LOGISTICS IN TOURISM DESTINATION PATAGONIA Logistika v destinaci cestovního ruchu Patagonie Mgr. Jan Rája Vysoká škola logistiky P řerov, Palackého 25, 750 02 P řerov [email protected] Abstract This paper deals with the logistics of tourism in the region of Patagonia, which in the last two decades experienced increased perception of the region and a progressive increase in a number of its visitors. It is a specific area in many ways, particularly in terms of natural, but also cultural and historical attractions. The remoteness of Patagonia means long time required to travel from the major regions (Anglo-Saxon America and Europe) as well as high costs. These problems, together with a large territory of Patagonia, low population and poor communication network density mean substantial barriers for tourism development. In terms of logistics of tourism these conditions are pretty difficult. The paper explains the current situation of tourism in the region and new perspectives in tourism optimization. Abstrakt Přísp ěvek se zabývá problematikou logistiky turismu v regionu Patagonie, jenž za poslední dv ě dekády zaznamenal zvýšenou percepci regionu i progresivní nár ůst jeho návšt ěvnosti. Jedná se v mnoha ohledech o specifickou oblast, zvlášt ě co do p řírodních, ale také kulturn ě-historických atraktivit. Odlehlost Patagonie p řináší zvýšené časové nároky na cestu z hlavních zdrojových oblastí (Anglosaská Amerika a Evropa) a také zvýšené finan ční náklady. Tyto problémy spolu s rozsáhlým územím Patagonie, nízkou hustotou osídlení a komunika ční sít ě znamenají v důsledku pro rozvoj turismu zna čné p řekážky. Z hlediska logistického zajišt ění cestovního ruchu jsou tyto podmínky nemén ě obtížné. Přísp ěvek z těchto d ůvod ů objas ňuje sou časnou situaci turismu v regionu a jeho nové perspektivy v optice optimalizace cestovního ruchu. Key words International visitors of Patagonia, tourism in Patagonia, Patagonian tours Klí čová slova Zahrani ční návšt ěvníci Patagonie, cestovní ruch v Patagonii, zájezdy v Patagonii 1. INTRODUCTION Active volcanoes, vast plains of steppes, glaciers collapsing into the lakes, a number of fjords, ridge of Andes or flora and fauna of the colder parts of the southern hemisphere. All this and many other attractions can offer Patagonia region, which belongs to the states of Chile and Argentina. The attractiveness of Patagonia is considerable; the term Patagonia itself, like many others, such as Tierra del Fuego and the Strait of Magellan, attracts attention with its exoticism. Considerable distance from the most important tourism source markets gives the region a characteristic of exotic landscape. Therefore, the Anglo-Saxon tourists from America and Europe arrive in large numbers and represent, in consider of the length of stay and costs spent, the cornerstone of tourism in the southern provinces of Chile and Argentina. Patagonia has already been explored, colonized and popularized, but its preview is still the same - it is known as a remote and unrestrained landscape with hard climate. However its - 114 - remoteness along with a vast area of the region and the low population density poses a number of problems which tourists and travel agencies must to deal with. Access to the region from the outside world is far from ideal, as well as transport within Patagonia is often quite complicated. Yet Patagonia is a region which attracts and will attract more demanding travelers, who have at least a pinch of adventure in their hearts. 2. CHARACTERISTICS OF PATAGONIA AND ITS TOURISTIC ATTRACTIVITIES 2.1 Patagonia and its geographical characteristics The name Patagonia was first used by Ferdinand Magellan during his voyage around the world, when he used it, according to its chronicler Francesco Antonio Pigafetta, for designation of local inhabitants. Indeed, according to this navigator and explorer are named also other geographic features in the region. Whether it is an archipelago Tierra del Fuego, as the place where Magellan and his crew watched the number of fires set up by natives or the Magellan Strait itself (Estrecho de Magallanes), which was in honor of the sailor renamed from the original name Strait of All Saints. Magellan expedition which in 1520 as the first European expedition discovered Patagonia left an unforgettable print in the region. Patagonia is the southernmost region lying in Latin America, which is politically divided between two countries - Argentina and Chile. The region covers large parts of these countries, which however represent for both Argentina and Chile peripheral areas due to low population and relatively low economic importance of the region. Definition of Patagonia region is difficult at its northern border, which in the Argentine Patagonia contains the area south of the Rio Colorado; on the Chilean side of the border demarcation is less clear. In most cases, Patagonia is considered to be that part of Chile which extends south from the city of Puerto Montt, with the exception of the