James R. McGoodwin

The tourism‐impact syndrome in developing coastal communities: A Mexican case

Abstract In 1967, a new road facilitated access to a number of small, impoverished, rural communities in a marshy region along Mexicos Pacific coast. One of these—the only one situated on the Pacific shore—began to be visited by an increasing stream of tourists. This article discusses the severe sociocultural problems which the initial phase of tourism development caused in Teacapan, and argues that these are part of a syndrome which is manifest in similar situations worldwide. By anticipating this syndrome before tourism development gets underway, planners and managers of coastal tourism development in Third World nations would be better prepared to mitigate most of its severe effects.