Global Travelling Along the Inca Route: Is International Tourism Beneficial for Local Development?

Abstract

Globalization has vastly increased the number of people travelling the globe. More than half a million tourists visit the Andean Highlands each year, many of them following the “Inca route” between Peru and Bolivia in pursuit of adventurous moments and “authentic” experiences. The governments of Peru and Bolivia have embraced cultural tourism as a strategy for economic growth, the alleviation of poverty, the conservation of cultural heritage and the protection of indigenous rights. To understand the long-term implications of tourism in the Andes, however, we need to understand what draws tourists to the area, how local people view the visitors, how locals and outsiders variously understand “poverty”, and how global travelling affects opportunities for local development. Based on a combined analysis of travel guides, interviews with Peruvian and Bolivian Andeanists and fieldwork in the southern Andes of Bolivia, this article explores perceptions of place, poverty, and international tourism's potential for economic development in the Andean region. While cultural tourism has incorporated Andean people in the consumer-oriented global economy, the majority remain socially marginalized and without sufficient access to productive resources.

Notes

This study, a follow-up to the PIED Andino project (1995–1998), was carried out in close collaboration with Edgar Guerrero. I wish to thank him for his support in conducting the interviews and carrying out fieldwork. Many thanks and acknowledgements also go to José Arone and Efraín Cáceres (Peru) and Miriam Vargas (Bolivia) for their collaboration during interviews, which were very helpful to develop a more comparative view on what is typical for the Andes region. I also want to thank Ali de Jong for her editorial comments on an earlier version (P. van Lindert et al., 2006).

This programme, financed by NWO-WOTRO, is carried out under the auspices of the Centre for Latin American Research and Documentation (CEDLA). It consists of five research projects, each of them analysing the development impact of tourism at different locations in Peru and Bolivia (see also Ypeij & Zoomers, 2006).

In some of the higher communities, increases in temperature have produced new opportunities for agriculture. Higher-altitude communities now produce less oca and lisa (both tubers), and more maize and broad beans.

In some respects, activities based on the natural environment and on traditional knowledge are being replaced by activities based on newly acquired, modern knowledge and information.

During the meeting, decisions are typically made only after the lengthy, often cathartic arising of opinions; resolutions are—if possible—adopted by consensus so all members of the community regard them as binding. (Strobele-Gregor, 1996, p. 79; Kearney, 1996, p. 13; also Stobart & Howard, 2002, pp. 10, 1–13).

As a consequence of the “ley de capitalizacion”, many communities now have their own phone (mainly used to receive calls), and communication with migrated family members is more intensive than before.

The literature on Andinidad usually pays scant attention to the class dimension of ethnicity. While it is stressed that the vast majority of indigenous people occupy positions at the bottom of the class hierarchies of their nation-states (Kearney, 1996, p. 5), little is known about internal hierarchies. According to Greslou (1990, p. 41), “The Andean conception is very different, according to which what is important is the well-being of the natural community in the course of time. The different members of this community […] live together and contribute in their way to the general well-being, each contributing according to their capacities, qualities and practical knowledge (saber-hacer).” The central concept of Andean life is: “Forms of coexistence for mutual benefit” (Greslou, 1990, pp. 40–41).

In addition, it is possible to make a distinction between Kaqniyoq and Manakaqniyok: in the peasant communities they do not speak in terms of rich persons or families, but of he who has (Kaqniyoq), while poor is he who has not (Manakaqniyoq).

People in high potential agricultural zones with good market access (for potatoes, fruits, and horticultural products) may be able to invest in land and/or improve agricultural production (purchasing land, inputs, etc.), purchase a tractor or truck (to earn money as tractorista or comerciante), or buy a mill (in places with electricity).