Sustainable tourism development of the Amazon region

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) under its “Amazonía Siempre” program provides a financial and operational framework to promote economic development models in the Amazon region and is structured into four thematic areas: (i) bioeconomy; (ii) sustainable management of agriculture, livestock and forests; (iii) human capital; and (iv) sustainable cities and infrastructure.

In the bio-economy axis, tourism represents a productive option that is in line with market dynamics and the need to preserve natural capital and the Amazonian cultural heritage, since a well-planned tourism offer can help to strengthen the identity of local communities. It can also help to protect biological resources and promote experiential tourism that combines cultural and environmental attractions.

In this context, the major challenge of the project was to collect and analyze primary data information (through surveys, focus groups and in-depth interviews), as well as secondary sources in the eight countries covered by the study scope (Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana and Suriname).

This technical cooperation was carried out by a consortium by three companies, SISTME, Meridiano Zero and Pax#, with the participation and supervision of various specialists from the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB).

The study had as its main objective for the term a survey of current and potential tourist demand for the Amazon region, while it aims to identify our profiles of investors in the tourism sector adhere to this demand and the local supply, to provide inputs for a complete technical route on investment priorities and development in sustainable and innovative tourism in this territory.

To this end, the following activities were carried out:

• Review of relevant publications and secondary information (more than 50 publications, papers, and research documents).
• Review and analysis the quality of statistical information on Amazon tourism in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Guyana, Venezuela and Suriname.
• Interviews with national and foreign tourists in 6 Amazonian destinations (Manaus, Belém, Leticia, Francisco de Orellana, Iquitos and Georgetown), generating a total of 4,312 queries.
• Analysis of the insertion of Amazon destinations in the portfolio of international tour operators.
• Analysis of current demand and potential of tourism in the Amazon region.
• Digital business reports on current and potential demand.
• Prioritization of markets, segments and product typologies.
• Conducting a survey according to panel types, in 6 issuing markets (Brazil, the United States, Spain, France, Peru and Colombia), conducting an information survey through 2,280 surveys.
• Filling of offers in agencies and tour operators in 19 markets.
• In-depth interviews with key tourism investors and agents in the Amazon.
• Focal groups with tourists in the issuing markets (France, the State Units, Peru and Brazil).
• Analysis of trends and blockages and the full itinerary to the Amazon region.
• Conducting a participatory workshop on diagnosis and prioritization of actions by the IDB technical team.
• Presentation and Final report.

The Pax# technical team led the elaboration of the Road Map for the development of sustainable tourism in the Amazon, the identification of market trends, the contact with investors, businessmen and entities that support tourism investments in this vast territory, the identification of elements that block or limit the development of tourism activities, and the proposal of concrete actions and initiatives to reverse them. At the same time, it was possible to work on the vision for tourism development in this vast area, which encompasses more than 360 million inhabitants in 7.5 million square kilometers, the largest tropical rainforest on the planet, and a more than significant cultural diversity.

The extension of the work allowed the consultancy team to identify many findings, conclusions, and reflections. In the coming months, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will publish a report on the consultancy, while at the same time making the data obtained from the surveys available to tourism research and development institutions.