Destinations editor Eric Moya was a guest last week of Panama Jack Resorts Cancun, one of two properties under the new Playa Resorts brand.
When Playa Resorts unveiled its plans for Panama Jack last year, representatives told me that one of the new brand's goals would be to encourage guests to be travelers, not tourists. In fact, Panama Jack has incorporated the tag line "Be a traveler ... not a tourist" into its marketing.
The word "tourist" will probably never shake its negative connotations, particularly as more travelers aspire to be "vagabonds," "wanderlusters" or some other romantic self-identifier one might find on an Instagram profile.
We all likely recognize the associations that led to the word's fall from grace: The word "tourist" conjures images of people pouring out of buses, selfie-sticking oblivious to their surroundings, checking off sights and counting passport stamps for bragging rights and not soaking in the experiential, off-the-beaten-track, locally sourced authenticity of it all.
So I imagine that's what Panama Jack is getting at with "Be a traveler ... not a tourist." But I had to wonder: With the brand's first two locations in Cancun and Playa del Carmen, is it even possible for the guest experience to not be, well, touristy?
I thought about that during our excursion to Chichen Itza, an ancient Mayan archaeological site about a two-hour drive from Cancun's hotel zone and visited by 2.1 million people in 2016.
After departing from the hotel around 7 a.m., our group of about a dozen exited our bus at about 9:20 -- ahead of the throngs who would depart from Cancun and Playa del Carmen around 9, but the site was already packed with visitors as well as souvenir vendors. As folks gathered around the centerpiece Temple of Kukulcan pyramid for selfies, it all certainly felt like the scores of tourist attractions I've visited around the world.
So was this just going to be a shameless photo op? We were at least getting some historical background from Beto, our enthusiastic guide for tour operator Cancun Passion. He offered a basic lesson on the Mayan numerical system and discussed that civilization's obsession with astronomy, all to provide some context for these sights surrounding us. But I confess: With a 7 a.m. departure time and after two hours aboard a bus, I would not describe my reception of said math lesson as "enthusiastic."
The day's excursion was capped with a buffet lunch and a visit to a cenote -- pretty standard for a Chichen Itza day trip.
Upon our return to Panama Jack, on my bed lay a small coloring book and colored pencils with a card that read: "Chichen Itza is classified as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and in 1988 was enlisted as a Unesco World Heritage Site."
This kid-friendly amenity immediately reminded me of a couple of things. One, most Cancun visitors aren't likely to be as jaded as an editor for a leading travel trade publication. Two, a visit to a site like Chichen Itza is a great opportunity for visitors to learn about the history of our neighbors to the south and not simply associate Mexico with beach resorts.
Perhaps, then, the distinction Panama Jack is making between a "tourist" and "traveler" is not one of destination but of mindset. Maybe it's their way of encouraging folks to try new things: giving tequila another shot (pun intended) after that crazy Cinco de Mayo night in college, putting chilaquiles on your plate at the breakfast buffet, riding a jet ski for the first time.
Maybe the lesson is that for the traveler, opportunities for exploration and discovery are everywhere, even along the well-trodden path of Cancun's hotel zone.
TW photo by Eric Moya