Experiencing community tourism in Peru

Tourist activities offered by indigenous communities are commonly described as Community based tourism, in which local residents (often indigenous) invite tourists to visit their communities and demonstrate their culture. It uses existing natural and cultural resources and contributes to their preservation. In tourism studies, it is frequently assumed that CBT can overcome power imbalances and re-allocates income from primary tourism resources away from large transnational companies. In other words, community-based tourism is growing in popularity as a way of redressing the glaring inequalities created by the mass tourism industry.

However, there are many ways to deploy CBT. Some might involve community oversight and consensus and be amazing. Others might generate local oligarchies, tensions, externalities. Others might be just a smokescreen for urban tourism countries to exploit locals while taking the lion's share of the income as tourism agencies try to find ways to profit from increased conscientiousness of international travelers.

Peru has not been an exception to this phenomenon. However, the pandemic has halted a source of income for indigenous groups.

The first Covid-19 case was reported on March 6th, 2020, and spread throughout the country in three distinct waves. Despite responding with the most drastic measures in Latin America, the country reached the highest death rate as a proportion of population in the world in May 2021. Overrun hospitals, increasing wealth disparities and an already-weakened healthcare system were accompanied by a political crisis, the impeachment of Martin Vizcarra and consequent political instability.

A prolonged closure of borders and a temporary halt on international flights decreased Peru’s Tourism Revenue by 500% between 2019 and 2020, In the same time span, between 10% and 20% of Peruvians entered poverty. The majority of 1.3 million jobs that were supported by tourism previously in the country were lost. Although the Peruvian government implemented the biggest fiscal stimulus package in the region (17% of GDP), very little was done to directly address the political and economic concerns of vulnerable communities that were dependent on touristic activities to protect their land and secure their only source of income.

As such, the research indicated the following goals:

1. Analyze the motivation of indigenous communities that offer CBT: Why do indigenous communities offer touristic activities? To what extent do they enjoy sharing your culture? Can CBT actively address poverty

2. Understand if CBT redresses the glaring inequalities created by the mass tourism industry: Has tourism emerged as the only feasible way to counter economic disparities and land degradation? To what extent is tourism a sustainable answer to address deeper underlying issues? Does tourism fence off other forms of development (Mining, urban development, displacement of local communities)? Who benefits from CBT? Does CBT continue, reinforce and exacerbate structures imposed by settler colonialism?

· 3. Examine the impact of CBT on local communities: To what extent does tourism impact communities negatively (generate local oligarchies, tensions, externalities)? Is no tourism an option? Who earns the majority of the money? How is income distributed?

· 4. Evaluate if CBT can actively be utilized to conserve indigenous land and counter environmental damage: Does tourism further degrade, pollute, and devalue indigenous land? How much revenue is actively used for the conservation of indigenous land? Does tourism fence off other forms of extraction, such as mining, oil and water extraction?

· 5. Comprehend how indigenous communities that offer CBT navigated this difficult time during the pandemic: How did they adapt? How did the Peruvian government help? How much did the stimulus assist? How did the political crisis influence their experience and their received support from the government?

• Literature review
• Participating in a series of Community Based tours throughout the country, in Arequipa, Cusco, Puno, and the Amazon, as well as interviewing the guides, workers at touristy sites, and tourist agencies.

5 day camping in the Amazon rainforest:

My guide Jerson was an indigenous local from a tiny village - of around 100 people and 20 families - that only could be visited by boat. All the houses are open and centered around one big field where the kids can be found playing soccer and volleyball. His daughter accompanied us on our 5-day camping trip in the rainforest, she was responsible for cooking and cleaning dishes.

They do all speak Spanish there. Nobody speaks their indigenous language, but "there are several attempts to re-introduce the language. However, unsuccessful."

The tour agency is a family-owned, local organization. The owner comes from a neighboring town of similar size. According to their employees, most tourist agencies that offer similar experiences were founded by locals, and all tour guides grew up in tiny, remote villages. Tours cost around $100 per day. Additional costs may apply for staying in a lodge, instead of camping.

