The Condor Revenge

Local tour guides from Colca Canyon protest against abusive tour guides commissions

by the Colca Specialist

The tour guides association ASGUIP TUCAY is protesting against the abusive commissions of the tour guides from Arequipa. The commissions are each time higher and this situation is affecting not only the local businesses but also the local vendors who sell handicrafts among other products.

The secretary of ASGUIP TUCAY ,Guillermo Rendón Cuadros which is until the moment the most awarded tour guide in all Arequipa asked the people of Colca Canyon to denounce the abuses committed by the tour guides from Arequipa and to rebel against the indifferent corrupted authorities and representatives of tourism of Arequipa.

“We cannot be indifferent with the problems of our people” –says Guillermo Rendón Cuadros.

The rebellion of the local tour guides against the abuses started five years ago and Rendón became the voice of the locals.Member of different nationalist and indigenous movements, Rendón continues denouncing the abuses. Slandered and attacked, the leader of ASGUIP TUCAY rejects to surrender.

If the restaurants don´t pay the commissions the tour guides simply won´t go to that place to eat. They will invent several stories to persuade their clients in order to convince them to eat in the places where they obtain commissions.

The same thing happens with the handicrafts stores in Chivay. If you go to a store with the guide ,the owner of the store will have to increase the prices because of the commissions given to the tour guides.The most affected are the tourists who are the ones who pay these commissions.

In the trekking circuits in Cabanaconde and Tapay district the same problem is happening. Trekking guides persuade their clients to rent mules. If the clients refuse to rent mules, they will persuade the group to rent at least a mule for carrying all the backpacks. Why?

The travel agencies that are provoking this terrible situation are the cheap travel agencies whose prices are very low. Their trekking guides don´t speak English fluently and they are not professional. Because they are not professional, these poorly paid trekking guides have to do their best in order to obtain commissions from restaurants, handicrafts stores, etc.

These trekking tour guides are also cooks. They cook the food for their clients which is taken from Arequipa. So, what kind of tourism is this that leaves NO BENEFITS for the locals?

The tour operators are from Arequipa, the tour guides come from Arequipa. The guides bring the food from Arequipa. The guides cook the food and they wait their groups. So what kind of tourism is this that leaves NO BENEFITS for the locals?

The only travel agency that works with local tour guides and leaves benefits to the locals is NATURALEZA ACTIVA. This company hires local guides, buy the food from the locals and they cook for the clients. That is sustainable tourism.

NATURALEZA ACTIVA is the only travel agency that works with the local tour guides association from Colca Canyon called ASGUIP TUCAY. The tours offered are cultural and adventure based. If you are looking for a tour based on culture you should travel with Naturaleza Activa and ask for traveling with a specialist in inca cosmovision and southamerican aboriginal cults. You will realize of the difference.

There are travel agencies and tour guides that are recommended by Trip Advisor ,Lonely Planet, Facebook and others but ¿Is there a travel agency awarded and recommended by the majors or local authorities of the area visited? To be recommended by Trip Advisor doesn´t mean that that travel agency practices a responsible tourism.

Travel with travel agencies that include you everything if possible. If they include everything your smart tour guide won´t have an opportunity to get commissions.
If you are having a buffet in restaurants like Urinsaya, Qhapaq Ñan, Los Portales, or in any other which offers buffet just pay 15 soles. The waiter will tell you that the price is 20. Tell him that you will pay without the 5 soles commission for the tour guide.That is all.

The restaurants above mentioned are the best. The trekking tour guides take their clients to restaurants located out of Chivay. Be careful. If you don´t want to eat there tell the guide to be left in the square of Chivay. They take you to restaurants far from the square in order to avoid the clients to find a place to eat. With nothing in the surroundings, the client is forced to get inside the restaurant to eat which is not fair.

If you are take the classical two day trip to the Colca Canyon with Colonial tours or other travel agency pay just 15 soles for the buffet. If the guide insists in that the price is 20 just leave the place. Don´t be used. Talk to the owner of the travel agency. If you want to avoid this problem ask the travel agency to include your meals in the program. The travel agency will charge you the real price without commission.

