Roadmap for Sustainable Tourism Development with Indigenous Communities a Triple Bottom Line by Design + Culture Approach Team M

Roadmap for Sustainable Tourism Development With Indigenous Communities A Triple Bottom Line by Design + Culture Approach Team Meraki Vania Arevalo Garnica María Fernanda Álvarez León Maria Camila Pava Yu Chiu Apinya Rattananubal Pratt Institute April 21, 2017 Roadmap for Sustainable Tourism Development With Indigenous Communities 1 Abstract This integrative capstone project explores how social entrepreneurs can embrace the development of sustainable tourism with the collaboration of indigenous communities. Sustainable tourism is becoming more important as a new form of tourism development and implementation. External factors such as the shift into the experience economy, social entrepreneurs striving to create social impact projects while generating profits, and tourists changing demands and behaviors in traveling are driving the shift from traditional form of tourism to more sustainable practices. Traditional forms of tourism have been associated with negative impacts such as the marginalization of indigenous communities, depletion of natural environments, and loss of cultural traditions. This project has a focus in the development of sustainable tourism in the Yucatan Peninsula with local Maya indigenous communities to support the design of the proposed solution. The solution proposes a facilitating roadmap tool to connect social entrepreneurs with indigenous communities. The proposed solution is designed with a Triple Bottom Line by Design and Culture approach based on the following principles: planet, people, profit, and culture. Participatory action research and reflective cycles supported the design of the solution for the engagement and empowerment of indigenous communities throughout the process. Keywords: Sustainable Tourism Development, Indigenous Communities, Maya, Triple Bottom Line by Design and Culture, Social Entrepreneurs, Experience Economy, and Empowerment. Roadmap for Sustainable Tourism Development With Indigenous Communities 2 © Copyright by Vania Arevalo Garnica María Fernanda Álvarez León Yu Chiu Maria Camila Pava Apinya Rattananubal 2017 Roadmap for Sustainable Tourism Development With Indigenous Communities 3 Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge the people that contributed enormously in this amazing journey that has fed our intellectual growth and transformed our lives. With appreciation we extend our gratitude to those who supported us in bringing this study into reality. To all the Meraki team members for their endless effort, passion and persistence despite adversities. To our advisor Christopher Michael Shrum for the continuing support and for believing in us, without his guidance, enthusiasm, commitment, and connections, we would not have been able to accomplish this project. Special thanks to all the members of the Maya communities of Dzitnup, Chemax and Yax-Hal; without their culture, heritage and traditions, this project would not have been possible. To Bernard Neugebauer for sharing his Little Village in Paradise – Chan Ká Vergel. For hosting us in his farm and instilling curiosity in us through his inspirational knowledge. To Armando and Mary Geded, for showing us “The Mayan Underworld” in Zazil Tunich and for allowing us to be part of their tourism project. To Greg and Susan Dorr for sharing with us their project with Maya communities and sharing with us valuable connections. To our Pratt professors and the Design Management department for their support and critical feedback. To Dr. Mary McBride for teaching us to “Lead as If Life Matters”. Roadmap for Sustainable Tourism Development With Indigenous Communities 4 To our Pratt colleagues for providing valuable feedback and motivating us to strive for greatness. To our friends for offering support and counseling in tough and difficult moments. And most of all, to our dearest families: mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters as well as aunts, uncles and cousins across countries, who supported us in this exciting and daunting journey. Roadmap for Sustainable Tourism Development With Indigenous Communities 5 Table of Contents Abstract 1 Acknowledgements 3 Definition of Terms 8 Acronyms 11 Introduction 13 Statement of Topic 13 Opportunity 17 Research Purpose & Focus 20 Research Question 23 Research Methodology 25 Literature Review 28 Sustainable Tourism 28 Sustainable Tourism Principles 32 Type of Stakeholders in Sustainable Tourism 38 Forms of Sustainable Tourism 41 Sustainable Tourism Trends and Market Segments 47 Challenges of Sustainable Tourism 50 Social Entrepreneurship 53 How Social Entrepreneurs Operate 55 Roadmap for Sustainable Tourism Development With Indigenous Communities 6 Tourism Social Entrepreneurship 61 Experience