How Tourism Can Be Harmful in the Sacred Valley

Sustainability Series, Part 1:

Here at Awamaki we often use the phrase ‘sustainable tourism’ to describe our organization. It is the foundation of our mission. But visitors to Ollantaytambo who are looking to make a more positive impact with their travel often wonder what exactly it means. In the modern era of greenwashing and the use of terms like ‘sustainability’ for the sake of increasing consumer interest, it’s a fair question. To us, it’s more than just an appealing label, it’s an essential practice. For that reason, we have created a series of blog posts explaining what can make typical travel unsustainable, what sustainable tourism is, and how we incorporate the values and ethics of sustainable tourism into our programs. These posts will illuminate what differentiates us from other tours and stores and why we believe that differentiation is so vital in preserving this beautiful town, its unique culture, and stunning artistic practices. This first blog post lays out the damage tourism has the potential to cause as well as what the alternative is. 

How the tourism industry can be harmful: 

The global tourism sector was worth 1.9 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023. It’s an enormous industry with an enormous impact. While the effect of tourism on destinations and their residents is often a nuanced mix of positive and negative, the harm in particular has long gone under acknowledged. The economic, socio-cultural, and environmental changes caused by influxes of tourism have the potential to be profoundly damaging. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These photos were taken in Aguas Calientes, the town where tourists gather to visit Machu Picchu. It’s estimated that well over a million people make their way through the ruins every year, putting immense stress on the environment. The popular attraction has faced many challenges managing tourism sustainably and is continuously updating its rules of entry, including limiting number of people and visiting hours and prohibiting obstructive or destructive objects and behaviors. 

Although increases in tourism are often associated with an increase in wealth for a host community, the income is not distributed impartially. A meta-analysis done by the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management revealed that “tourism increases income inequality significantly” (Zhang, 2021). This means that, although a certain portion of a host population stands to gain from increased tourism, there is also a portion that loses economic power.  A study by Temple University disagreed slightly, finding that tourism decreased income inequality but “unambiguously increased wealth inequality or the overall disparity in net worth.” It’s undeniable that the creation of new job opportunities has the potential to increase standard of living for members of the host community, but “the redistribution effect of tourism may favor the rich, thus leading to further economic inequality.”

One example of how this inequality occurs is the changes in housing prices that come with an influx of tourism. As an area becomes more popular, the cost of housing goes up. Those who own property will benefit, being able to increase rent for local residents or simply cater to tourists who will pay more for shorter stays. On the other hand, less wealthy local residents, who may indeed be seeing an increase in income, continue to struggle because prices also increase. Jenny, an Ollantaytambo local who works with Awamaki teaching Spanish lessons and cooking classes, has seen the cost of rent has double and quadruple in recent years. According to her, everything has gotten exponentially more expensive. 

Tourism can also cause degradation to local culture. One study of sustainable development in the Amhara Regional State in Ethiopia found that tourism “contributed to the commoditization of the culture of society, the erosion of local communities’s socio-cultural assets, and the production of inauthentic products.” It was common in the area, as it is in Ollantaytambo, to import “cultural products from abroad in mass.” (Alamineh, et al., 2022) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tourist shops in Ollantaytambo each sell similar, if not identical, products in mass quantities. The goods have an ‘Andean look,’ with patterns and symbols that remind people of their perception of Peruvian culture. Many are marketed as handmade or locally sourced, which is often untrue. 

In the pursuit of capturing tourists' attention, tradition and culture can reshape itself for its spectators. Sincere and complex tradition and culture can be replaced by easily consumed products and easily understood performance. According to the same article, “widely disseminated local souvenirs” have “little in common with authentic, regional creations” (Alamineh, et al., 2022). Many products sold in tourists shops, things meant to be representative of the place a traveler has been, have nothing to do with the host community. Tourists, although often desiring high quality, authentic adventures end up being attracted things they can experience quickly and buy cheaply. This gives reason to create a watered down, palatable version of a local culture that can overtake the presence of true culture. 

Mass-produced items bearing cultural imagery can take the place of cultural items with greater significance. 

What is sustainable tourism?:

The negative impacts of tourism are not the whole story and they are not all inevitable. Tourism isn’t just associated with wealth inequality, it can also increase quality of life. It isn’t just associated with cultural degradation, it can also encourage the continuation of traditional practices. And, it isn’t just associated with environmental destruction, it can provide reason to safeguard natural beauty. With intention and care on the part of the visitor, the local government, the organizations involved, and the local population, there can be a vast array of positive impacts. 

Sustainable tourism is a practice that seeks to acknowledge all impacts of tourism on local communities, minimizing the negative ones and expanding upon the positive ones. It prioritizes an equitable distribution of tourism-based profits, the preservation of local culture, and protection of natural environment. This multi-dimensional approach relies on collaboration with rather than exploitation of host communities. 

We hope this blog post has offered you a solid foundation to understanding the importance of sustainable tourism. In the next post, we will delve into how Awamaki aligns its practices with these values.