Article
Community-based tourism in Bolivia:
projects and perspectives
David Peaty and Antía Portillo
Abstract
This article summarizes and discusses the views of some key players in Bolivia’s
tourism industry, along with case studies of three successful projects. Although Bolivia’s
natural and cultural diversity offers great potential for tourism, the country’s tourism
industry currently lags behind those of its neighbors. The government seeks to stimulate
growth and alleviate poverty primarily through community-based projects. These are more
likely to succeed if based on partnerships between communities and private tour operators,
with support from Non-Governmental Organizations, institutions such as the IDB, and the
public sector. Some of the key players interviewed for this article suggest that the
government should do more to utilize the expertise of private tour operators in developing
and promoting community-based tourism, and that a perceived hostility towards the
private sector could place severe constraints on growth.
Background
Bolivia ranks close to bottom among South American nations in terms of GNP per
capita and other measures of wealth. However, it has vast untapped resources. Among
these, environmental and cultural assets have great potential for international tourism.
Bolivia’s 22 national parks and protected areas cover about 16% of the total area, and are
extremely rich in biodiversity; and 60% of Bolivia’s population is indigenous, maintaining a
rich and colorful culture. According to the Plan Nacional de Turismo 2006-2011
(Viceministerio, 2006), citing the ADB, Bolivia has the potential to attract 12 million
tourists per year. Yet in 2 005, the country attracted only about half a million foreign
tourists, compared to over two million visiting Chile and almost one and a half million
visiting Peru (UNWTO, 2008). Moreover, many of the tourists who come to Bolivia do so
as an extension of their trip to Peru, via Titicaca, rather than with Bolivia as their main
destination; and over 90% are low-spending Free Independent Travelers (Viceministerio,
2007).
Furthermore, while Titicaca, Eduardo Avaroa Reserve and Salinas y Lagunas receive
a substantial number of foreign visitors, the rest of this enormous country is largely
ignored. For example, in 2005, Lago Titicaca attracted about 75,000 international tourists,
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around five times as many as Madidi National Park (Viceministerio, 2006).
There are various reasons for Bolivia’s relatively small share of the international
tourist market. One factor is that Bolivia’s attractions are not yet widely known compared
to Macchu Picchu or Galápagos, for example. Another is the relatively poor infrastructure
level. Only three airports are properly equipped to handle international flights, and fares
to Bolivia are more expensive than to its neighbors (Viceministerio, 2006). Over half of
Bolivia’s roads are in poor condition, and many rural areas are not served by the highway
network. In addition, Bolivia suffers from political and social instability, with frequent –
and sometimes violent – demonstrations and highway blockades.
While some conservationists, aware of the damage that mass tourism has done
elsewhere on the continent – in Cancún, for example – may see these barriers as a form of
protection, others suspect that only tourism can save Bolivia’s biodiversity from the many
threats it faces, including energy companies, cattle barons and the coca industry. By
harnessing the world’s biggest industry, they hope to generate enough income to convince
local communities and their representatives in municipal, regional and national
governments to declare Bolivia’s forests and other imperiled landscapes completely offlimits
to ecologically harmful economic activities. The potential of ecotourism to alleviate
rural poverty has also been recognized by development NGOs, government agencies,
funding organizations and the communities themselves.
Although there is an apparent divergence of views between the various actors as to
how tourism should be managed, the current strategy focuses on community-based tourism
(CBT). This may be defined or characterized in various ways, but it refers essentially to
tourism that is managed by or on behalf of the local community. There are between 60 and
80 such projects in Bolivia, but it would appear that very few of them are financially
viable, and many now exist only on paper, having become defunct due to mismanagement,
neglect or the failure to attract visitors. Despite this, however, the government of Evo
Morales has called for many more to be established.
