Relationship between non-timber forest products and tourism: The case of the Mexican laurel (Litsea glaucescens Kunth) in El Chico National Park, Hidalgo, Mexico
Relationship between non-timber forest products and tourism: The case of the Mexican laurel (Litsea glaucescens Kunth) in El Chico National Park, Hidalgo, Mexico
Vínculos entre los productos forestales no maderables y el turismo: el caso del laurel (Litsea glaucescens Kunth) en el Parque Nacional el Chico, Hidalgo, México
Fonte: El Periplo Sustentable; Núm. 40 (2021): Número Cuarenta; 206 - 232
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Resumo: This study sets out to analyze the relationship between the Mexican laurel, a non-timber forest species, and tourism in El Chico National Park, a protected area where tourism has been promoted for more than three decades. The analysis examines the abundance and uses of the species in local communities and compares abundance in areas with and without tourism within the protected area. Ethnographic methods such as open and semi-structured interviews were used to discover the uses of the plant in the towns surrounding the area and to characterize the marketing network. The uses of Mexican laurel in Easter festivities were documented from participant observation. Laurel populations within this protected area were found to be more abundant in sites without tourism. The tourist activity is not directly related to the uses of the plant. Religious uses were less frequent, unlike the cases that have been documented in the State of Mexico and other places in Hidalgo, where religious use has important social and ceremonial value. A series of different actors participate in the marketing chain of the plant, which is sold in local markets of the state capital; however, it is in Mexico City where sales are greatest. The study concluded that tourist activity in the national park does not directly influence the abundance of Mexican laurel or its commercialization. In this protected area its main uses are as a seasoning for food, and tourists consume it through gastronomy but in minimal quantities. In regions surrounding the park, its uses are mainly related to religious aspects. Marketing occurs mainly outside the region.
