Tourism training in rural settings: From Chiloé in Chile to Puerto Pirámides in Argentina

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze training experiences related to tourism in rural contexts and identify the components that make these training spaces promote the development of sustainable community-based tourism in the region. In Patagonia, South America, on the Chilean side of the Chiloé archipelago. There, tourism in indigenous territories requires support from the identity and worldview that maintains the autonomy of their communities. On the Argentine side, in Puerto Pirámides, Valdés Peninsula, tourism associated with the southern right whale is emerging as an economic alternative and today plays a leading role in the national tourism agenda. With an ethnographic approach, this paper used fieldwork techniques, including participant observation, open-ended interviews, and analysis of various documents. We propose that training, education, and capacity building are fundamental pillars of the process in these communities. Only by being aware of their cultural heritage, which has been constantly developing throughout history, will tourism managers open the doors for tourists to explore realities other than those typically used to sell a tourist experience.