Andean lodges

“A trek in the foothills of the sacred mountain “Ausangate” with llama
Caravans carrying our luggage, authentic and deliciously prepared
Peruvian cuisine meals, and spending the nights in the comfortable lodges, “Tambos”.

We hike in the Cordillera de Vilcanota, second most glaciated system of Peru, at the base of Ausangate, following trading routes continously used from pre-Hispanic times by the locals to exchange produce between the high puna and the Andean Valleys.
At arrival the community greets us with music. The Tambos are being built with traditional materials; in locations roughly one hiking day apart, they have 8 double bedrooms and 2 matrimonial rooms, private bathrooms, hot water showers , they will be decorated as the shepherds houses, becoming a warm and comfortable place to spend the night.

Hot Tea is brought to the rooms to wake up the hikers, breakfast is served in the Tambo and after a morning hike, we will enjoy a picnic on the trail, few hours after upon arrival to the next Tambo we will share an English tea. At night, we will take pleasure in a traditional dinner.
Travellers will participate daily in the communal life of the Shepherds, in events such as, wrangling the Llama to the pastures, ritual offerings to the mountains or weaving demonstrations
Our kitchen incorporates local produce such as Alpaca meat, and can be adapted to particular requirements (vegetarian or dietary restrictions)

The building and furbishing of the lodges, Represents an investments of U$ 498,402.00 Of wich we have already raised 70%
We will start operations with 20 permanent workers, Office personnel, Cooks, assistance cooks, maintenance, and logistics. and 24 temporary workers , Guides, assistant guides, llama herders, jobs will increase with demand.
The introduction price of our product in U$ 585.00
The target market is close to 50,000 people - travellers to Peru that spend over US$100 a day, are in the age group of 18 to 50, stay longer than 8 nights at destination, and are interested in an active vacation.
International tourists are expected to constitute 70% of users of our lodges. Most national travellers would come from Cusco, Lima and Arequipa.

We will market the product with international tour operators and with local travel agents

The promotion goal is to present ourselves based in the prestige of Auqui, Ms, and the uniqueness of an Andean community developing a tourist destination.
We will look for brand recognition;based upon:
1. Concept. Travelers will enjoy a great outdoors trek, sharing with an ancestral culture, with comfort and security.
2. Code. A clear image of the product is going to be presented at points of sale, The image is of Ausangate mountain associated to the slogan “5 days and 4 nights close to heaven”
3. Media. Presentation of the product, using brochures, direct Mail, Web page, invitations of familiarization trips to travel agents. Campaign to organize specialized press trips to generate reports and paidreports, alone and together with other service providers.

We will ask our clients for a service report including a recommendation letter to be published in the web page aiming to:
• Create a data base of pleased clientele, that can recommend our services
• Reach unique market niches, difficult to identify and connect due to
consumer specialization.

Distribution Channel

Our main Sales office in Cusco will sell both to final consumers and sales through travel agents and other corporative entities.
Our web page will have reservations formats both for individuals and groups; also it will be B-B friendly.

An important risk of the Camino del Apu Ausangate project is to open a
market that will produce competitors of similar product in other areas with
comparable characteristics

To match this potential competition, we have developed the following strategies:
1. We will be the first Treck with lodges in the marketplace and have a few years to establish our product before any potential competition reaches the market.
2. We are located in communal lands and due to our agreements of exclusivity with the community of Chillca Phinaya; no other party can use the same area. You cannot replicate Ausangate Mountain!
3. We will develop complementary activities, and improve continuously in the delivery and creation of services.

Price competition is not envisaged because the general strategy is based on differentiation, these strategies are fundamentally unstable over time, especially in an area with limited sustainable capacity, and where saturation will exclude one of our target markets, those looking for singularity, differentiation, and the intangibles of a unique experience.

This will be the first treck in the andes with lodges, we also have the highest lodging stablishment in the world, Machuraccay Tambo at 4860mts, It is run and operated by shepherding comunities in an alliance with a local tour operator..

I finished my University studies in 1984 and opted for the Licenciado in Tourism degree in 1987, I am a Candidate to Masters degree in Marketing and Hotel Management in the San Martin University in Lima

I speak Quechua, Spanish, English, German and Italian

I created AUQUI MS in 1992, a company, with 3 lines of business, Service Provider to The Hiram Bingham train; Representative of International operators such as , B&R, INCA, Blue Parallel, MAI10; and Destination management company for our direct Customers..
We have been involved in developing tourist products for over 15 years, and we have a close relationship with the Chilca community, We also have develop with local partners the www.vallesagradolodge.com, perhaps our most expensive lesson was to promote trips Peru in the early 90´s when not one wanted to visit us due political violence, what we learned is that a Company must be aware of the externalities that may affect the industry

Tourism, in our area has been fundamentally an urban phenomenon, creating jobs and investment opportunities for a large number of middle class Cusqueños, for this industry to become a socially sustainable activity it needs to incorporate to its dynamics the peasant highland populations.
Hiking Trecking, mountaineering and other active tourist vacations are a growing segment of the tourist industry and are outdoors ativities.
This project will create 24 full time jobs, and 30 or more temporal employment opportunities. Besides it will aslo create a market for the alpaca meat and fleece produced at the community. Another area that will develop is a market for the tarditional hand woven textiles produced by Chilca an Osefina communty women, a conservative estimate of the dollars spend in handicrafts, gives us a 20 to 30 thousand dollars in sales by the community per year in the first 2 years, this will double by the 4th year of operations
The direct jobs created the first year will represent some 62,922 dollars in salaries, increasing it depending on operations and in our training program to provide the professional services by community members.. in five years all professional services should be provided by the community members. Making a total close to 200,000 dollars paid to trained personel from the local community
The Chillca community due labor contributions, land valuation and direct investment owns 18% of the shares of the company, the profits generated will be used by the community to improve education, and living conditions