Our informants suggest that there is a fundamental difference between the view of the
government and that of the private sector concerning the role of the latter. The
government apparently regards private tour operators as little more than parasites,
contributing little or nothing to the communities in which they operate. While exploitation
– a highly subjective term – may indeed be rife, the tour operators argue that neither the
government nor local communities have the slightest idea how to create and market an
internationally competitive tourism product. The tourism chain is only as strong as its
weakest link, and without the experience and expertise of established tour operators such
as those interviewed for this study, CBT in Bolivia has little chance of gaining a foothold in
the international ecotourism market. Several respondents also pointed out that the
government has been, at best, half-hearted in its support for the tourism industry at
international tourism fairs. This makes it more difficult for tour operators to sell Bolivian
tours, but it also makes them even more indispensable for the success of the struggling
CBT operations that are sprinkled around Bolivia, and ultimately, for the protection of the
nation’s natural heritage. The involvement of private enterprise can be identified as one of
the key elements behind the success of the community-based tourism projects introduced
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below. On the other hand, relations between communities and tour operators are
somewhat delicate, and a great deal of patience and understanding is required on both
sides during the initial phases of planning, training, capacity building and preliminary
marketing.
Chalalán
Chalalán Ecolodge is regarded as one of the more successful CBT projects in Bolivia,
attracting 1136 tourists in 2006 (Viceministerio 2007). It is located in Rurrenabaque, a
region that was visited almost exclusively by adventurous but low-spending Free
Independent Tourists and was thus of minimal interest to major tour operators. After
several decades of unplanned and unprofitable tourism, members of the nearby community
of San Jose de Uchupiamonas, located inside what was later to become Madidi National
Park, decided to take control of their own destiny. In 1994, they applied to the InterAmerican
Development Bank for funds with which to build an ecolodge. Their initial
request – for $100,000 – was considered by the IDB to be too small. Conservation
International, which had already identified the area as a top priority for conservation with
considerable tourism potential, intervened and negotiated a much larger grant, to be
augmented by further funds from CI’s partners and with labor and materials to be
supplied by the community. The funding actually covered two projects, the other being
related to sustainable farming. Feasibility studies were carried out, and the project was
formulated, with provisions for training and marketing. The IDB was not convinced of the
project’s feasibility, but saw in it an opportunity to create a model project for sustainable
development centered on ecotourism, sustainable agriculture and micro-enterprises such
as handicraft production (USAID).
Construction of the ecolodge began in 1995, and the whole project took three years.
Meanwhile, in 1997, Conservation International hired a team of consultants to support the
project. They spent twenty days in the community every month for two years. Two of them,
Jazmin Caballero García and David G. Ricalde Ríos, provided training in accounting, lodge
management, cooking, natural history, sales and other activities. Twenty community
members received six months training. Two took a formal guide training course with a
Peruvian operator and others attended a 15- day course in Santa Cruz. The workforce
included English-speaking guides, a rarity outside of the Titicaca area. Ms Caballero
García, who had experience of running her own travel agency, was later hired to market
the lodge nationally and internationally. A target market was identified, prices set and an
itinerary, logo and brochure were created. The prices raised eyebrows: while the existing
market of FITs was estimated at $9 per person per day, Chalalán proposed to charge $115
for four days. Operators in La Paz were skeptical, but GAP Adventures of Canada sent
several pioneering groups in 1998, soon after Chalalán opened for business. While
Chalalán benefited from the experience, GAP quit, as a result of misunderstandings
concerning reservations and payment schedules (USAID).
Madidi was established as a national park in 1995, with a core of 1,271,500 hectares
and an Integrated Management Area of 624,250 hectares. This attracted attention thanks
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to a series of documentaries shown on television in Bolivia and elsewhere, and two issues
of National Geographic. In addition, Chalalán was promoted at the Latin American Travel
Marts of 1999 and 2000, and through familiarization trips arranged by Conservation
International for American and European tour operators. In 2000, Chalalán raised its
prices by 40% and made its first operating profit: $20,000 (US AID), proving the
effectiveness of targeting well-off ecotourists instead of backpackers. In 2005, it was