The Development Impact of Rural Tourism in Peru's Colca Valley Linking Grassroots and Structuralist Perspectives By Simon Bidwell DEVE 592: Thesis Submitted to Victoria University of Wellington in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Development Studies School of Geography, Environmental and Earth Sciences Supervisor: Warwick Murray Victoria University of Wellington 2011 Acknowledgements I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to undertake this thesis: to do field work in such a beautiful and fascinating region as Arequipa, and to have the time and resources to write up the research. I make no apologies for devoting plenty of space to thanking those who have made this possible, especially as acknowledgements aren’t part of the word count. Right? First of all, thanks to Professor Warwick Murray for supervising me during the thesis, and for making the effort to read each chapter in full and provide constructive comments. Many thanks to Susan Bidwell for finding time amidst so many commitments to read most chapters and provide positive feedback. My appreciation to Eugenia, Matias, Amani, Joe, Mary and Fei for contributing to a friendly office space. Cheers to my flatmate Alex for tolerating so much thesis- related mooching around and many thanks to Paola for listening sympathetically to thesis-related grumbles. There are a lot of people to thank in Peru. Above all, thanks are due to Hugo, Lizbeth, Gerardo, Señora Gloria and the rest of the family in Arequipa for so much generous hospitality. Thanks to Pablito for the interesting conversations and to all my friends and acquaintances in Arequipa for the company and entertainment. In Cabanaconde, thanks to Señor Paulino, Señora Emilia, Yamil and Karina for the accommodation and great food. Special thanks to Edison and Dante for the conversation and the useful introductions. Thanks also to Lili, Señora Prudencia and Señora Ulbadina for the chance to get some insights into work in the chacras. In Sibayo, particular thanks to Señora Ruth, Santiago and family for the hospitality; Maria and everyone in the municipality for all the assistance; and Karina for the information and introductions. I'm especially grateful for the help from all those working for institutions in Arequipa and Chivay: in particular to Geovanna and Cedy for the advice, assistance and philosophical discussions. Thanks to Sylvia and the rest of the team at Grupo GEA, and to Fernando, family and colleagues at Asdeturconv Colca for the discussions as well as the reliably excellent pizza. Thanks also to Alejandro for letting me tag along on the university research trip. I should also thank Odalíz and fellow Autocolca workers for being courteous and professional; Jose and family at Sumac Wasi for the always- friendly welcome in Chivay and the great hot water pressure; and the crew of i Transportes Milagros for always getting the bus there in the end. Finally, to all the research participants who I can't mention individually, many thanks for being so open to a gringo showing up to ask personal questions: I hope that this thesis can contribute something to telling the stories of your challenges and triumphs. Importantly, I should express my gratitude for the scholarships that helped make this thesis possible: the Victoria University Master's by Thesis scholarship and the New Zealand Agency for International Development Post Graduate Field Research Award. These helped meet the financial challenges of doing a degree with a significant component of field research overseas. I hope that this thesis will contribute something to the advancement of development studies research. ii Abstract Theories of Latin American underdevelopment have converged on neostructuralist approaches, which aim to promote more inclusive development through diversified economic activities with links to international markets. These include alternative forms of tourism, which are claimed to provide economic benefits to historically marginalised areas while supporting and enhancing traditional livelihoods. This study aimed to assess these claims by taking a broad political economy approach to evaluating the impact of rural tourism in the Colca Valley of southern Peru. Detailed case studies of two contrasting localities were linked with analysis of the wider economic, political and social context. Field research in one case study area found that tourism had created opportunities for local families with existing skills and resources and had provided useful additional income for others but had involved only a minority of residents. Loss of control of tourism to the regional metropolis and destructive competition had resulted in diminishing returns and general dissatisfaction with the “disorderly” nature of tourism development. In another case study locality, a more cohesive social context and intensive support from external institutions had allowed the planned development of a rural tourism project that emphasised broad community participation, but the low tourist volumes to date were a constraint on progress. Nevertheless, throughout the Colca Valley tourism had contributed to the revalorization of local culture and identity and provided a platform for local self- assertion. The thesis argues that an appreciation of the wider economic and political context in Peru is crucial to understanding the way tourism has evolved in the case study areas. It suggests that more work to link local, grassroots perspectives with broad structuralist analysis would represent a fruitful research agenda in development studies. iii Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... I ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... III ................................................................................................................................ III CONTENTS .......................................................................................................... IV CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ......................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 3: UNDERDEVELOPMENT IN LATIN AMERICA ................... 13 CHAPTER 4: UNDERDEVELOPMENT IN PERU ......................................... 24 CHAPTER 5: TOURISM AND INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT .................... 37 CHAPTER 6: LOCAL CONTEXT ..................................................................... 49 CHAPTER 7: RESEARCH FINDINGS I – HISTORICAL NARRATIVES .. 71 CHAPTER 8: RESEARCH FINDINGS II – URBAN AND INSTITUTIONAL STAKEHOLDERS ................................................................................................ 95 CHAPTER 9: RESEARCH FINDINGS III – ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................... 113 CHAPTER 10: CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................... 151 REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 161 APPENDICES .......................................................................................................... I iv LIST OF FIGURES Fig 4.1 Wages and profits as a share of Peruvian GDP, 1991—2008 Fig 4.2 Evolution of wages and salaries in metropolitan Lima and Peruvian GDP per capita since 1991 Fig 4.3 Evolution of wages and salaries in metropolitan Lima since 1980 Fig 5.1 Tourist arrivals globally and in Peru, 1988—2005 Fig 6.1 Arequipa in Peru Fig 6.2 Poverty rates in Arequipa and Peru, 2004—09 Fig 6.3 Department of Arequipa, by province Fig 6.4 Province of Caylloma, by district Fig 6.5 Population change in case study districts, Arequipa and Peru 1961—2007 Fig 7.1 Pictorial map of the Colca Valley Fig 7.2 Tourists at the Cruz del Condor Fig 7.3 Ways in which foreign tourists arrive to the Colca Valley Fig 7.4 Change in tourist arrivals to the Colca Valley, 1998—2009 Fig 7.5 Seasonality of tourist flows in the Colca Valley and Machu Picchu, 2005 (foreign tourists) Fig 7.6 Seasonality of tourist flows in the Colca Valley and Machu Picchu, 2005 (all tourists) Fig 7.7 Pictorial map of the Cabanaconde and Tapay districts Fig 7.8 A view into the Colca Canyon Fig 7.9 Examples of tourist accommodation at San Juan de Chuccho and Sangalle Fig 7.10 Tourism promoter’s whiteboard in Sibayo Fig 7.11 Heads of households wait for tourists in Sibayo Fig 8.1 Origin of surveyed Arequipa travel agency owners Fig 8.2 Most important activities, by number of agencies Fig 8.3 Activities operated and endorsed, by number of agencies Fig 8.4 Growth in number of (surveyed) travel agencies and volume of tourists, 1998—2010 Fig 8.5 Growth in number of travel agencies and volume of tourists, 2000 as base year Fig 9.1 View across the plaza in Cabanaconde Fig 9.2 View across the plaza in Sibayo LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1 Changes in development indicators for Peru, by natural region Table 6.1 Population change in case study districts, Caylloma, Arequipa and Peru, 1961—2007 Table 6.2 Migration of population born in Cabanaconde, Tapay and Sibayo, from Census 2007 Table 6.3 Comparison of population indicators in case study districts Table 7.1 Tourist arrivals to the Colca Valley 1998—2009 Table 7,2 Estimated average bed occupancy in Cabanaconde and Tapay districts v Table 8.1 Average no. of people working by high and low season,