Current Tour Destinations in Latin America: Some Problems and Practical Solutions in Brazil and Mexico

In this issue of our journal, the editorial team continues its collaboration with scientific organizations and researchers from Latin America. This region in many ways shares similar problems and trends with Russia in the development of the tourism and hospitality industry. At the same time, it stands out for its unique cultural and natural diversity, yet it also faces several significant constraints and challenges. This issue is focused on contemporary case studies and the experiences of Brazil and Mexico, the two largest countries in the region, explored from various scientific and practical perspectives. Over the past decades, Latin America has become an increasingly attractive destination for tourists. Famous historical monuments, natural parks and reserves, a rich cultural heritage, as well as the hospitality of locals, are making this region ever more prominent on the global tourist map. Thus, by the end of 2024, according to United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Latin American countries had welcomed tens of millions of foreign tourists, and the tourism industry made a significant contribution to their GDP. The authors of the articles published in this issue set out to analyze the most pressing challenges and paradoxes faced by the tourism industry in Brazil and Mexico. For many years, these countries have remained the "tourism flagships” of Latin America, surpassing most of their neighbors in the level of development of their tourism sectors. Brazil is a country with the continent’s largest share of the Amazon rainforest, endless Atlantic beaches, grand carnivals, and unique traditions of indigenous peoples. This creates enormous opportunities for the development of domestic and international tourism. Nevertheless, Brazil provides a telling example of coexisting wealth of natural resource and inadequate infrastructure, security challenges, uneven territorial development, and numerous environmental threats. In Mexico, another “tourism capital” of the region, the situation is different but, in many ways, similar. The country is actively investing in the development of resort, cultural and gastronomic tourism, relying on UNESCO sites, the beaches of the Caribbean coast, and a rich artisanal heritage. At the same time, Mexico is still facing challenges of internal and external security, overcrowding at popular sites, risks of losing authenticity, and disruption of the traditional way of life in local communities. Both cases present a complicated picture: tourism, as a powerful tool for socio-economic development, requires the ongoing pursuit of balance between short-term gains and the long-term interests of society and nature. Countries are forced to respond to rapidly changing tourist preferences, as well as to account for the impact of global processes, technological trends, and the growing demand for sustainable tourism. Particularly noteworthy are examples of successful cooperation between government authorities and businesses in these countries, cases of developing tourist routes, and experiences in solving local community problems through mechanisms of engagement in the tourism and hospitality industry. The articles in this issue stress the value of spatial planning and international integrative partnerships in the development of tourism. Of course, the list of successful regional cases and practices in Brazil and Mexico, as well as in other Latin American countries, is not limited to those included in this issue, indeed, it is much broader and more diverse. We will keep highlighting them in the future.