Our Mission: Creating Sustainable Tourism and Ecotourism in the Andes

Andean Lodges is fully committed to conserving the natural beauty and cultural heritage of the Andes.We actively practice and promote sustainable tourism and ecotourism in every way we can.
We’re constantly searching for new ways to reduce our environmental impact and making your travel experience in the Andes as ecofriendly as possible.
In this article we’ll explore the concepts of sustainable tourism and ecotourism, their relationship, and the role of Andean Lodges.
What is Sustainable Tourism?
This branch of tourism is concerned with creating positive impacts on the economy, social wellbeing and environment of visited destinations.
In terms of environmental sustainability, our two main priorities involve sustainable use of natural resources and constant reduction of waste generated by our ecotourism operations.
Supporting the local economies is a key goal of sustainable tourism, and it’s a constant process that we carry out at Andean Lodges.
By providing good jobs, services and amenities, the population becomes economically stronger and better prepared to protect their local cultural and natural resources.
Improving conditions and management of the local economy also encourages more community learning and environmental education that focuses on preserving the local environment.
All these practices should always have respect and be in accordance with local customs, traditions and religious beliefs.
It’s important to note that for sustainable tourism to be successful, the participation of both tourists and the local community is required.
Strong local leadership is needed to encourage community participation and raise awareness about key issue.
Studies on successful sustainable tourism projects show a strong correlation between tourists’ satisfaction with the trip experience, since it adds both aesthetic enjoyment and ethical value to their trip.
Those are just some reasons why Andean Lodgesis deeply committed to working for the economic sustainability of our associated communities, and for the conservation of lands along our trekkingroutes theAndes.

What is ecotourism?
Ecotourism can be defined as the responsible travelto natural areas that focuses on enjoyment and conservation of the natural environment, and on the well-being of local people.
While sustainable tourism is focuses mainly on finding the right balance between tourism and the local communities’ economic sustainability, ecotourism concentrates on conserving natural areas, flora and fauna.
Andean Lodgesconstantly tracks the condition of native species of flora and fauna to safeguard their conservation.

Why not have both Sustainable Tourism and Ecotourism?
In practice, we feel that both theories of tourism outlined above should always work together.
For Andean Lodges, ecotourism is about uniting environmental conservation, the economic wellbeing of local communities and sustainable travel practices. Our work is based on the following key principles:

• Reducing of physical, social, behavioral and psychological impacts of tourism
• Increasing awareness and finding solutions to local environmental and cultural issues
• Ensuring positive social experiences for both travelers and local people
• Providing direct financial benefits to local people and nature conservation
• Informing and educating travelers about local traditions, religious practices and politics
• Operating sustainable facilities that have low environmental impacts

Our main goal and mission is to create a harmonious relationship between our visitors and the local communities, while making sure travelers experience travel to the Andesin a sustainable and ecofriendly manner.