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Beyond Greening: Reflections on Tourism in the Rio-Process | PositioningpaperIncreasing territorial imbalanceAdded to this process of usurpation and disintegration is the increasing territorial imbalance,through the strengthening of tourism under the domain of large companies over alternativemeans of production. One of the main factors causing this imbalance is a budgetary policywhich, through investment in infrastructures and services, training, fiscal incentives, etc.,concentrates public resources on territories under a specific model, while ignoring the needsof peasant and fishing family economies. The end result is that some areas are favoured overothers which are progressively marginalised or transformed and part of their populationsmoved elsewhere.The progressive consequence of territorial imbalances of this kind is the increase of populationmovements from impoverished agricultural areas to new centres of tourist development. Thisis particularly acute in construction work for tourist infrastructure. It is the case, for example,of the Nicaraguans in Guanacaste (Costa Rica), Haitians in Punta Cana/Bávaro (DominicanRepublic) and Central Americans and Chiapanecos in Cancún and Riviera Maya (Mexico). Asecond phase also focuses on low-skilled and poorly paid jobs in tourism-based services(cleaning, cooking, security, gardening, entertainment, etc.) and in the economies generatedin these new urban centres associated with tourism. It is the impoverishment of largeagricultural areas that allows the tourist industry to avail itself of abundant manpower that itcan keep in precarious conditions. Dynamics of this kind end up affecting generationalrenewal and fostering processes of "depeasantisation".Diversification of rural livelihoodsIn this context, any action that might be taken with regard to tourism in rural areas from aposition that is favourable to food sovereignty could involve two forms of intervention. Onthe one hand, tourism models that for different reasons pose a threat to the economies ofpeasant farmers and fishing communities, and therefore limit their possibilities fordevelopment, would need to be addressed. On the other hand, it would also be necessary topromote a form of tourism in which peasant families and fishing communities play a leadingand controlling role, and which is integrated into a strategy of diversification, complementingtheir sources of income.Up to now, this first dimension of the relationship between tourism and food sovereignty hasbeen assumed with greater ease by social organisations and movements of an alternativenature. However, it has been difficult to draw the other perspective into debates about foodsovereignty. The fundamental question, therefore, would be what can be contributed by amodel of tourism that is controlled and developed by the rural populations themselves,through the various forms of collective organisation, in the defence of food sovereignty.Tourism that is managed and controlled by peasant and fishing families may be a way ofincreasing and diversifying their income, generating rural employment, capitalising on thecountryside, reappraising peasant culture in a broad sense and stimulating development intheir own territories. All this may help to consolidate a living rural environment with aproductive rural population that is rooted in its territories. It is not designed as a method toreplace traditional farming activities, but rather as a way of complementing them. Viewedfrom this perspective, tourism would generate a certain perception of potential improvement,which would be particularly relevant for younger generations and would discourage themfrom emigrating.Furthermore, the experiential and respectful rapprochement of urban populations in thecountryside through initiatives of this type helps to stimulate a broad cultural movement thatfinds value in rural areas and peasant culture. This type of tourism acts as a bridge, as a40
Beyond Greening: Reflections on Tourism in the Rio-Process | Positioningpapercultural facilitator between two worlds that have a mutual need for one another. In a foodsovereignty strategy, weaving together synergies of this kind is fundamental.From another perspective, the consolidation of a rural world in which peasant familiespredominate with better conditions and greater life expectancy leads to positive effects ofanother kind on a global scale, from which society as a whole can benefit. This is a ruralpopulation that produces food for the local and national market, providing water, creatingspaces for collective memory, and caring for and conserving the natural environment, amongother aspects.Tourism in the hands of rural populationsThe ways in which this kind of tourism in the hands of rural populations is organised variesenormously, depending on the context and the historical characteristics of the communityorganisation of each place. In some countries in Latin America, there has been apredominance of community tourism or family-based peasant initiatives.In each place, rural populations that are territorially connected in both productive andcultural terms must find ways to organise themselves and form alliances that best suit theirinterests. In this process, it would be desirable for peasant organisations not to lose sight of theneed to strengthen “proximity tourism” with less energy consumption than air and longdistancetransport. Successful experiences such as the Cerrato Brothers’ finca in Estelí inNicaragua, among many others, show the possibilities of a community tourism model basedmainly on a national clientele that lives in the same area (less than an hour from the closesturban centre in this case). The finca combines a varied range of organically produced food andornamental plants, with livestock and dairy products as well as tourist services.The offer should also take into account the average economic capacity of the nationalpopulation, and avoid a kind of elite rural tourism, catering only to tourists with greaterpurchasing power. In El Salvador, for example, community initiatives such as the CinqueraForest and the Peace Route show the potential of tourism geared toward low- and middleincomesegments of society.The growing trend of global "touristisation" which is also occurring in many rural areas thatare directly or indirectly affected by this activity requires a greater reflection of the tourismphenomenon under the angle of food sovereignty. Every day it becomes harder not to taketourism into account as a key factor in redefining rurality. Securing a greater degree of controlfor rural populations over their territories and resources, including in terms of tourism, is afundamental challenge.References:Girardi Stellin, Monsignor Victorino (2009): “Carta Pastoral. Discípulos, tras las huellas de Cristo,promoviendo la vida en Él, al Norte de Costa Rica”, Diocese of Tilarán-Liberia, Costa Rica, 19/7/2009United Nations (2009): Report by the Independent Expert on the Issue of Human Rights ObligationsRelated to Access to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, Catarina de Alburquerque,A/HRC/12/24/Add.1, 23/6/2009Ernest Cañada is coordinator of the Catalan organisation Alba Sud – Investigation and Communicationfor Development, and member of the Group to Research Sustainability and Territory (GIST) at theUniversity of the Balearic Islands.English translation: Centro Superior de Idiomas de la Universidad de Alicante, S.A.U.41
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