Reflexión antropológica sobre el turismo indígena

Abstract

This paper outlines the idea of how anthropology has been very influenced by tourism and tourism has been affected by anthropology in its objects, problems, issues, methods and epistemologies. Developing this idea, we present some discussions and perspectives that anthropology has applied to the study and research of indigenous tourism, an emerging subfield in the scientific literature of tourism that has been historically much appreciated by some anthropologists of tourism, who gave anthropology of tourism its foundations through their work. We will give special importance to indigenous tourism in Latin America, the least recognized by the international scientific literature, but not less important in terms of examples of tourist and cultural diversity.

Este texto esboza la idea de cómo la antropología ha “antropologizado” el turismo y el turismo ha “turistificado” a la antropología en sus objetos, problemas, temas, métodos y epistemologías. A partir de esa idea presentamos algunos debates y perspectivas que la antropología ha aplicado al estudio y a la investigación del turismo indígena, un subcampo emergente en la literatura científica del turismo, históricamente muy querido por algunos antropólogos del turismo cuyos trabajos son la base de la antropología del turismo actual. Daremos especial importancia al turismo indígena en América Latina, el menos reconocido por la literatura científica internacional, pero no por ello menos importante en cuanto a que proporciona ejemplos de diversidad turístico-cultural.