Direct Hotel Procurement from Producers Most larger Cancun hotels report having experimented with direct supply contracts with local growers, ranchers, and fishermen. Off- season tomatoes and lettuce have been the most popular vegetables, REBECCA TORRES 555 but specialty year-round products such as cilantro and radishes are now also gaining direct grower access to the hotels. Nevertheless, direct contracts with producers remain at around 6% of total supply (volume), a small percentage of hotel vegetable consumption. Many chefs recite horror stories of failed contract farming ventures with ejidos and small private growers. This has led to a climate of reciprocal mis- trust (by ejidos for wholesalers and hotels and vice versa) which is per- vasive. The statement “You cannot do real business with ejidatarios as partners. They will definitely screw you the first chance they get” (interviews with suppliers 1997) is regarded as fact by both hoteliers and wholesalers. This sentiment is shared by farmers who have, for the most part, been unable to break into the entrenched supply networks. Zona Maya producer, Israel Poot, commenting on a new joint venture, captures the essence of this profound mutual distrust: “...a ver si nos chingan, o los chingamos—creo que nos chingan” (“. . .we’ll see whether they screw us, or we screw them—I think they’ll screw us.”). With respect to fruit, a handful of hotels are now occasionally con- tracting directly with single medium-to-large growers to provide year- round supply. This is most easily achieved for citrus fruits, orange juice, papayas, and more exotic local seasonal fruits such as chico zapote (naseberry) and mamey. There are cases where a large hotel will send a truck to a producer in the fruit-growing region of Oxkutzcab in Yuca- tan, and in rare instances, directly to a grower in Quintana Roo. This is only possible for larger hotels that have demand volume sufficient to make sending a truck worthwhile. In rare instances, an unsolicited producer may arrive at a smaller low-end hotel that is operated more informally and sell his/her product directly as a vendor. But this is limited by the inability of most producers to provide a formal Hacienda (Treasury Department) revenue receipt that hotels need for their tax accounting. Less than 6% of the hotel fruit volume consumed is met by direct procurements from producers. Many exclusive Gran Turismo hotels continue to work directly with fishermen, fishing cooperatives, and private fishing companies in hopes of guaranteeing supplies of truly fresh fish. As mentioned earl- ier, approximately 56% of Cancun’s seafood requirements are directly contracted. This percentage continues to drop, however, as local fish stocks are depleted. Poultry, as also noted, has gone almost entirely to large vertically integrated producers, with Polli supplying 50% of hotels’ requirements through direct contracts. Given that Polli is the primary source of poultry for both wholesalers and supermarkets alike, its market share might easily approach 70% to 80%.
Factors Constraining Linkages Numerous factors constraining tourism and agriculture linkages in Quintana Roo have emerged through this research. A brief review of the principal production, demand, and marketing related constraining factors follows. This analysis draws from the hotel and tourist surveys, as well as interviews with chefs, farmers, food suppliers, Cancun rural immigrants, tourism entrepreneurs, and local officials. The discussion 556 TOURISM-AGRICULTURE LINKAGES is situated within findings from other tourism and agriculture litera- ture. Supply and Production-Related Factors. Poor local growing conditions are a production-related constraint which can limit the creation of tourism and agriculture linkages in many regions. Tourism officials cite inhospitable environmental circumstances as the primary constraint to stimulating production. The negative environmental stereotype of Quintana Roo as a “barren rock” or “tropical hell” has led to the com- monly held notion of the region as an agricultural wasteland. The pri- mary basis for this perception is the ignorance of Cancun urbanites about Quintana Roo’s true agricultural potential and a reflex extrapol- ation of the truly harsh environmental circumstances of northwestern Yucatan Peninsula to the entire region. This is exacerbated by the fact that many of these urbanites are originally from central Mexico and commonly harbor prejudices regarding southern and indigenous Mex- icans. These profoundly negative perceptions are visually reinforced by several failed agricultural ventures prominently on display along the Cancun–Tulum corridor highway. Perhaps more than any genuine environmental constraint, it is the prevailing negative perception shared by key decision-makers that has limited agricultural develop- ment, investment, and linkages. While the agrarian sector faces various challenges and limitations, it is by no means the dismal scenario por- trayed by many urban dwellers. The most important environmental constraints to farming are irregular and unpredictable rainfall, the high frequency of hurricanes, and thin and rocky soils characteristic of the karstic landscape in many regions. Most of these limitations can be overcome through