El lado obscuro del turismo de cruceros en Cozumel

Abstract

Cruises are the tourism sector with more growth at present, during the year 2017, this activity generated a spill of 3,356.65 billion dollars; 78,954 jobs and 902.68 million dollars in salaries. Worldwide, the industry is dominated by four shipping groups: Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruises and MSC Cruises. While these companies share the profits, the destinations of the Caribbean receive the impacts related to water pollution, air, destruction of biodiversity for the creation of infrastructure and accumulation of hazardous waste. In addition, by means of strategies such as flags of convenience, the shipping companies evade the payment of taxes and rely on legislation that allows them to generate precarious jobs. Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico, serves as a subject for the analysis of the negative aspects of this economic activity since it is the destination of cruises with the highest profits in the Caribbean area, generating 14% of the economic flow but creating only 0.86% of salaries, which allows to raise the possibility of job insecurity in the area.