Tourism as a dynamising factor of regional economies: The case of the Mapuche Puel community

Abstract

According to Sansolo and Burstzyn (2009), community-based tourism is an activity in wich the conservation of the environment, the visibility of cultural identity and the generation of direct benefits for the communities are their main components. Likewise, their economy depends on tourism foreign exchange reception and the creation of jobs from its development. This research aims to show that Mapuches only raised animals until only a few years ago. However, they have noticed the need to change their paradigm. The first and only Snow Park managed by Mapuches has been working since 2000. It is located in Cerro Batea Mahuida, Villa Pehuenia (Argentina) where they have known how to take advantage of nature's resources without damaging it. The analysis of this case shows that although Mapuche community has been able to diversify its market thus achieving its self-sustenance, the potential undertaking does not manage to strengthen. For this reason, this work proposes a series of recommendations in order to reverse this scenario by taking advantage of its current resources and generating alliances with different organizations that further a development model in wich the insertion of its members to the activity benefits the growth of the entire town.