Now I gotta see if I can visit Calakmul

This article in the Sunday New York Times discusses Unesco World Heritage sites and how the designation of such doesn't necessarily mean conservation efforts for those sites. After a locale is designated as such, it gets listed in the Frommer's and Lonely Planet guidebooks and there is an increase in the number of tourists. I have actually been to everywhere the article talks about, as much of the focus of the article is the Yucatan.

Specifically, Izamal and Campeche are talked about and the Merida study abroad program goes to these two cities. The tourist impact on those communities is quite high once they are named a Unesco World Heritage site. See July archives for more reminiscences of the Yucatan. I am always a bit fascinated about the economic development efforts within Mexico, especially after NAFTA. I can definitely see a decline in the economy in the past few summers in Merida and many more Chinese-made imports.