During the pandemic, Jerson lost his job as a tour guide and continued to rely on subsistence farming, just like anyone else in his village. "In the village, nothing really changed, but we lost our external incomes."

The town used traditional medicines to cure and prevent the spread of Covid-19. They are all vaccinated now.

Hiking the Macchu Picchu Trail

I hiked the Macchu Picchu trail for 4 days with KB Adventures. Our tour guide Alex was Quechua and was born and raised in Cusco. He studied tourism at the University of Lima, as he "early on realized that he would not be able to make as much money anywhere else."

The Macchu Picchu Trail is a trail that was originally built by the Inka and is around 500 years old. It is not only easily the most beautiful hike I have ever done but also makes you truly appreciate your visit to Macchu Picchu, as the Inka sides along the way add incredible depth and importance to what Macchu Picchu meant for the Inkas.

Along the way, many local indigenous families sell water and snacks to thirsty hikers. Similarly, the campgrounds are owned by indigenous communities. This way, even if not booking with a local, indigenous, or family-owned company, local communities are compensated and benefit financially from international travelers.

One cannot hike the Macchu Picchu trail without booking with a tour guide and a licensed tour company. One cannot hike it by themselves. This is to ensure the preservation of the trail.

The tours cost between $400 and $900. The price includes a tour guide, the camping equipment, the permits and several porters that carry all equipment. The porters carry backpacks of 25kg each and all come from local villages nearby. Additionally, they cook all meals and set up tents. Most of them did not speak Spanish, only Quechua.

The tour guide makes around 250 dollars for each tour. The porters make significantly less. However, no clear amount was shared with me. It is customary to tip porters between 10$ - 50$ and the tour guide between 20$ to 80$.

The trail used to be highly frequented by hikers (20 - 30 guided tours every single day). Because of covid, this number significantly shrank. Our tour guide used to work every single week, now he leads a hike once a month. Thus, the pandemic did not only affect local communities that relied on extra income from selling snacks along the way but also significantly impacted tour guides and porters. Alex does not work anywhere else on his days off.

Rainbow Mountain Day Tour

Vinicunca (commonly referred to as Rainbow Mountain ) is a few hours outside of Cusco with an altitude of 5,200 meters above sea level. It only became visible in 2017 when the ice on top of it melted. Tours offered range from 30 to 60 dollars and include breakfast, lunch, and transportation. Tour agencies cooperate with each other to fill vans. The food provided is at local restaurants that resemble households.

The vans can only take tourists up to a certain point. The trailhead is about 6 miles away from the actual Rainbow Mountain picture spot. Locals offer donkey rides for 50 soles. 70 soles for a roundtrip. The trip takes about 45 minutes up with a donkey. On a day, they take several trips up the mountain and the average income daily is around 200 per day. Compare this number with the average income of around 1,500 Peruvian soles per month.

Visiting the floating islands of Lake Titikaka

The Uros are a people that live on Lake Titikaka, close to Puno. To protect themselves from invading groups, the Uros built mobile islands from the endemic totora plant. If a threat emerged, they could simply move their islands elsewhere in the lake. The lake inhabits around 100 of these floating islands. Each island is inhabited by one family.

The islands host over 500 tourists every single day. However, because of the magnitude, each island is only visited once a month. Tourists spend around 45 minutes on one island, where the inhabitants explain to them how the islands are built and maintained, and try to sell local crafts. They historically were dependent on fishing. However, due to increasing levels of pollution, lake Titikaka has experienced a dramatic reduction in fish populations. Thus, they are financially dependant on tourism now, as they neither own land nor farm.

Tours cost around 60$ for day tours, around 10% goes to the entrance ticket charged by the Uros themselves. Transportation from and to our hotel was provided. Lunch is provided by a family on a different island. One could also choose to sleep one night as a guest on a floating island.