judicious choice of location, technological inno- vation, and adequate investment. Lack of local production of foods demanded by tourists is commonly cited by scholars as a factor deterring development of backward link- ages. In Quintana Roo, local farmers do not grow sufficient year-round quantities of products to supply large hotels on a regular basis. This lack of consistent agricultural production is a function of various fac- tors including limited natural resource base, inappropriate technology, insufficient technical assistance, inadequate market access, and the marginal status of agriculture in the state. Recent neoliberal economic reforms have also contributed to agrarian sector stagnation by killing most existing support programs. Production has also been inhibited by tourism-driven inflated land and labor prices. Another factor contributing to the lack of agricultural production is the competition for labor between tourism and agriculture. As noted in the literature review, several scholars observe in other regions that higher tourism wages draw labor from farming and create a deficit in the agrarian sector. This often results in lower production as farmers abandon agriculture in favor of jobs serving the tourism poles. The competition for labor between the two sectors is dramatically evident in Quintana Roo. The average monthly wage for a full-time agricultural work is less than half what an unskilled worker can earn in Cancun (Torres 2000). Despite the higher cost of living in Cancun, this wage differential makes it virtually impossible for agriculture to compete. REBECCA TORRES 557
This competition for labor does not always translate into an abandon- ment of farming or permanent migration to tourism poles. There are significant floating populations of rural people between the tourism pole and their ejidos, working as temporary wage laborers in resorts while maintaining some degree of farming back at the homestead. This temporary migration can also have detrimental effects on agricultural production and productivity due to poor crop supervision and “labor short-cuts.” To make matters worse, the tourism high season overlaps with the most labor-intensive phase of the milpa cycle: the tumba (clearing) in December, January, and February for monte alto (old growth) plots. Inconsistent and/or poor quality of local agricultural production can also inhibit the creation of tourism and agriculture linkages. Inter- views and surveys conducted with chefs reveal they perceive regional production to be of lower quality, despite relatively little experience with local products (Torres 2000). This widely held perception of lower quality creates a systematic bias against local products in wholesale sup- plier and hotel food purchasing. Local farming enterprises’ poor economies of scale also affect the ability of producers to grow crops for tourism markets. Despite the collective nature of the ejido land tenure structure, most production remains individual and small-scale. The low volumes, inconsistency and irregularity associated with unorganized, individual, small-scale pro- ducers restricts their access to key markets such as tourism. Small pro- ducers also tend to have higher production costs, resulting inevitably in higher prices. Several studies conducted in other regions have specifically noted that the high price of local production contributes to weak links (Be´lisle 1984a, 1984b; Gomes 1993; Miller 1985; OAS/CTRC 1984; Pattullo 1996; Telfer 2000). Another factor contributing to the failure of local Quintana Roo agriculture to supply the growing tourism markets has been the chronic undercapitalization of the agrarian sector. Sweeping neolib- eral economic reforms implemented in Mexico since the early 80s have had a particularly strong impact on the agrarian sector by eliminating or significantly restricting credit, price supports, subsidies, government marketing outlets, crop insurance, and farm assistance programs. Ban- rural, the Mexican agrarian bank, announced it would only provide collateral-backed loans at market rates, and then only to farmers deemed “profitable”—leaving the vast majority of peasant farmers with- out access to credit (Foley 1995). Between 1982 and 1989 public invest- ment in the agrarian sector dropped by 76%, bringing agricultural growth to a virtual standstill (De Janvry, Sadoulet and Gordillo de Anda 1995). Without access to credit, capital, and technical assistance Quin- tana Roo farmers have been unable to “rise to the occasion” and pro- duce for the state’s exploding tourism markets. Tourism and agriculture linkages have also been constrained by a climate of uncertainty surrounding land tenure in Mexico. An important element of Mexico’s neoliberal reform was the 1992 amend- ment of Article 27 of the constitution permitting privatization of ejido land. The intended effect of this effort—to “modernize” the agrarian 558 TOURISM-AGRICULTURE LINKAGES sector and attract desperately needed private sector investment to ejidos—has, however, proven elusive. While the Certification Program for Ejido Rights and Urban Plots program charged with implemen- tation has brought attention to the controversial issue, land parceliz- ation and titling (both critical elements of the