The Culture of Tourism

The moment I stepped off the plane in Peru, I was thrust into a dynamic. There were roles I was expected to play--and a country-filled with counterparts to engage these presumed roles. I was expected to be interested in seeing indigenously dressed natives--in taking their pictures and purchasing their crafts. Moreover I was expected to be interested in viewing ancient Inca and Aymara sites...and being photographed visiting these places. This was just all a given. Who would go to Peru or Ecuador as a tourist and not want to do this?

To support such activities there has developed a whole complex of businesses and trained professionals. Many young Peruvians go to tourism school to become guides, translators, travel agents and hotel and restaurant managers. Being that there is a constant influx of tourists to Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, few Peruvians living in these areas even think of engaging in non-touristic occupations. Those who don't acquire professional training may make and/or sell crafts or wear indigenous attire and pose for "voluntary" tips. They were all primed for my presumed tourisitic appetite. Moreover, I was expected to play a certain part in this fixed exchange.

Of course we tourists come with their own agendas...especially to physically challenging places like the Peruvian highlands. We want to avoid altitude illness, we don't want to be taken advantage of financially...and we want to feel safe. So then the intercultural dance begins. Some tourists arrive on their prepaid tours and their guides watch over them like hawks. Others of us arrive a bit more independently and are immediately regarded as marks for the panoply of Peruvians who might potentially profit over our presence in their country.

In private corners the Peruvians chat about who tipped them well, who bought pricey stuff from them...and who didn't. And then we tourists have our chats. What's a good price? What's a good place to eat? sleep? and to take those ubiquitous photos? Who are the good agencies? guides? And where can you go when you just want to shake the whole thing off...when you've heard enough factoids about the ancient Incas and bought enough alpaca products?

And the Galapagos? Well the whole archepelago is sustained by tourism. Interestingly it is far more European than it is Ecuadorian. European pirates and whalers sought refuge there in the 15th and 16th centuries...and then beginning in the 19th century, European colonies and outposts sprouted up. While the habited cities on the islands do offer touristic-based employment to many Ecuadorian families, they are ultimately rarified places. Crime barely exists while the islands' best and brightest become naturalists and guides in the spirit of Charles Darwin.

As for the touristic appetite on the Galapagos...largely it is to share space with the many fearless species of birds, tortoises, iguanas and those oh so cute sea lion pups. And considering that we come there for that...they make very sure that we readily find all of them...and as often as possible. Scratching beneath the touristic veneer, we do find out that this wonderland is being genetically engineered for our enjoyment. If it weren't for touristic appetites, the six nearly extinct strains of tortoises would not be living in breeding sanctuaries with master plans to repatriate all of the niches that were nearly lost to the very hardy goats (on board with the early colonists' ships). After a couple of days on the Galapagos, it becomes very clear that there are no pristine places....except for the touristic imagination.