Tradition and modernity side-by-side: experiential tourism among Quechua communities

ABSTRACT

Experiential tourism can be a catalyst for enhancing the wellbeing of indigenous communities. Yet, experiential tourism is a conundrum as cultural adaption to increase tourists’ satisfaction can threaten authenticity. This study examined the dialectic between experiential tourism and traditional culture among seven Quechua communities in Peru offering experiential tourism, by addressing three questions: (1) What is the perceived the role of ancestral traditions in experiential tourism? (2) To what extent modernism permeates into their lifestyles?, and (3) How do they negotiate ancestral traditions and modernism? Data collected in 2015 revealed that locals involved in tourism considered a priority to keep their ancestral traditions alive by passing them on to new generations; those not involved in tourism are less compliant of cultural authenticity. As a result, study communities showed signs of acculturation, syncretism and re-authentication. Findings also revealed that tourism is perceived as the catalyst for keeping and recovering traditional cultural manifestations, while modernism of certain practices is a necessity. This study contributes to the tourism scholarship by stressing the necessity to negotiate the coexistence of modernity and traditions in experiential tourism. Findings also elucidate policy and marketing suggestions to increase the positive effect of experiential tourism in heritage preservation.

KEYWORDS:

• Authenticity
• culture
• experiential tourism
• heritage
• Quechua
• Peru

Acknowledgements

Our sincere thanks also to Dr Timothy Lee, guest editor, and both referees for their valuable comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Sandra Sotomayor is a faculty member in the Tourism Administration program at Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola in Lima, Peru. She teaches courses related to destination marketing and quality of services offered to domestic and international tourists. Her research focuses on sustainability indicators of tourism development and higher education in tourism.

Claudia Gil Arroyo is a doctoral student and graduate research assistant in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University. Her research focuses on the relationship between tourism and local food systems, tourism destination and product development and sustainable development practices.

Carla Barbieri is an associate professor in Equitable and Sustainable Tourism at North Carolina State University, where she leads the Agritourism and Societal Well-being lab. Her research focuses on tourism in agricultural settings and rural well-being. She also conducts research on sustainable tourism and different types of niche tourism.

Notes

1 Saccacca and Paru Paru are different communities that operate together in the same tourism initiative (Parque de la Papa). Given they common organizational structure, management and training, they were treated as one community.

Additional information

Funding

The authors thank the Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola for providing the funds to cover data collection.