The Tourist Industry in Latin America

This week I was perusing an interactive CD that my friend's father has made to promote his future business in Belize. It has been his lifelong dream to build bungalows in a remote area of Belize for ecologically-minded, outdoorsy tourists. Although, I'm sure it will be a great place to visit, it brought to mind my mixed feelings about the tourism industry in Latin America. I'm just not sure how I feel about an American developing land in Belize that will probably not even bring revenue to locals because it is in a remote area. In other cases, I guess tourism is a mixed blessing. For exmaple, I was able to do the three-day hike to Macchu Picchu because the local government knew it would be a good source of tourist dollars. On the other hand, the tourism industry has become so big there that after the long three day hike, I arrived at the ruins to see busloads of tourists in high-heels pulling up at the top. I wonder if tourism in Latin American countries is good for the short-term, but bad in the long run? Also, should there be a limit to how far the tourism industry goes?