Towards sustainable tourism Learning Objective To understand what is meant by sustainable tourism. To understand how sustainable tourism can benefit a poor community

TOURISM IN LEDC’s Tourism is important for many Less Economically Developed Countries like Gambia and Peru. BUT they do not always get a fair share of the benefits.

We are lucky to live in this wonderful place We are lucky to live in this wonderful place. There is lovely scenery, beautiful beaches, exotic culture and wonderful wildlife. BUT we “own” little else.

It looks wonderful but we are not allowed across those lawns. The foreign Investors own the land and take most of the profits. They even bring employees from their countries so we do not get jobs.

So does it benefit us? How does this help our country? The airlines that transport the tourists are usually owned by foreigners. They get paid for the trips.

So foreign countries and foreign companies gain most of the benefits. BUT the local people have to put up with the disruption with often no benefits to themselves. Their culture is also affected.

Making Tourism Sustainable Sustainable tourism is when: The place, its people and their culture are respected. The local people have their say in decisions about tourism. They gain a fair share of the benefits from it including money. There is as little damage to their environment as possible.

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM IN PERU’S RAINFOREST

The Ese’eja tribe of Infierno in Peru, live in a reserve in the Amazon rain forest

The whole tribe of about 400 of us are in the tourist business The whole tribe of about 400 of us are in the tourist business! In 1996 we signed a 20 year contract with a tour operator! We had to build the lodge and they would bring the tourists. We had to get a loan to do it!

This was the deal they made with us……. We get 60% of the profits from the lodge. We have an equal say with the tour operator in tourism decisions We do all the jobs in the lodge and they train us where necessary.

We act as the rainforest guides for the tourists. We sell the food and drink at the lodge. We can sell wood carvings and other handicrafts made by the tribe at the lodge. All the tribes folk benefit from this arrangement and we are all productively employed in our tourism business.

The lodge.

The benefits to the Ese’eja tribe: It brings in money for a very poor tribe. They earn money from working in the lodge or selling their handicrafts through it. They make use of all their traditional skills in farming, hunting, fishing and knowledge of the rainforest.

They are learning new skills and learning to communicate in English to the tourists. The rainforest is benefiting from the care given to it by the tribe.