Tourism and human rights

Responsible travel to indigenous areas – for example the Amazon region – can improve the situation of the local people, create knowledge and understanding, and protect the environment at the same time. “However, this only works if the indigenous communities in the area willingly welcome their guests and if they offer the trips to their territory themselves,” explained Dr. Eliane Fernandes, expert on indigenous communities at the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP). “If non-Indigenous travel companies offer supposedly authentic tours, they are usually exploitative. In most cases, the revenues go abroad and the local people don’t gain anything.”

A positive example can be found in Brazil. Três Unidos is a village of the indigenous Kambeba, who live close to the border between Brazil and the Andean countries. It takes approx. 1.5 hours by speedboat to get from Manaus to the village, which lies at the mouth of Rio Cuieiras, on the right bank of the Rio Negro. There, the Kambeba offer community-based tourism – including a community restaurant, which is led by indigenous women, and the sale of artisan craftwork, especially Kambeba clothing. In March of this year, Federal Ministers Cem Özdemir and Robert Habeck visited the indigenous community in the course of their trip to Brazil.

In Ecuador, there are a few indigenous communities that offer community-based tourism as well. This trend is governed by an act on communal tourism centers. The Ministry of Tourism provides information and contacts for touristic offers that are locally organized by the indigenous communities themselves. One of the various offers is the Kapawi Ecolodge, which was established by the Kapawi in the Amazon forest, close to the border with Peru. The guests travel along the Río Pastaza, which flows through the provinces Pastaza and Morona-Santiago. The lodge is completely owned and operated by the Kapawi community. 

“Community-based tourism is a means for these communities to strengthen their culture and to pursue a self-determined, sustainable development. Further, it helps to conserve the forests and their biodiversity. Visitors can immerse themselves in the reality of the indigenous community and reflect on the importance of the environment for the Kapawi,” Fernandes stated.