amendment) have, in practice, proven difficult to achieve. The process remains one charged with a heightened, highly speculative air of expectation in an atmos- phere of hope, uncertainty, and strong opposition among certain groups. This confusing circumstance has not been conducive to attracting either investments or “joint ventures” for ejidos. Without such investments, Quintana Roo has been unable to move beyond milpa subsistence farming to commercial ventures targeting tourism markets. The industry consumes many pre-processed food products because they ship more easily, store better, and require less preparation than fresh produce. Limited local processing capacity deters development of tourism and agriculture linkages. In Quintana Roo, failure to develop value-added agro-industrial processing facilities that use local production represents a lost opportunity for creating links. Local pro- duction of high-end value-added food items could enhance tourism as “regional” or “indigenous” products forming part of the “tourist gaze” (Urry 1990). Demand-Related Factors. Tourist food consumption and preferences drive demand for food. Several researchers have suggested that prefer- ence for familiar home country foods over local varieties can limit the potential for linking tourism demand with local production (Gooding 1971; Miller 1985; Momsen 1998; Pattullo 1996). As noted earlier, American and mass tourists are those considered most conservative with respect to food preferences. Americans, representing 59% of all Cancun arrivals, dominate the Quintana Roo tourism landscape (Cancun Hotel Association 1996; Torres 2000). Further, results of the study suggests that the majority are mass tourists, with 77% declining to venture beyond the “tourism bubble” during their stay. Analysis of study data on food consumption patterns confirms that American and mass tourists do indeed consume less food of local origin than do non- American and more post-Fordist “off-beat” or “alternative” tourists (Torres 2002b). This suggests that the potential to link consumption with production of local foods in American dominated Fordist mass resorts, such as Cancun, may be less in contrast to more “off-beat” Yucatan destinations frequented by other tourists. Consumption patterns of the low-end discount tourists who now dominate Cancun may also pose a constraint to linking local pro- duction with the demand. With the once elite, exclusive high-end type having been replaced by large-scale mass tourism, hotels and res- taurants have had to lower prices. This, in turn, has necessitated a food procurement strategy based more on price than on quality or variety, and in turn directed buyer attention to the Mexico City Central de Abastos wholesale market, where food offerings, even accounting for transport costs, are less expensive than those of local growers. The main competitive advantage of local growers is that they are able to offer vine-ripened and “just-in-time” ultra-fresh produce, which attract REBECCA TORRES 559 premium prices from the high-end of the tourism market. However, with tourists increasingly drawn from lower socioeconomic strata, this high-end quality-conscious potential continues to diminish. The emerging post-Fordist market in the region, particularly eco- and eth- nic tourism, does nevertheless suggest that demand for specialty, high quality “regional” foods could increase outside Cancun. Indeed, demand for premium quality ultra-fresh produce could also grow in the future if the region can successfully attract golfing tourists to a series of exclusive resorts now planned along the Quintana Roo coast. Tourists, particularly in a developing country context, may limit con- sumption of certain local foods due to a fear of illness. Survey results reveal that, while on vacation, 31% (232 respondents) of all tourists suffer from an illness they believe to be food or water related. Fear of food and water-related illness leads them, in particular, to avoid consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables (items that hold the great- est potential for local production). The survey reveals that, given a choice of six broad food categories, tourists express greatest concern with consuming fresh vegetables (38% avoided them). Avoidance of fresh foods such a fruits and vegetables clearly lowers demand for pro- ducts that could be grown locally. Chefs also limit procurement of certain fresh products because they believe that local products are grown and handled in less sanitary con- ditions than those brought from outside. This concern mirrors that noted by other investigators in Cancun and elsewhere (Be´lisle 1983; Torres 1997). Many chefs opt for frozen products on the simple (and probably not unreasonable) assumption that they are more sanitary. Based on the hotel survey, 41% of chefs report deliberately limiting direct procurements from local producers due to health and sanitation concerns. Notably, vegetables, seafood and fruits head the list of rejected or suspect products. Tourists’ and chef concerns over food safety, and the hygiene and sanitation of local products, a topic rarely addressed in the literature, clearly merits more attention. The training and nationality of hotel and restaurant chefs can play an important