Although the benefits are numerous and there have been obvious positive effects of heritage tourism in the Lamanai area in northern Belize, every effort must be pursued to not destroy what attracts visitors in the first place. Although today’s travelers are seeking a more authentic experience, this experience should not be contrived. A good program should find the fit among the community, the archaeological project, and tourism. There should be a healthy balance between the needs of both visitors, researchers, and local residents. Finding this balance is the challenge.

All parties must be well briefed in the importance of approaching cultural tourism in a sustainable manner; this includes education and planning for preservation and protection of prehistoric, historic, cultural, and natural resources of an area. These are irreplaceable resources and this fact needs to be stressed by and to all members including guides, archaeologists, educators, students, and individuals in the tourist industry.

As suggested by J. Carman and S. Keitumetse (Talking About Heritage & Tourism, May 2005, The Society for American Archaeology, The SAA Archaeological Record), where tourism and culture interact, communities will always be a portion of the equation and are necessary subjects for any heritage research. Realizing that culture is about differences and tourism is about the experience of the cultural differences “emphasizes that the nature of the experience should be focused on, not how cultural processes could be saved from the impact of tourism”. Certainly there is a need to be aware of “the impact of tourism” but to concentrate solely on this aspect misses the point of cultural tourism and the positive influences it can have. This impact of tourism is often viewed as a negative and sometimes is thought to destroy or modify the authenticity of an area. But one must keep in mind that culture is not pure, it is not beyond impact; very few communities or areas are beyond influence of some sort or another.