Tourism, poverty, and development: local perceptions, empowerment, and strategies for change in Peru's Sacred Valley
Date
2015
Authors
Knight, David Warner, author
Cottrell, Stuart P., advisor
Bright, Alan, committee member
Pickering, Kathleen, committee member
Bohren, Lenora, committee member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
In the late 90s, growing emphasis on the eradication of global poverty led to a newfound focus on tourism as a tool for international development and poverty alleviation. During this time, Pro-Poor Tourism (PPT) emerged as an approach aimed at 'tilting the tourism cake' and unlocking opportunities for the poor. Since its inception, PPT has sought to find more effective ways to measure the effects of tourism on the poor, to better understand the link between structure, agency, and tourism-based poverty alleviation, and to highlight issues of power that may influence how poor people become involved in or benefit from tourism. This dissertation addresses these trends in the PPT literature by seeking to understand and describe local perceptions of tourism-based poverty alleviation among four communities of Peru's Valle Sagrado (Sacred Valley). It focuses particularly on interactions between tourism associations in each community and Intrepid Travel, an international tour operator based in Melbourne, Australia. The research was conducted between June and December of 2013 and employed an ethnographic methodology known as Rapid Qualitative Inquiry (RQI) to gain insiders' perspectives on tourism-based poverty alleviation. Sources of data included semi-structured interviews (N = 93), field notes, participant observation, and documents and reports from the associations, Intrepid Travel, and various government institutions. Study findings are presented in the form of three dissertation articles linking local perceptions of tourism and poverty to processes of empowerment, institutional change, and national discourses of development. Findings in the first article highlight expressions of power as domination through tourism both within and over communities, alluding to interactions that contributed to the disempowerment of some local people. The article also notes processes of empowerment for tourism association members in terms of enhanced agency, collectivity, and self-awareness. In the second article, the interplay between structure and agency is explored by presenting strategies for institutional change among association members. Findings suggest that tourism-based poverty alleviation is an opportunity-dependent and opportunity-generating process, influenced by both the institutional context and the specific strategies of reflexive actors to improve individual or collective functioning. Finally, article three compares national-level discourses of development in Peru to local perceptions of poverty and tourism practice outside Cuzco. Findings suggest that a great deal of overlap exists between local perceptions and income first, needs first, and rights first approaches to development. This overlap is observed through specific references to poverty as a lack of money, work, education, or control over tourism in the Cuzco region. The findings presented here reinforce previous appeals for both industry and government leaders to more effectively incorporate emic (local) perceptions and strategies into tourism policies effecting indigenous communities. Findings may hold broader practical and theoretical significance for Pro-Poor Tourism (PPT) practice and research, as well. In particular, linking local perceptions and strategies for change to the frameworks presented may support efforts to understand the complex process by which `opportunities' are unlocked for local people - drawing attention to the agency and calculation of reflexive actors, to the selective influence of institutional configurations, and to the essentiality of indigenous voices and rights in pursuing tourism-based development at all levels of the socio-political spectrum.