The effects of tourism in

Machu Picchu, PeruMIC

Economic impacts

Positive

NegativeTourists spend money in the area, which has a positive impact on the incomes of local residents.

Hand craft market has developed just for tourists.

The porters are paid $10 each day for a full day trip.

A trip of $12 is given to each member of the tour party and shared the porters. This is considerably more than hotel workers are paidGenerates $40

million are year in income for the Peruvian government.

The hotels such as Sanctuary lodge at the entrance to Machu Picchu and the train line to the site are owned and run by the Orient-express hotel group, based in Bermuda. Therefore, a lot of the profit made from tourism leaves the country because the hotels are not owned by Peruvians.

The best jobs and, therefore, the high paying jobs are done by foreigners not local people, who are brought in to work by the foreign hotel company.

Environmental impacts

Positive

No plastic bottles are allowed on the trail, since 2000, only canteens.

The tourists pay $50 each to travel the Inca Trail, which contributes to the upkeep of the area.

The numbers of people on the trail are being limited to 500 a day to reduce the rate of erosion.

Machu Picchu has been designated a world heritage site to protect it from large numbers of tourists.

Year Trekkers on the Inca Trail

1992 5,000

1994 14,500

1996 30,500

1998 53,500

2000 82,000

Negative

Garbage is thrown into rivers such as Urubamba, or left close to the trail. This includes human excreta.

Erosion is beginning to occur on the Inca Trail due to pressure of 500 tourists a day. In 1998, 53,500 tourist walked the trail.

Tourists pick orchids which grow among the ruins and along the side of the trail.

The rubbish bins along the trail are picked up by park wordens and simply dumped, usually in an