April 11, 2023, 7:25 AM
April 11, 2023, 7:25 AM
Long weekends, linked to a holiday, are propitious for internal tourism. Alejandro Gamarra moved with his family to the Sajama National Park in the department of Oruro, very close to the border with Chile. The experience was “magical and unforgettable”. The wonder of the landscapes that the place offers stands out. Of course, Alejandro regrets the “neglect in which the place is”.
Although the general figures of the economic movement generated by tourist activity during the last weekendthe Government projects that the economic impact will be, at least, of 271 million Bolivians.
According to the Vice Ministry of Tourism, Bolivia has 15 priority tourist destinations, similar to the aforementioned Sajama National Park. A tour of these privileged places shows the diversity of a country with multiple attractions: viewpoints that touch the sky at more than five thousand meters high, colonial churches, geysers, hot springs, Andean fauna and community shelters. Also noteworthy are the Uyuni salt flats, the northern Amazon, the plains of Moxos, Rurrenabaque, Madidi – Pampas and the Cordillera Real – North and South Yungas of La Paz, among others.
Delia Bustillos, director of the Hospitality and Tourism Administration program at the Franz Tamayo University, Unifranz, highlights the relevance of this tourist activity or ‘industry without a chimney’. Affects the economic development of a country or a region, much more if the destinations can be properly managed.
Jaime Rivera Segovia directs the race in Santa Cruz. For the academic, the key part of a sustainable approach for the management of tourist activity.
“We must look for mechanisms and carry out actions that allow this impact generated by tourism on the environment to be as little as possible so that tourism is an economic activity for which we can bet as a country.
Adventure or nature destinations mobilize domestic tourism
Tourism, industry without a chimney?
This qualifier has been used massively to describe the scope of tourism. ‘Industry without chimneys’ refers to its reduced environmental impact and the capacity of make money on an industrial scalebut without factories.
Bustillos argues that this denominative causes controversy among professionals and operating companies in the area since there are antagonistic positions in this regard.
“The main argument is that the industries extractivize raw materials and transform them; In the case of tourism, it does not extract any natural or cultural resource, nor does it transform it, it only uses it. Thereforeits use is intangible, not consumptive”, he indicates.
Rivera, for his part, points out that tourism, like any other human activity, generates impacts positive and negative about the environment, society and the economy itself.
“To be an industry without a chimney, it would not have to generate any type of negative impact and tourism does generate it. The human presence in natural spaces, such as the Laguna Colorada, can generate negative impacts in relation to the habitat of flamingos, disturb wildlife or disturb mating seasons (…). The tourist is going to generate garbage, plastic, waste, therefore, it also has a negative impact”, says the academic from Santa Cruz.
Travelers highlight the country’s cultural and natural wealth
The general perception of visitors praises Bolivia as a unique, authentic, original and diverse country. Highlights your varied cultural and natural wealth, but at the same time for being one of the cheapest destinations in the region.
In parallel, the country is carrying a cartel of Conflict that demotivates foreign tourists. “We are considered a socially unstable country, with a high risk of losing flights, previous reservations or being stranded in some region. Which also implies adventure”, says Bustillos.
Rivera highlights the aspects that most attract the attention of visitors. From the way of life of the ancient cultures settled in Bolivian territory to the natural settings that extend throughout the width and length of the country.
