Impacts of Fire in Torres del Paine

Tourist testimonial in Torres del Paine, 2012. 

© Sernatur

by Marcela Torres

More than 16,000 hectares (39,537 acres) were destroyed by the fire caused by the irresponsible conduct of a tourist that forced Torres del Paine National Park to close between Thursday, December 29, 2011 and Wednesday, January 4, 2012. Until last week, CONAF –the government agency in charge of managing protected areas in Chile- still had firefighters putting out new fires in different sectors of the park.

Although most of the fire is now under control and the park is slowly picking up its normal pace, a permanent environmental damage has been caused in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Because the only person accused or starting the fire is an Israeli citizen and this is the second time in 2011 that a tourist from that country caused a disaster in the park, the Government of Israel announced that it will send a delegation of experts in reforestation who will pass on the experience obtained from recovering forests in the Carmel area, a year ago. In addition, it will make a direct contribution in trees, by setting up a greenhouse especially designed for the reforestation of Torres del Paine.

However, the native forest that was destroyed is composed of trees that grow very slowly and reach maturity when they’re approximately 200 years old. They also need to be protected from the cold, the wind during the winter and the dryness during the summer.

Therefore, it’s not just a matter of replanting small trees, but also of providing them the necessary conditions to grow. In addition, it’s important to consider that large part of the fire was expanded underground and affected the area’s soil. Wildlife living in the park will probably return to the damaged sectors only to find them completely barren and will have to move elsewhere in search of food and shelter.

Several national and international teams of researchers are already studying the environmental impacts of the fire in order to contribute to prepare an effective recovery plan.

Economic Impact

The forced closure of the park also affected local economy, which largely depends on incomes generated by thousands of foreign tourists that visit the area during the high season, between November and February.

It is estimated that tourism business owners lost $2 million dollars, although this is still a preliminary figure to which we need to add what they will have stopped receiving during the season. Many of them have made great efforts to avoid lay-offs because their employees were relying on the salaries they would obtain these months.

Despite the park’s partial opening, data provided by the authorities reflect that visits have dropped 50% in January. The Chilean Government has allocated resources to support micro and small tourism enterprises in the area and has launched an aggressive international promotion campaign to maintain the flow of visitors to the park in 2012 and 2013.

Opportunity for Responsible Tourism

This sad experience in Torres del Paine National Park reminds us once again of the importance of promoting responsible tourism. The lessons learned apply both to the destination and its visitors, revealing the need to carry out awareness campaigns with all stakeholders involved in order to ensure that future generations can enjoy this beautiful place in Patagonia.

This entry was originally posted by the author on January 28, 2012.

Economic Impacts of Tourism

Stores in the town of San Pedro de Atacama, in northern Chile.
© Marcela Torres

by Marcela Torres

Tourism is usually considered a good way to generate economic growth for destinations and many places in the world indeed depend on it as a source of income.

Most literature focuses on tourism’s benefits through both the direct expenditures of visitors and the associated employment opportunities it creates. It is commonly argued that a higher level of visitation to a place brings with it the appearance of related services, such as hotels, restaurants, car rental agencies, tour companies, service stations, and souvenir shops.

Tourists usually expect that some of the money they spend will directly benefit the local population, but this is not always the case. One of the greatest dangers in tourism is that of financial leakages, which occur when financial resources 'leak away' from the destination country to another country. This happens, for example, when the tourism company is based abroad and when tourism-related goods and services are being imported to the destination country.

Another risk along the same line is the fact that sometimes employment goes to persons residing outside of the area which directly experiences the impacts of tourism. The usual explanation for this is the lack of an existing local capacity.

Responsible tourism is meant to contribute to economic and social development. Purchasing local handicrafts and products to support the local economy using the principles of fair trade is a good way to achieve this. It’s also important to work with the local communities to build their capacity in order to increase their participation of the economic benefits of tourism.

This entry was originally posted by the author on June 30, 2011.

La Tirana Festival bets on cultural tourism

Dancers in front of La Tirana Church, in northern Chile.

© Hernán Torres

by Marcela Torres

This Saturday, July 16th, marks the celebration of La Tirana Festival in Chile, in honor of the Virgin Carmen, patron of the country. The town La Tirana, with a population of 560 people, prepares to receive approximately 250,000 tourists, of which it is estimated that 70% are Chilean and 30% are foreigners coming from neighboring countries, such as Peru and Bolivia, as well as other faraway places like Spain, Germany and Belgium.

During this festival, the place transforms as dancers and merchants flood the town where believers praise the Virgin with music, dance and offerings. Among the folk dances, the more traditional ones are the “devil dances”, called that way because of the devil mask and suit worn by the male dancers. The dance represents the clash between good and evil, mixing elements of the Catholic religion introduced during the Spanish conquest with ancient Andean rites.

The town of La Tirana reportedly marks the burial spot of an Inca princess known as the tyrant of the Pampa del Tamarugal because she inspired terror amongst conquerors and converted indigenous people of the area in her fight against Spanish rule during the 16th century. According to the common tale, she fell in love with one of her prisoners, a Portuguese man who converted her to the Catholic faith, and both of them were killed by her Inca warriors while he was baptizing her. Her last words were a request for a cross to be placed on her tomb. A Spanish monk is supposed to have found the cross, where La Tirana is now located.

The July 16th festival represents the mix of both cultures and is one of the most popular typical events in Chile. Although the people who live in La Tirana anxiously wait for this day, both for its religious significance as well as its increased visitor flow, the activity also presents risks such as tourists surpassing the locality’s carrying capacity.

Another challenge is to avoid having La Tirana depend economically on one specific date per year. That's why a women’s association of the town got together and obtained government funding to create a tourism information center, which opened in May 2011, betting on the fact that La Tirana has enough interesting places and activities to attract visitors all year round.

It is important to promote a sustainable development of tourism so that the festival does not have more costs than benefits and so that the local community can have the necessary tools to create high-quality tourism products and to market them efficiently in order to increase these people’s income. Festivals are an important element of cultural tourism and can, no doubt, contribute to preserve ancient traditions.

This entry was originally posted by the author on July 15, 2011.