Despite official lip service paid to conservation, some large scale tourism developments are wrecking fragile ecosystems. Developments along the 'Maya Riviera' south of Cancún may very well kill off large sections of coral reef, mangrove swamp, turtle-nestling beaches and everything in between.

In some places in Mexico, it's hoped that ecologically sensitive tourism will benefit the environment by providing a sustainable source of income for local people. An example is Mazunte, Oaxaca, a village that lived by slaughtering sea turtles until that was banned in 1990. Villagers turned to slash-and-burn farming, threatening forest survival, before a successful low-key tourism program was launched.