1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 The city of Loreto

Loreto was the first Jesuit mission built in the Baja California peninsula in 1697. The small town around the mission, located on the central portion of Baja California Sur (Fig. 1), became the first capital of the territory of California and it was the point from which all explorations began and where all supplies and visitors entered the peninsula (De Sicilia, 2000).

In 1828 Loreto lost its title as capital of Baja California Sur and with it its political and economic importance (De Sicilia, 2000). Life in Loreto slowed down as it transformed from a busy port to a quiet and isolated town with rare arrivals of boats coming from mainland Mexico or other places in the peninsula. The local population supported itself by fishing and pearl diving, while some families lived on Carmen Island working the salt mine (O’Neil and O’Neil, 2004).

The first records of tourism in Loreto date back to the 1940’s, although there are records showing that foreigners and rich Mexican citizens visited the area since the early 1900’s. In 1951 an American sportfisher who recognized Loreto’s potential as an important tourist destination opened the first hotel (De Sicilia, 2000). In the 1970’s, with the completion of the Transpeninsular highway and the airport, Loreto began its transformation into a popular destination catering mainly tourists interested in sportfishing and adventure.

Loreto has experienced a steady growth since the second half of the 20th century, transforming into an urban society with a service-based economy (Steinitz et al., 2005). The municipality currently has a population of approximately 12,000 people (INEGI, 2002), and 84% lives in the city of Loreto and the remaining 16% on small ranches and in fishing and cattle grazing communities (Carabias et al., 2000; Soares, 2002; Steinitz et al., 2005).