Communities Reinvigorated Through Tourism

Francisca Ujpan Navichoc and Angelica Manu Mendoza live and work in San Juan Laguna, a small village in Guatemala. They work for "Rupalai Kistalin," the locally-managed, newly-established Tourism Association. 
 
The Tourism Association was established by Counterpart International (Counterpart) and its partners as part of The Alliance for Community Tourism in Guatemala. Francisca and Angelica learned from Counterpart's initial pilot project in Chisec, Guatemala, by traveling to the village and training with community members. Through this idea exchange, they learned about community associations which bring people together with common goals, thus strengthening their voices. They created similar associations in their own community, including associations of fishermen, handicraft makers, painters and coffee workers.
 
Now Francisca and Angelica are tour guides, escorting visitors around San Juan Laguna, a village rich in Mayan culture, nestled among volcanoes resting against majestic Lake Atitlan. For their village, tourism has reinvigorated cultural traditions, created an emphasis on environmental conservation and provided a new source of income. 
 
Counterpart sees sustainable tourism as one of the most potent weapons in the fight against poverty. Tourism is the world's biggest and fastest growing industry and is also the largest voluntary transfer of resources from the "haves" to the "have-nots" of the world in history. Tourism can put cash into areas of the world where people have nothing but their untouched environment. Counterpart focuses its efforts on ensuring tourism programs provide fair and equitable socio-economic benefits; conserve natural and cultural resources; and ensure social and cultural sensitivity with high levels of tourist satisfaction. 

Please read more about Counterpart's Guatemala Community Tourism Alliance.

Photo: © Lisa Morde/Counterpart International.