Community tourism received governmental support after reaching out to the Ministry of Tourism and working to make a confederation of communities (comunitarios). Involvement must come from the entire community to attempt to revitalize indigenous culture and traditions. Tourism has provided a way for communities to be proud of their culture. They also try to direct the money to valuable areas including education and local aid. The tour operators offer services and direct experiences with locals, excursions, and tours of Saraguro as well as more areas of Ecuador, including Zamora and Podocarpus. He finished by describing the importance of word of mouth through tourism as a major marketing aspect because the country does not advertise.
There is clear emphasis on community involvement and Saraguro shows desire to make their culture and traditions known. The cultures and environments of this country is absolutely amazing, yet many do not even know it exists. Often times, tourism is discouraged as services and attitudes can appear too lax or unorganized. This shadows the truly beautiful and unique country and hopefully these issues are worked on more in the future. The Ministry of Tourism needs to expand its advertising like other South American countries. It has become clear that the experiences we have had in Saraguro are uncommon as many do not know of these areas. This could be viewed as a benefit for the tourist as it is a relatively unpopulated and untouched area however, for the country itself it is not beneficial. Regardless, it has truly been an honor to be a part of the few that get to experience this culture. After the presentation we visited a local family that made different textiles, jewelry, and other accessories from their home. This was followed by dinner and dancing with an indigenous family. The dinner was delicious and we all danced and sang with the band. It was a really great time and seemed to spread a feeling of happiness throughout the group. It was the perfect way to end the night. I must say I think today was my favorite day of the trip. |
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