What do palenqueras got to do with it?

Just the short of it…

• I’m traveling this summer and will be writing a new blog focused on understanding the impact of tourism on local economies
• I’ll be chatting with locals to understand the changes they’ve seen on their communities and economies as tourism has increased

What do palenqueras got to do with it?

It’s 2016 and I’ve arrived in Cartagena with my good friend Madeline. I had heard amazing things about this city — it’s colorful, colonial charm, proximity to beautiful beaches, and delicious seafood. On our first full day in Cartagena, we took a free walking tour to get a sense of the city. As we walked, our tour guide pointed out palenqueras, women dressed in brightly colored, somewhat traditional clothing, who dot each street corner. Our tour guide shared that palenqueras use to come from the small town of San Basillo de Palenque to Cartagena to sell fruit in the big city. Now, few palenqueras sell fruit, and instead make their money by charging for pictures taken by tourists.

I’m not sure if this is better or worse, but it certainly struck me as an unintended consequence of the impact of tourism on a local economy. These women are no longer buying fruit in their town, a small decision individually that creates rippling economic impacts felt in San Basillo de Palenque. It piqued my curiosity about other unintended consequences tourism has on local economies. I’m not the only person interested in this topic — prior to the summer travel season kicking off there were a smattering of articles talking about the unintended consequences of travel, like big crowds, the pricing out of locals (particularly due to Airbnb), and where to go to get off the beaten path. Shout out to Michael and Aneesa for the reading list!

While I travel this summer, I plan to spend time in each place chatting with locals who work in the tourism industry, trying to understand the changes they’ve observed in their community because of tourism. When possible, I’ll contextualize this with tourism industry data that can further illustrate these changes.

I won’t be making any judgement calls. I’m not in a position to say if I think the changes to the palenqueras’ product offering was a good or bad thing. But I do hope to showcase how destinations respond differently to tourism and importantly, how these impacts are felt in a very real, very personal way by the people that experience them everyday.

I hope that spending time to understand the impacts of tourism on local economies will help me (and you) be a more conscious traveler — simultaneously embracing new cultures and understanding some of the consequences of tourism for the people that live it.