What is Ethical Tourism?

Everyone travels; few respect.

Over the last few years, tourism has turned into a complex phenomenon. Though it can stimulate socio-economic development, it often has harmful consequences in the preservation of local identity and respect for the land.

Some of the negative social effects that tourism can produce in local communities are: the transformation of religious or ethnic rites in tourist products, the abandonment of traditional artisanship in favor of simple souvenirs, and the increase in petty crime, child labor and prostitution.

These threats have compelled us to create a higher quality tourism that is both ethical and sustainable.

The quality of a tourist program is invariably determined by the quality of each of its parts and by the capability of its participants, including the tourists themselves. Tourism’s sustainability requires the respect of the fragile equilibrium between nature, culture and the native population, particularly in areas that are environmentally at risk and in small island communities.

Ethical tourism would fail if it adhered to abstract moral ideals. Instead, it must manifest itself in the daily life of its trips. For this reason, we avoid the “use and throw away” services of mass tourism, which only make the big corporations rich, leaving the local workers with crumbs.

What is our vision of Ethical Tourism?

From the beginning, PeruEtico has promoted a new kind of tourism: “ethical tourism.” Our goal is to help you touch this corner of the world, which we support directly with money raised through the tours’ project contributions. There are numerous examples of responsible tourism in the world today, but many of those organizations have trouble detailing the management of the money raised.

That’s how we are different; our big advantage is that we live here.

We’re always up to date, we can keep an eye on the children’s basic needs, and we know when and how to intervene for the best. We’re not just about the travel; above all, we’re interested in the travelers. We want to help you understand Peru—with the different, contradictory worlds that exist within it—and our way of traveling it. That’s the true trip for us. Visiting the various projects during the tours is a taste of the country’s “juice,” from which you’ll strain lots of information to share with family and friends. You’ll not only be able to show them pictures of Machu Picchu, you’ll have personal stories to tell about the children of Mosoq Runa, Hogar de las Estrellas and CEPROF.

Creating a more just tourism, working towards a slightly better world: that’s what Ethical Tourism means. That’s what PeruEtico is all about.

Fair Trade refers to business practices in which the primary goal is not profit maximization, but rather the fight against exploitation and poverty caused by economic, political or social circumstances. So, Fair Trade is a form of international business that tries to guarantee producers and laborers in developing countries fair and respectful economic and social treatment. Fair Trade is fundamentally opposed to the exploitative business practices so often used by multinational corporations.

WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES OF FAIR TRADE?

1) Assuring a fair price to producers in the Southern Hemisphere
A “fair” price is the price of a product (food, handicrafts, etc.) that covers the needs of the workers and their families and allows them to live a dignified life.
2)  Guaranteeing dignity in the workplace
A fair-trade organization guarantees its workers a healthy environment that fulfills all security requirements. Discrimination towards and exploitation of minority workers are not accepted.
3)  Democratization of the work process
The producers are usually organized (in co-operatives, for instance), so as to ensure the participation of all workers and make them more responsible. Furthermore, there aren’t large differences in pay between the various positions in the organization.
4)  Developing environmental sustainability
Fair-trade organizations favor work that is non-polluting and organic, with minimal industrialization. When possible, they also use recycled material.
5)  Promoting community solidarity and local development
Fair Trade aims for a strong, positive social impact, with the redistribution of resources in the interest of the local community. For instance, fair-trade organizations support the construction of schools, roads and hospitals and work to improve production methods.

Minka Fair Trade
In 2008, PeruEtico inaugurated a new set of tours that collaborate with Minka Fair Trade: “Fair-Trade Tours”.
Minka Fair Trade is a network of organizations of producers, mostly from rural Peru. Minka, in Quechua, means: “working together for the greater good.”
Minka is an active member of and driving force behind the International Federation for Alternative Trade (IFAT), since the federation’s creation in 1991. Since 1978, Minka has worked in Fair Trade, with the goal of introducing Peruvian produce and handicrafts into the local and international market.
Its work consists of: supplying raw materials; creating procedures to ensure quality; designing stuffing and labels; researching and creating new, better markets; creating and experimenting with new marketing strategies; spotting and running small projects of integral development in the communities.
In 1978, Minka started to commercialize its products, directing them towards foreign markets. Only 20% of Minka’s products is sold through the fair-trade network. The remaining 80% is sold by individual families in the traditional local market. This traditional market functions by speculation, informally, with large nets of intermediaries and, above all, without any moral principles.
Thus, in 1999, Minka decided to start a tourism project, with the goal of increasing profits and covering basic needs, without destroying the familial unity. In addition, this tourism has created a more direct relationship with the consumer. In this exchange of experiences, the producers demonstrate their ancestors’ techniques, explain the inherited philosophies and, above all, show the effect of Fair Trade in the organizational life of the communities.

PeruEtico, Minka and Fair-Trade Tourism
The term “Fair-Trade Tourism” comes from the need to join two concepts: “tourism” (responsible, ethical and sustainable) with “Fair Trade” (generally associated with the word “business”).
In collaboration with Minka and to its thirty years of experience with local communities, PeruEtico offers tours in which you’ll discover the roots of Fair Trade.
Who makes the beautiful handicrafts or the alpaca sweaters you can find in fair-trade stores in the U.S. and Europe? What processes and challenges are hidden behind our fair-trade purchases? Together, we’ll answer these questions, with the help of the artisans themselves. We’ll go into their homes, we’ll share moments of their lives, and we’ll go home knowing that we’ve experienced something unforgettable.

FEATURES OF FAIR-TRADE TOURS
Lodging in Lima at Minka Headquarters, Minka Wasy, where we’ll get to see up close the largest exporter of fair-trade products in Peru.
A night in a local family’s home during visits to two communities: Huayllano on Taquile Island on Lake Titicaca and Cuyo Grande (or Cuyo Chico) in Pisaq, near Cusco.
Day trip to the Collasuyo community, on the Andean altiplano, near Lake Titicaca, specialized in working alpaca fiber.
The project contribution goes to Minka Fair Trade which redistributes it at the end of the year among the producers, who organize projects that benefit their communities.

Last minute departures, big discounts and offers, new trips and itineraries…

in other words, everything and more. Keep an eye on our offers, write to us and pack your bags. We guarantee that you’ll find something that’s perfect for you!

Don’t like planning your trip day by day?

Check out our 2 to 5-day mini-tour, designed for those who love freedom and adventure. For our backpacking friends, we offer a series of local tours: from Machu Picchu to the Amazon, from Cusco to Arequipa, from beautiful treks to the unspoiled communities of Lake Titicaca.

Remember, to avoid lines and unpleasant surprises, sometimes it’s better to reserve in advance!

Here are some tours to “stuff” into your bags…

We’re sorry, but at the moment we only offer group tours that leave from Italy. We’ll be sure to let you know when we are able to organize departures from other countries!

For now, please check out our "Local", "Ethical" and "Fair Trade" Tours, with which you can travel all over Peru!

The PeruEtico Team