博客何飛：Peru Goes Coincidental

This morning, I accidentally ran into the “Love” song recently released by Gina Dirawi. It immediately reminds me of a particular Lisbon friend that I had met-in a rather accidental and exceptional circumstance (basically, it started with someone having a toothache). In fact, my séjour over there was nothing but a dream. Perhaps it’s because of the Lisbon story I experienced, my version convinces me that if we believe in dream and follow it through, it will become a reality. The only chance that would cause it to fall short is fear because fear usually leads to control. And, control means status quo, confinement and defense. If reality cannot go beyond that defense, it will be the only version of reality that can ever be.

If Lisbon is the starting point of my version of dream, Peru is one of the check-points that I was able to encounter dreams of other people’s versions. And, this particular one, was actually starting way before I went to Peru and the trigger was about an afternoon, while I was checking information about Peru at a bookstore, I saw a small description about this particular local travel agency saying they’re the specialist on offering “sustainable tourism” travel. This is the reason I decided to contact them. And, as it turned out, we had some amazing local experiences based on the recommendations and arrangement they made for us. I know that the founder of this agency Mr. Guido Van Es is a Dutch and our common thread is the intriguing senses we feel about Peru as a country but it was only later I realized he was studying in Lisbon and had a short stint working in Hong Kong and China for a sustainable development project-nothing is random.

Here’s the story of his version:

What is your connection with sustainable development and tourism, and with Peru?

Guido: The first time I was involving in the sustainable development project was in the context of a school placement. I was on my 3rd year at the University in the Netherlands and I was working on a community tourism project in Peru.

So, that’s why I decided to come back to Peru and work for 2.5 years more at the same NGO, in sustainable community-based tourism development.

After that, I had worked on a few different related projects in different places. One of them was to work in Shangri-la, China for 3.5 weeks. The sustainable development and cultural tourism over there is very different from the one in Peru. But, Peru is an intriguing country and I was always pulled back to live and work in this country.

Could you tell me about the Community Tourism situation in Peru and how you decide which ones to work with?

Guido: There are around 70 communities in Peru that RESPONS works with (there are many more of them). Most of them are Andean or Jungle communities who are indigenous and have their own language. There are a few at the coast but since a lot of them have grown and moved to the city, they are not rural anymore.

Usually, it’s the NGOs or the communities themselves which come to be in touch with us. If they add value to our offer, we would include them into our platform.

What are the obstacles you face working with the communities?

Guido: There’re obstacles and difficulties working with the communities, especially at the beginning. One story was about a community who has around 5,000 inhabitants and it used to be a place of abused slavery. After the inhabitants were set free, they were still afraid of outsiders. So, at the beginning, they’re very defensive and acted as if nobody could touch them. At that time, I was a 21 years old guy who was trying to help an NGO setting up sustainable tourism there. Even though the community assembly had passed the consensus that they would open their community for tourism, some families were antagonistic and there were times adults were throwing stones over me, children running away from me feeling scared and some alcoholic and drunken people messed things up. So, it’s a pretty intense experience for me. Luckily, since some of the families were more open-minded, they supported our work and over the time, trust was built and the community is willing to cooperate with us. Actually, as it turns, my business partner Pablo who has co-founded Responsible Travel Peru comes from that community (the community of Vicos in Ancash). Our agency has started operating since 2009.

What kind of sustainable tourism experiences your agency offers to travelers?

Guido: The kinds of sustainable tourism we offer to travelers are mainly experiential ranging from hiking an Inka trail but also staying with local family and visiting farms to Jungle lodge-staying for a few days and learn about nature. The target audience is from individual traveler to family travelers.
Our most popular community tourism is the coffee route and there’s a visit about every week in the high season.

What could people experience if they pick this route?

Guido: We work with 3 coffee farm families. This is one of the most popular products and in the high season there’s a visit every week and from customer’s feedback, it always gives them the very best memory.

The program lasts for 2-3 days. It’s an alternative Inca Trail but less tough. They are still hiking an Inca trail (where the scenery is fantastic with the best view of Machu Picchu, along the village, and enjoying the view of the snowcap and beautiful ruins) but also have the opportunity to stay at the beautiful farm house with the local family and have a half day visit to the coffee farm and participate into a workshop for the organic coffee activity (experiencing the whole coffee plantation process from the beginning to the final brewing stage of a coffee. The Original and classic Inca trail is a hard hike but this alternative Inca trail program can be adapted according to the need and wish of the customers.

This is not the same Inka Trail as the famous one though. It is another route. There are parts of a Inka trail involved which gives it such a nice atmosphere. But it’s not the same route. The Inca Trail is fully booked many months in advance, therefore there are many alternatives using other routes.

How many staff are there in your agency? And also, apart from Cusco, which other cities/regions you have affiliated agencies or persons to work with you?

Guido: I have 8 staff in Cusco, 4 staff in Lima and 2 staff in Huaraz. Furthermore, we have partners in Arequipa, Puno, Chiclayo, Chachapoyas but also work directly in all the other destinations of Peru. For example in Manu, Puerto Maldonado, Central Jungle or the Colca Canyon we work directly with many local families to create very original, authentic travel experiences.

What are the Constraints of Sustainable Tourism in Peru?

Guido: At a local level, communities in general carry a cultural pride about what they have to offer. But, in order to make it sustainable and a success like a brand, they are not ambitious enough. Also, education fund is not enough to invest on building up human capital.

At regional or national level, there’s still a lot of red-tape and not efficient enough to complement the growth of the potential sustainable tourism in the country.

For the moment, a lot of experiential tourism programs available in the market are too touristic to make an authentic experience.

So, for Responsible Travel Peru, with our knowledge and experience, on one hand, we will continue to line up with the communities and create sustainable tourism along the route that Tourists are interested and make them authentic and memorable experience to them. On the other hand, we also offer general tourism program that would serve as our financial support to run a healthy agency. At the same time, we will also invest our time on doing more marketing for our agency. Our core focus is also on Peru–that’s our final goal. After all, nothing works in sustainability of community-based tourism if there is no tourists coming and joining.

What does Peruvian mean to you?

Guido: Peru is a super diverse country with lots of different living cultures, speaking various languages. Their natural landscape is vast and spectacular and their eco-system is unique. It’s a country full of colors. That’s Peruvian to me.

Reaching our dreams is no free lunch but carrying a bit of the Lisbon DNA with us might just turn out to be essential for going against all odds.

Coffee Route:
https://www.responsibletravelperu.com/en/destinations/5-machu-picchu

RESPONS:
https://www.responsibletravelperu.com/