The bureaucracy prevailing in the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) is he main cause of the street vendors’ problem in the archaeological site of Chichen Itza, a situation that has been going on for 14 years, and that deeply impacts tourism activity in the state and causes visitors to that archeological area to be upset.
The president of the National Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism of Mérida (Canacome), Michel Salum Francis, lamented that the INAH also slows the development of the state’s hotel infrastructure, since many boutique hotel projects are halted by this government agency .
“It is urgent for INAH to solve this issue that affects Chichén Itzá, they need to take decisive action in the case of street vendors that has been generating a bad image for this important tourist attraction for more tha a decade”, he stated.
“We cannot afford to continue avoiding this problem that harms the tourism activity in Yucatan, besides to the fact that fewer people are arriving to this archaeological site, and the bad impression they get is a blow to the entire tourism sector, ” Salum said.
Salum Francis said that street vendors literally harass visitors, which causes discomfort among tourists who are not able to fully enjoy their visit to Chichen Itza.
“We have many complaints that come from affiliates dedicated to the tourism sector, which tell us about the inconvenience caused to visitors, I think it is an urgent issue that we need to solve now, we can’t keep waiting, ” the official continued.
Meanwhile, the president of the Mexican Association of Hotels in Yucatan (AMHY), Héctor Navarrete Medina, lamented that these vendors’ behavior is detrimental to the tourism activity and the projection of one of the 7 wonders of the modern world.
He indicated that these situation in Chichén Itzá needs to be regulated immediately, as the number of visitors decreased significantly this year.
The business leader said that authorities must find a way to relocate the true artisans of Chichen Itza, in places with an influx of people. Medina proposed to establish only one way out of the archaeological site, so that visitors have to go through the place where the products are offered.
1 comment
When I visited Chichen Itza in January of 2005, all these obnoxious veders weren’t there. If there were a few booths set up selling crafts by actual local artisans, that would be one thing. But when it is booth after booth of people selling the exact same cheap junk and harassing the tourists to buy, that is what makes it intolerable. They NEED to be removed, NOW. If not, tourism will continue to decrease. Why s INAH just sitting on their butts and not doing anything?