On the world tourism stage, has any iconic destination performed well, going from low-key beauty and ambiance to growth in a non-threatening fashion but with reasonable (maybe even massive) growth, Kay?
There are places that have handled growth more intentionally. Bhutan is one. Parts of Costa Rica are another. Saba too. None of them are perfect, but in each case there was an early decision to put guardrails around growth so it didn’t completely overrun what made the place special in the first place.
And to be clear, I love the Tulum region. This wasn’t written as a takedown. It was written as a cautionary story. When a destination becomes world-class, the margin for misalignment gets very small. What’s sold has to keep matching what’s actually experienced.
That’s why Tulum matters as an example. Not because it’s “bad,” but because if trust can quietly erode there, it can happen anywhere. Growth itself isn’t the villain. Unmanaged growth is.
The real question for destinations isn’t “how do we get bigger?” It’s “how do we grow without breaking the promise that got people to care in the first place?”
I think this misses also factoring in the general public’s fear of Mexico and politics… how does Tulum compare to other Mexican destinations? The marketing story for Mexico in general needs a refresh…
Ah good point Emily. Having lived in the region for so long, I took a more regional, local approach illustrating how the guest experience does not match the marketing.
On the world tourism stage, has any iconic destination performed well, going from low-key beauty and ambiance to growth in a non-threatening fashion but with reasonable (maybe even massive) growth, Kay?
That’s a really fair question.
There are places that have handled growth more intentionally. Bhutan is one. Parts of Costa Rica are another. Saba too. None of them are perfect, but in each case there was an early decision to put guardrails around growth so it didn’t completely overrun what made the place special in the first place.
And to be clear, I love the Tulum region. This wasn’t written as a takedown. It was written as a cautionary story. When a destination becomes world-class, the margin for misalignment gets very small. What’s sold has to keep matching what’s actually experienced.
That’s why Tulum matters as an example. Not because it’s “bad,” but because if trust can quietly erode there, it can happen anywhere. Growth itself isn’t the villain. Unmanaged growth is.
The real question for destinations isn’t “how do we get bigger?” It’s “how do we grow without breaking the promise that got people to care in the first place?”
Thanks.
I think this misses also factoring in the general public’s fear of Mexico and politics… how does Tulum compare to other Mexican destinations? The marketing story for Mexico in general needs a refresh…
Ah good point Emily. Having lived in the region for so long, I took a more regional, local approach illustrating how the guest experience does not match the marketing.