Economy 63 Business in Experience Economies 65 Tourism in the Experience Economy 67 Frameworks & Models Assessment 68 Summary of Literature Review 72 Discussion Analysis 74 Maya Indigenous Communities 76 Tourism Social Entrepreneurs 81 Summary of Discussion Analysis 84 Design 87 Roadmap for the Development of Sustainable Tourism 87 Target Audience: MSME and Social Entrepreneurs 88 The Roadmap 88 Conclusion 92 Tourism Landscape in Mexico 93 Next Steps 94 Appendix 96 Appendix I - Questionnaire for Community Members 96 Roadmap for Sustainable Tourism Development With Indigenous Communities 7 Appendix II - The Differences of the Economies 97 Appendix III – The Roadmap for Sustainable Tourism Development With Indigenous Communities by Meraki Team 98 Bibliography 99 Roadmap for Sustainable Tourism Development With Indigenous Communities 8 Definition of Terms To understand the terms used in the body of this study, clarification of the definitions are provided here: Sustainable Tourism Development: Multiple definitions of the concept are available and used interchangeably. For the purpose of this research, the UNWTO definition of sustainable tourism development is as “Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities” is used (UNWTO, 2005). A suitable development should be designed with the environment, economic, and socio-cultural principles in mind to guarantee long-term sustainability (UNWTO, 2005). Indigenous Communities: Each indigenous group is unique in traditions, language, and characteristics. However, there are basic principles that most indigenous communities share. The United Nations (UN) defined “Indigenous” by the following characteristics (United Nations, n.d.): • Self- identification as indigenous peoples at the individual level and accepted by the community as their member. • Historical continuity with pre-colonial and/or pre-settler societies. • Strong link to territories and surrounding natural resources. • Distinct social, economic or political systems. • Distinct language, culture and beliefs. Roadmap for Sustainable Tourism Development With Indigenous Communities 9 • Form non-dominant groups of society. • Resolve to maintain and reproduce their ancestral environments and systems as distinctive peoples and communities. Maya: The term Maya refers to both modern-day people and their ancestors who built an ancient civilization in Central America. Today, Maya people live in the regions of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras as their ancestors did and retain many of their ancient traditions (Countries and their cultures, n.d.). Maya culture is characterized by monumental architecture, iconography and hieroglyphic writing, and by complex mathematical and astronomical systems (Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, n.d.). Today’s daily activities of rural Maya consists of knowledge of observational astronomy, sustainable agriculture, arts and crafts, rituals and ceremonies connected to their land and to their calendar (Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, n.d.). Triple Bottom Line by Design and Culture: Triple Bottom Line is a framework that incorporates three dimensions of performance: social, environmental and financial (Slaper & Hall, 2011). The additional principle of “Culture” was proposed by Jon Hawkes bringing culture into the equation to enhance the framework to: social equity, environmental responsibility, economic health, and cultural vitality (Ilm Creatives, 2014). The “By Design” component of the term is referred to the specific intention of organizations in establishing all policies, processes, and products around the four principles (McBride, 2011). Therefore, for the context of this Roadmap for Sustainable Tourism Development With Indigenous Communities 10 thesis, we refer to Triple Bottom Line by Design and Culture as the life-centered strategy framework that focuses on the four principles to create new economic paradigms. Roadmap for Sustainable Tourism Development With Indigenous Communities 11 Acronyms CONACULTA — National Council for Culture & Arts (Mexico) CSR — Corporate Social Responsibility FONATUR — Secretariat of Tourism (Mexico) GDP — Gross Domestic Product MSME — Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises NGO — Non-Governmental Organization OECD — Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development SDG — Sustainable Development Goals SE — The Secretariat of Economic Development (Mexico) SECTUR — Secretariat of Tourism (Mexico) SWOT — Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats TBLD+C — Triple Bottom Line by Design and Culture TIES — The International Ecotourism Society TSE — Tourism Social Entrepreneurship UN — United Nations UNCTAD — United Nations Conference On Trade & Development UNEP

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