In spite of all its natural beauty, Holbox has an undeniable sense that it is developing and commercializing – fast. Throughout the center of town, there’s a lot of construction, and if you walk just a few blocks, you’re bound to see bulldozers and construction workers diligently building countless new structures. Most look like new hotels or luxury condos.

Nowhere is this rapid growth more obvious than on western part of the island, where dozens of tall, white boutique hotels tower over the dense, green vegetation and often-flooded dirt roads below. Despite their thicket roofs and attempts to seem “tropical,” these ostentatious, shabbily-styled McMansions (or condos, or hotels) look wholly out of place, since this part of the island has almost no homes or other businesses.

So many questions swirl in my mind. Who is paying to build these hotels? Are locals being hired to construct them, or were contract workers brought in from other parts of the country who will take their earnings back home once the buildings are complete? Will the hotels hire local residents as receptionists, chefs, and housekeepers, or will outsiders move to the island to fill these positions? What effect will it have on locals if Holbox becomes a playground for wealthy vacationers and retirees who drive up prices of everything from food to rent?

Holbox has already undergone one transformation, from a fishing village to a small but growing center for tourism. I can’t say for sure, but I don’t think that this has totally destroyed the local culture of the island. Residents may now guide boat tours instead of fishing for lobster or shark in order to make a living. And in some ways, economic changes can be beneficial, e.g., environmentally. I’m not sure if this is true, but one person here said that the shift from fishing to tourism has actually been good for the local shark population, which now is a major attraction for visitors in late summer and early fall.

Another obvious question is: what role do travel bloggers play in publicizing lesser-known places such as Holbox? What about the average traveler, who is bound to show off how beautiful the beach is on Facebook or Instagram? Of course, bloggers want to expose our readers to stunning new places and inspire them to visit. But once we publish a post, we can’t control how many people it influences, or whether the people we encourage to visit end up being conscientious visitors that support local businesses and respect the local wildlife.

So what does it all mean? It’s simplistic to say that things like development, growth, and tourism are either good or bad, but it does make me a bit melancholy to think that in 10 years, Isla Holbox may not be the lush, green and blue paradise that it is today. Would these beaches be just as gorgeous if they were crowded with ten times as many people as there are today? What about a hundred times? It’s hard to say.