A beautiful Mexican town is fighting back against what residents have branded the “Dinseylandisation” of the territory to drive up tourism numbers in the area.
Oaxaca, a colonial city, has earned a UNESCO World Heritage badge thanks to its stunning churches and elegant plazas.
But it’s not just about history as the city is also home to satirical street art, markets, and bohemian bars, and is brimming with regional flavour.
The central Mexico city has grown in popularity with foreign tourists over the past decade, a surge that has left locals grappling with a housing crisis and a spiralling cost of living.
According to the Oaxaca-based Center for Social Studies and Public Opinion, since 2020 the number of foreign and national tourists has risen by 77%.
Earlier this year, hundreds of residents took to the streets to decry the unmanageable costs of housing and spreading gentrification, with signs and banners warning that, “Oaxaca is not a commodity.”
Rocketing tourism has prompted a business boom in the city, with third-wave coffee shops and posh mezcalerias opening up and attracting influencers from all over the world.
However, residents have expressed concerns the trend is driving out families that have lived in the area for generations because life is becoming increasingly unaffordable.
The upcoming inauguration of a new superhighway linking Oaxaca to surfers’ hub Puerto Escondido has left many fearing the issue of overtourism is only going to rocket further.
Activist Andrea Bel Arruti told Bloomberg: “We’re going to continue doing our work as human rights defenders.”
Investment into Oaxaca’s tourism industry was the unexpected consequence of widespread protests in the early 2000s, which prompted the Mexican government to push more cash into new infrastructure and amenities.
The introduction of low-cost flights and new high-end establishments turned the small Mexican city into a leading international holiday hub.
The Coronavirus pandemic, during which Mexico kept its borders open to nearby US and Canadian tourists, drove up interest in the area further.
Dozens of tourists escaping the virus and digital nomads moved in, to the surprise of locals. Oaxaca-based novelist Antonio Vásquez said: “We didn’t notice it at the beginning because we were locked inside.
“And then when we came out, everything had changed radically.”
In addition to driving costs up for locals, the explosion of tourism in Oaxaca is also fuelling concerns that customs and the environment could suffer irremediable consequences.
Laura Jacqueline Ramírez Espinosa, who conducted a research on the impact of overdevelopment and gentrification in the town, said: “Water scarcity, already exacerbated by the effects of climate change, is intensified by the need to meet the demands of hotels and food services, negatively impacting water availability for local residents.”
She also noted Oaxaca traditions are threatened by “Disneylandisation”, a trend that sees the cultural authenticity of a territory modified to better suit the demands of visitors.