Community-based tourism, peasant agriculture and resilience in the face of COVID-19 in Peru

Abstract

In the Andes, the diversification of economic activities among the peasant population is common practice. However, it is not a uniform strategy: as new employment and economic possibilities have emerged, the disparity of pluriactive strategies has multiplied. Based on a particular case study (Amantaní Island, Lake Titicaca), where community-based tourism has developed strongly, we will compare the resilience of these strategies. The COVID-19 pandemic, which paralysed economic activities, highlighted that the least vulnerable pluriactive strategies were those that included subsistence agriculture. In fact, this is something that the peasant population itself perceives: although the role of this type of agriculture in the family economy is decreasing, most households still invest time and capital to increase their family's agricultural resources.