As recently as the early 1960s Cancun was merely a small, sleepy village adjacent to the Caribbean Sea in the northeastern section of the Yucatan Peninsula. Except for occasional backpackers (who slept in cheap, run-down hotels or spent $5 a week for a beach hammock) and a handful of scuba divers and sport fisherman, few people had ever heard of Cancun.
At about this time, however, the Mexican government undertook an initiative to economically uplift the southern region of the country, which had always been backward and impoverished. The objective was to promote tourism for, afterall, it's easier to milk a tourist than a cow.
In an effort to make the best possible choices regarding where to allocate money and resources toward this goal, computers were used. Statistics were fed into machines for analysis. Such data included quality of beaches, weather, natural attractions, air mileage from population centers (particularly the U.S.), etc. Cancun subsequently emerged as a prime location, along with the nearby island of Cozumel. The rest, in a sense, is history. Today, Cancun is an ever-growing community of over 500,000 people, located in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. In the short span of less than forty years it has become a world renowned travel destination. Currently, there are 25,000 hotel rooms and nearly 200 daily flights arriving from around the world. The number of visitors per year is approaching 3 million.
The appeal of Cancun is varied. some tourists enjoy the beaches and the beautiful water; others come to fish, scuba dive or snorkel along the second longest natural barrier reef in the world; still others savor the relative proximity of being close to archeological sites and adventure experiences.
The cost of visiting Cancun varies drastically, depending on the choice of hotel, amenities, flight distance and season of the year. Season is especially significant - if one goes during mid-April through early June or from mid-September to early December the cost is at least 50% less.
Cancun, like a growing number of destinations in meso America and the Caribbean, offers all-inclusive packages. This means that one fixed price pays for air fares, airport transfers, meals, drinks, tips, entertainment, taxes and sometimes other things (like golf or site visits and excursions). These packages can be obtained through airlines, tour companies or knowledgeable travel agents. Prices of these programs are often astoundingly low, compared to the same purchases in the U.S. The reason for this is simply that the Mexican economy is far below that of the U.S. and the standard of living in Mexico is decidedly inferior. The Mexican people are aware of this dichotomy, but they do not blame the U.S. Rather, they blame the policies and programs of their own government for creating economic disparities. "Mexico is a wealthy country," the expression goes, "but its people are poor." This means that the powerful control the wealth and resources for themselves.
Contemporary Cancun is divided into 2 areas: Zona Hotelera (hotel zone), a 14 mile long island strip where most of the resorts are located. It is connected to the mainland by two bridges. The water area encased by the two land masses is called Nichupt Lagoon. The second sector of Cancun is known as El Centro (downtown). Most visitors, except those doing some shopping (which is often cheaper than on the island) or attending the bullfights never go downtown.
Getting around in Cancun is relatively easy. The best and cheapest way is by public bus. Buses can be very crowded at rush hours, however. But the nice thing is that it is virtually impossible to get lost on the island. There is but one main road - Kukulcan Boulevard. The rule of thumb is if your hotel is on the right you are traveling north. If your hotel is on the left you are going south.
Unfortunately, the rise of Cancun as a major tourist mecca has brought with it a mixed bag of blessings. On one hand, the economy of the area has certainly accelerated dramatically in recent decades. This has meant thousands of new jobs in construction, services, retailing, maintenance, tourism, etc. And the government has benefited from increased tax revenue - some of which has gone to improve roads and public and social services. Nevertheless, most of the jobs are dead-end endeavors and amount to nothing more than menial employment, which is to say that the average weekly wage still hovers around $30 for a six-day week. Yet, having some sort of job is better than not having one at all. Life is relative.
Perhaps the most negative aspect of the continued growth of Cancun is that the environment - both physical and cultural - has been placed under increasing stress. Archeological sites, for example, are being slowly trampled by an ever accelerating volume of tourists. Many of these places, which have never been properly managed in the past, are suffering from excessive human exposure. Then, too, the waterways in the immediate vicinity of Cancun are gradually becoming an ecological nightmare because of the number of boats and a casual disregard for fundamental environmental protection.
Lastly, Cancun is losing its sense of identity. What originally gave it appeal - charm, quaintness, uniqueness - is eroding at a rapid rate. Its very character is compromised on a daily basis. Cancun is becoming Americanized. More and more the hotels look like those in "the states"; and read the names on the billboards; Planet Hollywood, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Outback Steakhouse, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Domino's, Hard Rick Café, Pat O'Brien's, etc., etc.