Our tour guide did not come from the Uros and only interacted with them in Spanish and Quechua.

A two-day hike in the Colca Canyon

The Colca Canyon is one of the world's deepest canyons. The canyon landscape comprises a green valley and remote traditional villages with terraced agriculture that predates the Incas.

The hike takes you on one day down the canyon, where you will spend the night. On the second day, you will ascend again. You spend the night in a hotel. As you trek the 15-mile hike, you cross through several smaller villages that are located inside the canyon and on the edges. You eat your meals in local homes and along the way several local Quechua families sell snacks - and more importantly - water. The tour guide himself was born in a close-by village and studied tourism. He spoke Spanish, English and Quechua fluently. During the pandemic, he worked as a construction worker. He, however, "is happy to be back as it is less physical work and more money."

The hotel was built by locals. When the pandemic shut down these businesses, locals returned to fully relying on subsistence farming.

Hiking Volcano Chachani

Chachani lies a few hours of driving outside of Arequipa. My tour guide, together with a driver, took me to the start of the hike. He worked with several tour companies himself and thus, was independently contracted by them. According to my payment and his remarks, almost the entirity of what I paid to the tour agency was paid him: 200 Soles.

The hike was incredibly difficult and you set camp at 5200 meters, where you will spend the night. I, however, suffered from horrible altitude sickness and spent the whole night vomitting. At 4am the tour guide decided to turn around and we made our way down. When we arrived back at the tour agency, he immeditaely joined another tour going up the same volcano. Thus, he made a hundred dollars within only 3 days of working.

Peru inhabits 51 indigenous peoples in Peru, who together comprise 45 per cent of the population. However, many Indigenous communities in Peru have gradually been forced to commodify their cultural traditions to generate income and protect their vulnerable lands as alternative opportunities for income in the area that used to exist, are steadily decreasing. Amazonians, for instance, used to harvest natural rubber and hunt and sell wild animals on the black market, but there is no longer demand for natural rubber and increased regulations have decreased the market for exotic pets and animal skins. It is no surprise that revenue from ecotourism activity is 40 times greater than the amount invested by the state in the management and handling of the country’s protected areas. In essence, tourism has gradually become the only solution for indigenous communities to counteract land degradation and respond to economic struggles. As pollution and environmental degradation jeopardize traditional forms of survival and living, tourism and its generated financial income has been rendered absolutely necessary for some. During the pandemic this financial flow was interrupted, forcing many to leave, adjust, and beg.

The relationship is complicated. Tourism provides an incredibly essential income to some - while often reluctantly - on top of sustance farming. While it offers a very generous income beyond average Peruvian income, it forces indigenous communities to commercialize their culture. This relationship is further complicated by one more actor: The Peruvian government. While often using tour guides and paying entry fees to previously or currently indigenous owned places is mandatory and enforced, mostly only bigger tourist agencies profit. In bigger tourist sides, such as Maccu Piccu, all transport and infrastructure is entirely managed by the governmen itself. The revenue, however, barely ever benefits local communities. When the pandemic ceased tourist revenue, no money was given to indigenous communities that previously relied on tourist activities.

I learned that issues are more complex than they seem - instead, they rely on nuanced analysis. Tourism, has created jobs and income, where none were before. Mass tourism, however, has excarcabated existing power structures that continue to benefit few. Some indigenous peoples and groups were able to capitalize on tourist activities, but numbers are low and such excebtions often undermine indigenous alternatives to development.

On a more personal level, this project enabled Mathias to further understand the complex relationship of indigeneity, tourism and development, an issue he has studied before in other parts of the world, such as Ecuador and Hawaii.

I am going to continue to explore/ reflect on the interaction between traditional values and the tourist industry, particularly when traveling the next time, considering local and indigenous norms and customs and wherever possible using local/indigenous tour guides. At the same time, we have to ask ourselves: "Can our tourist activity ever be beneficial to locals? To what extent are we beneficial and/or destructive?" and "To what extent should we travel at all?"