island Chiloé. Chilean geographers called it Sur Grande or Zona Austral . The second, less common definition, include also the island Chiloé and Zona Sur . But these areas are distinguishable different by its landscape and vegetation from the nearest part of Argentine Patagonia separated by Andes mountains as well from the Zona Austral . In our case, we use the first mentioned, the more common way of defining Patagonia. Picture 1: Two possible definitions of Patagonia region. - 115 - Patagonia is covers more than one million square kilometers of land, which is almost a third of Chile and Argentina. The question of population is quite different; about two million inhabitants of Patagonia mean just 3.5% of the population of Chile and Argentina. It should be stated in this place that most population live in the northern part of Patagonia. Regarding the population density, one square kilometer accrues only two people. These data demonstrate why Patagonia is regarded as sparsely populated area, peripheral region, dominated by large areas with minimal human settlements. It is just a vision of the landscape still unconquered fully by humans which is one of the impulses that encourage travelers to visit the region. This vision is also related to the fact that the region began to be colonized by modern humans during the 19th century, earlier attempts often ended by termination of first settlements. Although the landscape of Patagonia is very diverse, there are three predominant types of landscape. The first is the pampa, extensive steppe region, which covers a large part of the Argentine Patagonia. Approximately one third of the area of this type of land is currently affected by the gradual desertification, mainly because of excessive grazing of vegetation. Although these southern steppes are not fertile pampa, which is typical for the northern region of Argentina, the methods for extensive agricultural production of meat is still widely used. A typical feature of the landscape is a completely flat landscape with anthropogenic elements in the form of wire fences defining the grazing area. From a tourist point of view, this area is relatively less attractive, although there are exceptions, such as the Peninsula Valdes. Its charm, however, lies in the monitoring of fauna near the coast and at the sea, inland steppe is compared with the coast clearly unattractive. A second major type of landscape is the range Andy, whose belt extends in north-south direction and intervenes across the whole Patagonia. The mountain range shows a certain differentiation from north to south; in the north of Patagonia we can find a number of active volcanoes, which disappear to the south. However, the landscape towards the south is increasingly modeled by glacial activity and even today we can find many large glaciers. The mountain range doesn’t end at the Straits of Magellan, but significantly influences the landscape of the southern part of Tierra del Fuego. Mountain areas are the most important natural attractions of Patagonia. The third type of landscape is represented by fjords and islands, which are situated in the western and southern coasts of the region. This region is a transition zone from the mountains to the ocean, so there are mountainous islands, and there are a number of glaciers. The major development of tourism is prevented by remote landscape. Although there are large areas with status of national park, a number of visitors is very low due to lack of tourist Picture 2: Distribution of types infrastructure. The use of this tourist landscape is of landscape in Patagonia possible only within boating or sightseeing flights. - 116 - 2.2 Climate of Patagonia In general, the climate of Patagonia is relatively mild, especially if we take into account the latitudes, especially of the southern part of the region, where it is located. In the southern part of Patagonia the rainfall is balanced during the year and temperature differences between summer and winter are not very big. The difference between average maximum daily temperature in winter and summer months are according to World Meteorological Organization only around 10°C in locations such as Ushuaia and Punta Arenas. Nevertheless, it is important to realize that latitude determines the general colder character of the local climate. Major differences of both temperature and precipitation can be observed in northwestern Patagonia, which brings warmer summers, but significantly rainier winter months. The average annual rainfall is for example in Bariloche 800 mm, but of which the entire 520 mm fall from the beginning of May to the end of August. However a number of settlements to the west and southwest of the city show a much stronger precipitation, values exceed 2 000 mm annually are not exceptions. Patagonian pampas in the north have significantly lower rainfall, often in the range of 150 - 500 mm, rainier months are in comparison with northwest the summer months, bringing moisture in occasional storms.