role in shaping tourism demand for food. While this has not been addressed to a large extent, the literature suggests that foreign chefs or those with international training will demand more imported foods and be less inclined to incorporate locally produced or indigenous foods in their menus. Momsen (1972, 1973, 1998) observed that Caribbean hotels with local management and indigenous chefs expressed a higher demand for locally produced food. According to Pattullo, “Chefs trained in Switzerland may not recognize Caribbean vegetables or even if they do they may have no idea how to cook them” (1996:41). With 23% percent of all chefs interviewed being of foreign origin, their nationality is an important demand-related consideration. Interviews with hotel and restaurant chefs reveal that foreign ones express greater distrust of local quality and sanitation standards. They prefer instead frozen or processed imported foods, acquired through internal supply systems, franchise chains, or wholesale suppliers. Sev- enty-one percent of foreign chefs indicate they limited procurement of local foods due to sanitation and hygiene concerns compared to 560 TOURISM-AGRICULTURE LINKAGES only 33% of Mexican chefs (Pearson Chi-Square p = 0.012). Foreign chefs are also more dissatisfied with the lack of diversity of foods avail- able through local suppliers, and Mexican chefs, by contrast, are more satisfied. These differing levels of chef satisfaction and preferences by nationality are evident in food procurement patterns, with foreign chefs spending 15% of their non-beverage food expenditures on foreign goods compared to only five percent by Mexican chefs (t-test P = 0.05). It would appear there are important differences in chef and food and beverage manager preferences by nationality that influence industry procurement patterns. A failure by hotel and restaurant chefs, farmers, food suppliers, and tourism officials to develop “strategic alliances” (Telfer 2000, 2001) to promote consumption of, and thereby create demand for, locally grown and processed foods has also constrained development of link- ages to regional agriculture. Given adequate promotion, there is a wide assortment of “regional” specialty products, now being grown or cap- able of such in the Yucatan that could develop a significant demand. Tourist survey results suggest there is strong potential for marketing agro-food items based on locally cultivated products. For example, 54% of all tourists (N = 335) indicate they would consider buying habanero products, while 51% (N = 315) express an interest in purchasing Yuca- tec forest honey were it available to them. Promotion of products such as these could also enhance tourism by reinforcing a synergistic sense of regional identity, and through their consumption, become part of the “tourist experience.” Marketing-Related Factors. Farmer marketing difficulties and their exploitation by predatory intermediaries (locally known as “coyotes”) was emphasized in farmer and ejido interviews as perhaps the most severe problem facing producers and thus limiting access to tourism markets. In “Message from the Latin American Indigenous People” to Pope John Paul II during his 1993 visit to the Yucatan, the indigenous representatives made a poignant statement that serves as testimony to the depth of the marketing problem for farmers: We work hard in our fields, but we barely get enough to eat; when we do achieve fruit, they pay us too little; when we go to buy, what we need is expensive; we don’t understand why when there are sufficient products for everyone prices drop and when there is scarcity they rise; we don’t know who invented this game, but we realize that it is the intermediaries who get rich with it (translation by author, Convent of Saint Anthony in Izamal, Yucatan State, 1993). Quintana Roo farmers consistently express impotence on the issue of marketing. They see themselves as defenseless prey for the infamous coyote intermediaries. Their marketing problem is multifaceted—a function of various complex relationships and the wider political and economic context. Many of their problems can partly be attributed directly to the Mexican neoliberal reform project which privatized par- astatal marketing institutions once devoted to providing price supports and channeling subsidies to farmers. Local producers face stiff competition from relatively cheap pro- REBECCA TORRES 561 ducts brought in from Mexico City. As already noted, with the decline of high value tourism, Cancun hotels (and the industry in general) are increasingly placing price before quality in their procurement decisions. This is particularly so with respect to the growing number of all-inclusive resorts which rely heavily on low food costs to maintain profit margins. While many of the lower priced products brought in from Mexico City, often in unrefrigerated trucks, may be of inferior quality to local products which travel less distance, price is overwhelm- ingly the determining factor. Due to a combination of relatively high local labor wage expectations—driven up by tourism wages—and poor economies of scale, local farmers have higher production costs and cannot easily compete on price with products shipped in from Mex- ico City. The small scale of