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Peruvian Tourism Turns to Colonial Past and Agrarian Reform

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Hacienda owner José Ignacio Lambarri (centre) riding in the Valle Sagrado © Enrique Moncloa. Financial Times.

Peru’s Inca past is the bread-and-butter of the country’s lucrative travel and tourism industry, which registered at US7.6 billion in 2016. However, some hoteliers and tour operators are turning to an overlooked period in Peru’s history — the colonial era of the highlands, which lasted through the mid-20th century — as a way to lure tourists.

An interesting article in the Financial Times (4/13/18) by veteran writer Hugh Thompson highlights one tour group’s efforts to take visitors “beyong the Incas.” Ordinarily, I’m a bit skeptical of FT profiles on Peruvian business trends — they tend to trumpet all the money that can be made in Peru and ignore harsh social realities — but Thompson’s byline is assurance of more nuanced reporting. He’s the author of several acclaimed books on Peru, including A Sacred Landscape, and has led multiple expeditions to the country over the last 35 years.

That gives him a longterm perspective on the complex relationship between Peru’s often violent past and its booming tourism industry. As he writes:

The Valle Sagrado — the “Sacred Valley” that connects Cusco to Machu Picchu — has become a place I know well. I’ve seen it change from a sleepy rural backwater to a place dotted with smart hotels; since Peru achieved political stability, the number of tourists has rocketed, particularly those from the US. But it has kept its charm.

Thompson focuses in his FT article on a new trend to bring tourists to former haciendas that were dismantled during the agrarian reform era (1969-1978). For those who don’t know about that period, the agrarian reform began in 1969 under military leader Juan Velasco as a radical way to bring about social and economic reform in the country. Huge haciendas were broken up, and much of the land was given to the former peasants whose families had farmed it for generations. Those farmers are still working the land today, and the haciendas are still standing — some in decrepit condition, others refurbished and ready to welcome visitors.

Think of the manor houses in England, whose cash-strapped owners often turn the properties into bed-and-breakfasts to pay for the property’s upkeep.

I’m curious as to how the tour operators frame the complicated politics of agrarian reform for tourists. Is the topic even mentioned? Is it overly sanitized?

Agraian reform is a source of bitterness for many families today (those whose lands were taken away), as well as pride for the families whose ancestors toiled away in poverty for the former owners and then became landowners themselves.

For those of you who’ve been to Peru, what do you think?


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