Call to halt tourism in Galapagos

The Galapagos Penguin:: One of many things you can see only in the Galapagos

Protecting a Special Place: Why There Should Be A Cap on Tourist Arrivals to the Galapagos

In an article published on the Vaya Adventures blog. Jim Lutz argues that tourism should be restricted in the Galapagos Islands.

Said Jim: " Promoting tourism in this special place comes with a serious responsibility not to do things that are against the interests of the islands simply to make more money."

"There have been increasing numbers of journalists and environmental organizations ringing the alarm bell about what is going on in the Galapagos and the threats that it faces due to uncontrolled tourism growth. The big question is what solution will actually work to protect the islands for future generations."

"From everything I’ve learned so far, I’ve come to the conclusion that a cap on the total number of tourists permitted into the Galapagos every year is the only way to preserve the Islands for the long term. This type of cap has been instituted in places like Machu Picchu and on the Inca Trail, for the long term preservation of those places."

Stressing that this was his personal opinion he continued: "The reason a cap is needed is straightforward: the economic pressures for continued tourism growth in the Galapagos are too strong to be controlled any other way."

"The history of what has happened in the Galapagos since 1990 supports the conclusion that a cap isthe only way to prevent excessive development in the Galapagos. By far, the single biggest issue in terms of conservation in the Galapagos is that, due to the growth in tourism, the local population has skyrocketed, from under 10,000 people in 1990 to over 25,000 today, with several thousand others living there part time. During the same period, the number of tourists visiting the islands went from about 40,000 in 1990 to about 200,000 estimated in 2012."

"The Galapagos were the fastest growing province in Ecuador for many years. Mainland Ecuadorians were understandably attracted to move there, particularly to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island and other towns, due to the explosive growth in tourism that was taking place.

"There was a lot of opportunity to get involved in land based tourism: hotels, restaurants, tourist shops, and all the services and industries that go along to support these businesses and the people that work in them when tourism is growing rapidly. It’s important to take a step back and remember that tourism in the Galapagos has traditionally taken place via live-aboard cruises on small yachts and ships, with very few hotels and very limited land-based tourism. The smaller Galapagos vessels mostly range from 12 to 20 passengers. There are also some "mid-sized" vessels, from 32 to 48 passengers, and a handful of 100 passenger ships.

"The threat to the islands is real: with more visitors and more population comes the increase in dangerous introduced species that inevitably come along with them. These invasive and often extremely destructive introduced species represent the biggest threat to the islands’ fragile wildlife."

"Without a cap on tourist arrivals, the pressures for economic growth in the Galapagos could very well be too strong to control, putting too much pressure on the fragile ecosystems of this long-isolated archipelago."

What do you think?

Valere Tjolle