Indeed, while the major hotel chains and business situated in the recreational business district reap in the profits from the well-healed tourist traffic, there is little "trickle-down" economics at work in Cancun so that the poor stay poor while the rich just get richer. For example, Jafari concludes that tourist ghettoes "also bring little economic benefit to local communities as visitors have few opportunities to spend money on local goods and services; whereas resort income is maximized, the majority of tourist spending occurring within the (often foreign-owned) resort complex" (254).

This spatial separation between tourists, visitors and others from local residents and workers has been further reinforced and even encouraged by the inordinately high rate of migration to the area which can be attributed both to the climate and location, but to employment opportunities for Latin Americans as well. As a result, child labor is rampant in Cancun. For instance,...
[ View Full Essay]