Experiential tourism consists of carrying out attractive and interesting actions in contact with local people. In this way, the traveler learns their customs, enjoys their meals, sleeps in their homes, experiences their routines and intervenes in their productive practices. This alternative encourages an encounter between people of dissimilar cultures.
This option, which emerged just over a decade ago, has become a fascinating means of appreciating the vast, complex and little-known village universe. Beyond its undoubted economic gains, it makes it possible to realize our vast gastronomic, ecological, ethnic and historical baggage and, especially, attracts people eager to perceive the ancestral diversity of the rural aboriginal.
According to Fray Masías Cruz Reyes in his documented study "Territorial Identity and Experiential Tourism": "… The phenomenon of rural tourism has experienced notable growth in recent years, especially in more developed countries, associated with growing environmental sensitivity. Its acceptance is motivated by the stress caused by urban life, the tourist abuse of the coastline and the development of new areas. It ranges from tourism linked to agriculture, to tourism more focused on nature. Its audience is clearly family or youth type and it usually makes low individual expenses. The most widespread forms are walks, camps, excursions, bike rides, horseback riding, etc. ”.
Such a novel initiative produces additional profits: it values history and tradition, opens the door to new product markets, strengthens and stimulates business organization, and diversifies ecotourism. It is a dilemma that will decongest the demand concentrated in certain scenarios of formidable cultural significance and, in addition, it is a tool for progress for the jurisdiction.
It fulfills a magnificent pedagogical function in environmental work: it makes it possible to glimpse the skills of our ancestors, represented in irrigation systems, the domestication of wild species, the promotion of bird breeding, the agricultural calendar that established the monthly food production, the use of the terraces to make supplies and how they fought the erosion of the basins. Thanks to the experiential journey these teachings are made available to the outsider. It is a medium focused on looking at a world omitted from the great national aspirations and projects.
At the same time, it improves the level and condition of life of the natives. Let us bear in mind that poverty is the cause and effect of the deterioration of the environment and, therefore, alleviating indigence rates will facilitate stopping the frequent predation in these areas.In this sense, I reiterate what was asserted in my article "Poverty and environmental deterioration": "… So, economic growth is essential to reduce poverty. The negative effects caused by this growth, fortunately, can be reduced if resources are allocated to achieve better management of the environment. For the poor, environmental management should not be a distant option in their lives, but rather an element embedded in the social development agenda. Consequently, it is important to develop proposals that include the 'green' component and its social, economic, political and cultural impacts on the lower income population ”.
For its part, the National Strategy for Community Rural Tourism of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) has facilitated the intervention in 76 enterprises, in 16 regions of the country (San Martín, Amazonas, Cajamarca, Loreto, Lambayeque, La Libertad, Ancash, Ucayali, Pasco, Lima, Ayacucho, Apurímac, Puno, Madre de Dios, Cusco, and Arequipa) and increased employability by 12 percent, has reported a monthly supplementary salary of 53 new soles per family. A fact that should not go unnoticed is the one referred to the nearly 100 thousand foreign participants who make journeys in communal places. To date, there is an 18 percent annual increase in visitor flow and a 13 percent economic increase. Finally, seven million new soles have been obtained from the rural economy.
In many cases, peasant associations are trained by entities like Promperú in order to obtain the skills to manage this business. With the dividends obtained, they can maintain the delicate surrounding ecosystems and undertake a business activity focused on strengthening the communal structure. Below I share three experiences that deserve to be highlighted for their enormous favorable derivations.
The community of Vicos (Carhuaz, Ancash) was one of the forerunners in introducing this type of itinerary, with the advice of the High Mountain Institute of Huaraz. It is a proposal carried out in a cozy town that presents to its guests the dance of the wheat harvest, the chicha de jora, the spicy guinea pig and the yunca, stew prepared with peeled wheat, chicken and chili sauce. It has the Legiacocha and Minoyor lagoons, the Copa Chica and Copa Grande peaks, the Honda ravine and unique archaeological monuments.
On the other hand, the district of Sibayo (Caylloma, Arequipa) offers a rustic and homely journey, consisting of touring the square, the surroundings, the river and alternating with the rites of its inhabitants. The guest receives lodging, food and participates in daily tasks such as collecting firewood, weaving clothes and mystical ceremonies. As of 2005, the municipality devoted itself to its promotion. Three years later, the first group of hikers arrived who spent the night in the stone “experiential houses”. Since then the visits have grown significantly; in 2008 576 pilgrims were housed, the following year 783 were reached and in 2011 there were around 7,000. Sibayo is one of the most ambitious destinations in the Colca Valley; welcomes 1,000 tourists a year, which generates an approximate remuneration of $ 30,000,000.
According to the report "Community Rural Tourism in Sibayo" of the Ministry of Agriculture: "… The town of Sibayo has recovered a socioeconomic dynamism and habitability, which allows the development of tourist activity and other related businesses, such as agricultural, livestock and livestock production. pisciculture. Tourism reversed the process of abandonment of the town and many of the families who had gone to their estancias, today live in the town, although maintaining the activity in the estancias. This situation has enabled access to health services, children's education, information, citizen participation, significantly improving their quality of life ”.
An unbeatable experience is offered by the Uros Islands and Taquile Island, one of the most transcendental attractions of Puno and Lake Titicaca. The president of the Association of Experiential Tourism of the Uros Island, Cristina Soaña affirmed: "… Experiential tourism is not just giving accommodation, it is that the tourist is like your child, and that they feel it from the heart." The program consists of explaining the construction of the islets, their traditions, the subsistence of their residents, their education, the trick of their products, the elaboration of their reed-based handicrafts and a tour of the Titicaca National Reserve.
The tourist flow brought considerable benefit to the inhabitants. Inspired by the successes of their neighbors on Taquile Island, the aborigines of Amantani Island began to offer a package adapted to the tastes of walkers, favoring local income: income makes a higher living status affordable than income from fishermen and farmers. As such, the prevailing positive balance complements the prosperity of the locals.
Experiential tourism is a relevant opportunity to teach, raise awareness, admire and spread our exuberant ancestral wealth and incorporate the remote and rugged Peruvian Andes into original possibilities of well-being. Besides, it leads to enhancing general self-esteem, uniting cultural unity and a sense of belonging. The lucid annotation of the illustrious historian and researcher Luis E. Valcárcel Vizcarra (1891-1987) comes to my mind, exposed in his monumental work “From Cusco indigenism to Peruvian anthropology”: “Let us pronounce the name of Peru with the pride that is owed, but also with the dignity it demands. Let the world not doubt that it is true that what is worth the most, 'a Peru is worth'… "
(*) Teacher, conservationist, consultant on environmental issues, member of the Life Institute and former president of the Board of Trustees of Parque de Las Leyendas - Felipe Benavides Barreda.
