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Ecotourism

Taquile as a Model

Vicos, Peru Lessons can be learned from the participatory or home-stay tourism on the island of Taquile in Lake Titicaca that began in the mid 1970's. By 1982 an average of 750 tourists visited monthly from North and South America, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Israel, typically staying for three days. By 2000 Taquile was receiving 3,500 tourists a month or 40,000 a year, remarkable for a mountainous island only 3.5 by 1.4 miles in size with a population of 1700. Obviously, feeding that number of tourists, sanitation and garbage are issues that require coordination and planning. Waste and provisions have to be transported by a 3 and half hour motor boat trip to and from Puno, the major city on the Peruvian shores of Lake Titicaca.

Economy and Ecology: The Impact of Inclusive Package Tourism


Independent travelers to Komodo National Park in Indonesia spent on average 100US$ locally, but package tourists spent only half that, while cruise-ship arrivals spent only three cents. (The University of Kent's Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology) These findings were echoed by Goodwin and Francis (2003) who surveyed British Tour companies: Small-sized British tour companies estimated that 70% of the costs of their trips remain in the local economies and medium-sized companies estimated about half that or 35%, but larger tour companies could not create an estimate at all confirming the finding of the above studies that 80% of the income from all inclusive package tours returned to the tour company, airlines, hotels and other international companies. Studies show that ecotourism has a better record of hiring and purchasing locally as well as putting money back into local economies. Ecotourism can put as much as 95% back into the local economy according to a study by Martha Honey

Inclusive package tours also have an ecological impact. An average 18-hole golf course soaks up at least 525,000 gallons of water a day- enough to supply the irrigation needs of 200 Malaysian farmers. There are 109 countries with coral reefs. In 90 of them reefs are being damaged by cruise ship anchors and sewage, by tourists breaking off chunks of coral, and by commercial harvesting for sale to tourists. Cruise ships in the Caribbean are estimated to produce more than 70,000 tons of waste each year. (TIES Global Ecotourism Fact Sheet).

Only a small percentage of travelers inquire about hotel or tour company policies even those who, when surveyed, agree that it is important that their travel not harm the environment or culture of their destinations according to Zoë Chafe. Chafe advocates educating tourists about ecotourism certification. Philanthropy directed toward the hosting societies and a variety of investment options are growing trends for conscientious travelers.

Sources Cited Include: The Department for International Development ; Tourism Concern; The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) ; Earth Portal.org . For more information see References Cited.

Taquile is the main attraction for tourists arriving in Puno and there are 37 travel agencies that take tourists to Taquile. Elayne Zorn points out that by 2002 these agencies offered only one day trips to Taquile which allows tourists a scant half hour free time, little time for visits to the cooperative store where textiles are sold. Most of the tourists' time is spent on the 7 hour round trip boat ride, climbing up and down the hill to and from the dock to the village, and lunch in one of the island restaurants. Tour agencies use the Taquile docks without compensation and even though a governmental decree allocates 50 cents per visitor to the community, it is not enforced. Tour guides often demand kickbacks from restaurant owners. Taquile does not have electricity, phones or internet which makes control of their tourism especially difficult. The only way tourists can make sure that the money they spend to visit the island benefits Taquile, according to Zorn, is to go to the Puno dock at the end of Titicaca Avenue in the morning between 8 and 9AM or meet the returning boat in the evening between 5 and 6PM to book a passage. For the islanders, Zorn asserts that gaining control of transportation to and from the island is key to their success.

Vicos, Peru
Taquile residents Natividad Machaca and Francisco "Pancho" Huatta
© Elayne Zorn



In her concluding chapter Zorn states: A paradox at the heart of contemporary ethnic tourism concerns tourist desires to see "traditional" villages, of "millennial" or "tribal" people, presumably living "untouched by the modern world." This is at the same time that mass tourism (unlike earlier "hippie backpacker" tourism) as well as health authorities, and in Taquile's case the islanders themselves increasingly demand modern infrastructure, for health, sanitation, electricity, and telephone service.

This dilemma was played out in Taquile in a conflict over roofing material in 2002. In an historic meeting with the community to discuss tourism issues, government officials and tourist agencies voiced concerns that the red tin roofs that islanders adopted in the 1980's did not look "traditional." Islanders signed an agreement to return to thatch roofs even though they were time consuming to repair and replace and the reed materials used were scarce. Taquileans joked with Zorn that they might need to build houses near the central plaza that looked "old." Zorn mused that she would return in ten years and find tourists living in old-style Taquilean houses and Taquileans living in modern ones. The issues over transportation to the island and scheduling of tourists remain unresolved.

Taquile Images Copyright © Elayne Zorn