Yachaqui Wayi Responsible Travel Center

The Yachaqui Wayi Responsible Travel Centre will offer a unique place to stay where visitors can learn about responsible travel and have the opportunity to directly interact with rural families. Yachaqui Wayi will promote and sell community-based tourism projects and natural weavings to its visitors, which together with the hostel facilities will contribute to the income of the Centre. Our Centre should be of particular interest to travellers seeking for cultural exchange, while positively contributing towards sustainable development.

In the first year, we have estimated to have a 27% occupation rate (1650 overnight stays) in our hostel, which might grow to 40% for the second year. This will generate an income of $12,585 in the first year, and $18,929 in the second year.

The CBT projects of Vicos, Humacchuco and Inka Naani will have occupancy rates varying between 4.5% and 13.6% in the first year, generating an income through commissions for Yachaqui Wayi of $2,056 in the first year. During the second year, occupancy rates will increase to vary between 8 and 25%, generating commissions for the Centre for an amount of $4,208.

Moreover, the weavers will contribute with a percentage of 10% of their sales to the general income of Yachaqui Wayi. Their contribution in the first year is estimated on a modest $89 increasing in the second year to $155 US dollars.

The average investment needed in 2005 and 2006 has been calculated at US $82.000, which means €68,100 Euros. 42% of this investment will be contributed by the association through donations, and 8% with the income from our Centre. The centre is calculated to be only slightly profitable after the first year. After the second year, net profit has been calculated at around $5,000 US dollars.

The Centre will employ two to four persons during the year. Due to little activity during the low season, only one or two people will be employed during that period, while during the high season four persons will find direct employment at the Centre

Our Centre will be marketed through different channels. Our website will give all necessary information for our visitors, volunteers and donators. We are constructing partnerships with many tour operators, especially those interested in sustainable community-based tourism. A strong partnership exists with non-profit tour operator Crooked Trails, who have actually helped find our initial donation. Our location is a plus as well, since Huaraz is a major destination for travellers attracted by the stunning mountain scenery of this valley. In Huaraz we are promoting the centre through direct and printed publicity; many hotels are now interested in cooperating with the Centre. Apart from all this, several websites and guidebooks will soon be promoting our Centre.

As for the competition; Yachaqui Wayi is still one-of-a-kind in Peru. Of course there are more community-based tourism projects in the country, but having a locally-operated marketing and education centre and hostel in the city is unique and thus we do not count with competition on that matter. Our community-based tourism products are of a high quality and have very competitive prices. Locally, our projects have no direct competition yet.

As mentioned before, Crooked Trails (Seattle, USA) is our most important partner sending tourists and volunteers to our project, as well as The Mountain Institute in Huaraz, which continuously gives technical support the Association. The Breda University of Professional Education (NHTV) from Holland sends two students every year, who are of great help to our association and the Centre. Also, the NGO Ecomunal from France signed partnership with us, to strengthen our community network and link it with other networks to improve communication and marketing.

We have received a US $25.000 donation from the Triad Foundation, which is being used for operation costs, initial improvements to the building and capacity-building workshops for the project members. We are expecting to earn our first income this tourism season (May — September 2006) which can be used as start-up funding for this phase of the project. Proposals have been submitted to several organisations in order to realise small projects that contribute to the general development of the Centre.

First of all, it is important to mention that Yachaqui Wayi is based on an association of 25 locals (8 female) who have been working in community-based tourism or weavings since 2001. They have learnt so much in the past few years, that The Mountain Institute and Crooked Trails have found them potentially capable of running the Yachaqui Wayi Centre by themselves, with support from TMI/CT. They will all find employment (rotationally) at the Centre and their projects will be promoted in so many ways that it will boost the amount of visitors to their villages and the sale of their weavings. Apart from the association members, six communities along the Inka Naani (60 families) will also directly benefit from Yachaqui Wayi’s promotion. From the second year on, Yachaqui Wayi will integrate other communities that develop sustainable tourism initiatives, supporting them to improve the quality and sustainability of their products.

The CBT projects are all designed in a way that they benefit not only the 25 families directly participating in the project, but also other families offering additional services. 10% of their income goes into a community fund.

In resume, Yachaqui Wayi offers high benefits at relatively low costs, like direct employment in the Centre for at least 4 persons in the first year, direct income and indirect employment to 85 families involved in the projects and indirect income to nine mountain communities, significantly improving their living standard. Capacity-building workshops are part of the Centre’s routine and its mission; the Education Room has been designed especially for that matter and (inter)national volunteers are continuously drawn to the Centre to give workshops to interested locals. Integrated in CBT projects and weaving project is creating environmental consciousness amongst project members and visitors, and conservation of (native) natural resources.

Our projects strongly contributes to an improved environment for local communities, by raising environmental consciousness amongst travellers and locals, who have proved to pass this consciousness over to their community directives; leading to environmentally sustainable policies on a local level.

Apart from that, our projects have always included women in the decision-making process and the workshops, which contributed to their empowerment.