Quintana Roo producers, who operate individu- ally rather than planning and coordinating their production as a group, represents not only a limitation in production, but also market- ing. By competing with each other, individual producers submit them- selves to continuing price pressure that empowers the coyotes. They are also prevented from availing themselves of marketing scale economies that would come through cooperation. Singular marketing efforts also keep farmers below threshold levels necessary to gain access to certain markets, notably tourism, which requires both large volumes and con- sistent supply. Local producers’ failure to organize also results in pro- nounced seasonal market gluts that place intense downward pressure on product prices. If farmers coordinated among themselves to stagger production, there are numerous products that they could, together, supply year round. Developing a consistent supply capability would allow farmers to secure regular and established markets for product delivery throughout the year. Again, this is a necessary element for local farmers to break into strategic markets such as tourism In some instances supplier monopolies, that limit market pen- etration by local producers, are sustained through corruption (Torres 1997) such as “kick backs” paid to chefs and food and beverage man- agers by powerful local suppliers. Corruption is particularly problem- atic in developing countries such as Mexico where la mordida (bribe) has been institutionalized as an integral part of routine, everyday life— a practice that adds significantly to the costs of many transactions. It has been virtually impossible for farmers to break into local supply networks dominated by a few corrupt, interconnected and deeply entrenched suppliers. It is common practice for suppliers to pay “kick- backs” to hotel chefs or food buyers to continue on as their customers. It is notable that the issue of corruption has not been deeply explored in the literature although it appears to be a significant constraining fac- tor. The informal nature of Quintana Roo farmers, most of whom do not pay taxes and cannot provide a formal factura (receipt), is also an enormous constraint for those wishing to sell directly to hotels (Torres 1997; Torres 2000). According to the hotel survey, 85% of all chefs indicated that the inability of many local growers to provide a receipt limited direct procurements. While this effectively prevents direct 562 TOURISM-AGRICULTURE LINKAGES farmer access to hotels, supermarkets, and certain suppliers, a commit- ment by the Hacienda administration to work with small producers and ejidos might resolve the problem. The issue of producer informality is another important constraining factor that rarely receives mention in the literature. The lack of communication and deep mistrust that exists between producers, entrepreneurs, tourism suppliers, and hotels has deterred the creation of true partnerships between farmers and the private sec- tor. This has contributed to the failure of joint ventures, expected to emerge from Article 27 land reform, to materialize. The immense social, economic, and cultural distance between Quintana Roo farmers and Cancun tourism professionals is such that it is difficult to create “strategic alliances.” Relationships are complicated by pronounced racial, ethnic, and class differences between foreigners and elite Mex- icans (primarily of Spanish-descent or Mestizo), on one extreme, and impoverished and poorly educated Maya farmers, on the other. The long legacy of racial and class oppression in the region continues to feed a deeply rooted mistrust between these groups. Infrastructure limitations also constrain the development of back- ward linkages between tourism and agriculture. Scarcity of motorable rural roads, where they exist, and their very poor quality pose a signifi- cant marketing constraint for local farmers. Simply getting product to market is a significant challenge for most farmers, let alone getting there in a timely fashion and in reasonable condition. Lack of appro- priate vehicles by which to transport farm produce is also a debilitating problem for farmers. Lacking the wherewithal to purchase vehicles themselves, or the organization to acquire vehicles cooperatively as a group, they render themselves vulnerable to intermediary coyotes who buy products at minimal farmgate prices and re-sell the products in Cancun often for greater than 10 times more. Coyote-owned vehicles are themselves in short supply, depriving farmers of the obvious bene- fits that would accrue from a competitive agricultural transport market. Transport of agricultural products over long distance is also con- strained by a serious distortion in the Mexican highway system. In Mex- ico, all high-speed limited access motorways are toll roads. Tariffs charged are among the highest in the world, effectively pricing the entire agricultural industry out of the market. The parallel “regular highway” system is of poor quality and heavily laced with debilitating speed bumps. Other infrastructure-related marketing constraints in Quintana Roo that limit linkages to tourism include an almost com- plete lack of post-harvest handling facilities, cold storage, and market- ing outlets.
