Meagan Drillinger
Mexico's president-elect, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has a few ideas to increase tourism to southeastern Mexico -- about $6 billion to $8 billion worth. Last month Lopez Obrador announced an even more ambitious proposal for a train route along the Yucatan peninsula, which in theory would link the region's main tourist draws.
The original plan had been proposed in 2012 by current president Pena Nieto and was to cost about $1.5 billion. As part of Lopez Obrador's campaign, he proposed the idea to build a tourist train from Cancun down through Tulum and to the Mayan ruins of Palenque, which lie 520 miles to the southwest in the state of Chiapas.
The new president's ambitious plan, if actually realized, would add a western leg not included in the original plan, which would reach Campeche, Merida, and Valladolid before completing the circuit in Cancun.
It is a robust proposal. Spanning 930 miles, the proposed track would take four years to construct, says the president-elect, and would cost between $6 billion and $8 billion, to be amassed from public and private investment.
"This will greatly stimulate tourism and will create jobs in the southeast, which is the most neglected region of the country," Lopez Obrador told the Associated Press. Indeed, while it is one of the most beautiful regions in the country, it is vastly undervisited. But that does add to its magic, as it's peppered with jungle Mayan communities and dozens of Mayan ruin sites that still feel like lost worlds. Calakmul, for example, a site in Campeche, reaches 35,000 visitors a year, which is a number Chichen Itza can easily tackle in a week.
Colonial cities like Campeche and Merida, which are not new names to avid travelers to Mexico, will start to see more and more traction, as well as the off-the-beaten-path natural sites that lie south of Tulum, like the Mayan Muyil village, and all the natural offerings that exist within the Sian Ka'an nature reserve -- a trip that is now roughly four hours south of Cancun.
"I am a huge fan of this plan because we need more visibility, travelers and green public transportation. It will have benefits on multiple levels," said Zach Rabinor, CEO of Journey Mexico.
But those who are skeptical of the plan are so because of the route south of Tulum. To the north, near Chichen Itza, Merida and Valladolid are ample hotel opportunities, but the more remote southern sections of Quintana Roo are practically undeveloped, save for the lakeside Magic Town of Bacalar and a few eco-luxe resorts within the reserve. Aside from that, there is relatively no infrastructure save for the main highway, which is flanked on either end by endless mangrove jungle.
"As secretary of tourism, I like the idea of a train that can capitalize the millions of visitors entering Mexico through Cancun, and be able to take them to Merida, Campeche, Palenque, etc.," said Enrique de la Madrid, secretary of tourism for Mexico. "As a citizen, I think there is a lack of information. We need to know the costs, return of investment and profitability, as that is what will determine how much private investment will be."
"If you want instant economic boost you're going to need major tour operators to get behind the plan," added Rabinor. "And for them to do that there needs to be capacity, and we don't have that yet. There are questions still to be answered: Can it have the benefit that it aims for without having the capacity? Are private sector players willing to invest before the train is there? Is the train going to be empty [for that segment]? The region has sufficient highlights and the destination does warrant more infrastructure."
But the northern route is still certainly a strong option for bringing visitors to ruins and cities that up until now were reserved for only the more adventurous travelers. The train can also serve the purpose to bring workers to and from their jobs throughout the region. Most hotel workers who work in Cancun and all along the Riviera Maya live within the city of Cancun, so the train would provide another option for them to get to work, rather than the local bus system on which most of them rely.
"The train route only scratches the surface of what Mexico has to offer," Rabinor said. "There are still vast tracks of unexplored land, from Copper Canyon to Veracruz, Coahuila, and so much more of Mexico. I think it's a wonderful idea that there can be something good like this train, which will benefit Mexican tourism and also raise awareness about how much Mexico has to offer."