CONCLUSION The analysis of tourism and agriculture linkages presented in this paper supports the contention that state-driven Planned Tourism Development in Cancun failed to stimulate agricultural development in Quintana Roo. This represents both a lost opportunity for local agri- culture and a hemorrhaging of tourism benefits. Numerous supply or REBECCA TORRES 563 production related, demand related, and marketing factors have con- strained development of linkages. All these obstacles, however, could be overcome if agricultural development had been integrated into the initial Master Integral Plan and overall Planned Tourism Development process. The primary reason why links failed to materialize in the state is that concrete agricultural development interventions, appropriate to the local social and environmental context, and backed by real invest- ments, were not incorporated into the tourism development process. Without articulating a concrete strategy for integrated regional devel- opment, Cancun’s planners hoped that somehow, local farmers would “rise to the occasion” and begin producing for tourism. Absent the necessary investment, technical assistance, training, farmer organiza- tion, market access, and support programs, this proved to be an impossible feat for the impoverished peasant subsistence farmers of Quintana Roo. Examination of tourism demand, combined with an analysis of the local agricultural resource base, suggests that the greatest area of potential for creating linkages is the provision of fresh produce—parti- cularly fruits and vegetables—by local farmers. Quintana Roo’s favor- able location and the types of crops it can produce provide access to three potentially lucrative markets: the tourism industry, urban tourism pole domestic markets, and export markets. Entry into the latter is a logical step for farmers who must adopt high quality and sanitation standards to meet tourism needs. Given the large numbers of inexpen- sive flights bringing in imported products and tourists, and returning often with empty holds, transportation costs of exporting products are lower from Quintana Roo than from other Caribbean and/or Latin American destinations. This represents a significant potential competi- tive advantage to local growers. Potential for exporting products from the region is greatest for organic produce and “non-traditional” pro- ducts such as exotic fruits and specialty vegetables—both commanding excellent prices in growing US and European Community markets. Additionally, with a diversifying Yucatan Peninsula experiencing a ste- ady increase in arrivals of “alternative” tourists who express a strong demand for locally produced and indigenous foods, farmers can expect to see steady growth in potential local demand for speciality and niche market products. There is a need for more holistic approaches to the study of tourism and agriculture linkages that extend beyond narrow examination of hotel purchasing patterns to capture the true complexity of their relationships. Research must draw on a diversity of voices including farmers, agricultural institutions, chefs, suppliers, tourists, and govern- ment officials, among others, to understand the nature of linkages, as well as the potential for their creation and existing constraints. This study identifies a number of factors that clearly exert significant influ- ence—issues that have not hitherto been explored in depth and which clearly merit serious academic attention. Specifically, the areas requir- ing more research include tourist consumption patterns and prefer- ences; tourism industry perceptions of local environment and farming; issues of corruption and monopolies in marketing networks; sanitation 564 TOURISM-AGRICULTURE LINKAGES and health concerns; and the social, racial, and economic space among different stakeholders that inhibits the development of “strategic alliances” and joint ventures. Finally, examination of tourism and agri- culture must be situated within the local farming development context of host country destinations. Analysis of hotel procurements, while important for understanding linkages, absent in-depth consideration of the political economy of local agriculture, provides only a partial pic- ture. Enhancing tourism and agriculture linkages represents an important potential mechanism for stimulating local production, retaining tour- ism earnings in the region, and improving the distribution of tourism benefits to rural people. Converting farmers and rural inhabitants into economic stakeholders and beneficiaries of tourism represents an important opportunity to improve the quality of life for Quintana Roo’s poorest and most marginalized populations.˾A
Acknowledgements—The author wishes to thank the National Science Foundation (Award 9627457), the US-Mexico Fulbright Program, and the University of California (Davis) Jastrow Shields and Humanities Award Programs for providing the support that made this research possible. She is also grateful to Dr. Janet Momsen for the mentorship and support she provided throughout this research.
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Submitted 23 July 2001. Resubmitted 26 November 2001. Resubmitted 11 January 2002. Accepted 22 January 2002. Final version 10 July 2002. Refereed anonymously. Coordinat- ing Editor: Michael Clancy