If your tour guide is good. Give him a tip and tell him why you are tipping him. That will motivate him or her to be better.
And don´t forget that we receive for what we have paid for…

Commissions and more commissions in Colca Canyon tours

by the Colca Specialist

Who is who in this business of tourism in Arequipa

With lots of travel agencies in Arequipa is confusing to know which one has a real good service and which not.
Another situation that provokes more confusion to the foreign visitors is the abysmal difference of prices. Some agencies offers tours that cost 600 soles and others offer the same tour at 50 soles. Why?

First of all it is important to know that there is INFORMALITY in Arequipa. Some travel agencies are legal others not. This situation was provoked by Alberto Fujimori, the Japanese Peruvian president involved in a terrible scandal of corruption. In order to decrease the unemployment rate in Peru, Fujimori change the requirements for opening travel agencies.

In the past travel agencies had to have a guarantee deposit in a bank (40,000 soles). The deposit was a guarantee in case of accidents or any kind of problem that could happen to the clients of that travel agency.
If the client was nor provided the service promised,the client was refunded with the guarantee deposit.

There were less travel agencies and the service was better. When the laws were changed,anybody could open a travel agency in Arequipa . The guarantee deposit was cancelled and now we can see the results: clients less satisfied with the services provided and lots of complaints in I Peru,an organization that receives all the complaints done by the clients, organization that until the moment is unable to solve the problems of the clients.The problem is that if you want to be refunded by the travel agency because of a bad service it takes several days because the authorities have to investigate the situation.Because nobody stays in Arequipa more than two days,the complaint won´t be effective.

The other problem tourism in Arequipa has is the INTERMEDIARIES. If you are looking for a mountainbiking tour you will find that all the travel agencies in Arequipa offer you tour to Chachani volcano. Why?

It is because the little travel agencies specially those located inside handicrafts shops pool their clients and they are sent to one tour operator.You buy the tour in one place and you end traveling with other company with a big group and the quality of the service is POOR!

Nothing is more sad than traveling with a guide who is not specialized .
Let´suposse you pay 30 dollars for the mountainbiking tour in Chachani volcano.The owner of the travel agency will endorse the client to a tour operator and it is going to pay 15 Dollars for your tour. The travel agency obtains without doing much a 15 dollar commission.Now it is clear.

If you want a mountainbiking tour,it is better to buy the tour in Naturaleza Activa which is recommended by Lonely Planet among other guidebooks. The tours they offer are private with UNIQUE circuits. If you are looking for mountainclimbing tours you can book it with Carlos Zarate, or with Naturaleza Activa.

If you are looking for a river rafting tour you can book it with Expediciones y Aventuras which is the only rafting operator in Arequipa and in that way you will avoid the commissions problem.

If you buy a mountainclimbing tour in Colonial tours for example you will end traveling with Ivan Jimenez which is the tour operator of mountainclimbing in Arequipa. Ivan Jimenez pays a commission of 100 soles per passenger to all the travel agencies that endorse clients to his company.Ivan receives only half part of the price you payed. It is incredible.

Many travel agencies are awarded by different international guidebooks,but not even one of them was awarded by the local authorities. Why? It is because they are not good enough.Most of them don´t practice what we call sustainable tourism.In other words,their presence doesn´t give any kind of benefits to the locals of the area visited.

The other problem Arequipa has are the FOREIGN TOUR OPERATORS. There are lots of them from different countries: French,dutch.german,from new Zeland,etc.
They offer tours through internet . The reputation of many travel agencies in Peru is not so good and this situation is the key of success of many foreign operators who take advantage of this situation in order to make money betraying the trust of their country fellows.

These guys are even worst than the others. If a mountainclimbing tour to Chachani volcano costs let´suppose 200 US, the foreign operator will charge 400 US. Besides these guys don´t pay any kind of taxes,etc.Now you understand how is the situation here in Arequipa.Some of them have web sites that function like Spanish schools and they offer tours too.

In order to survive in this jungle of commissionists it is good to be SMART. First is it important to decide what kind of tour you would like to have. If you are in a foreign country you can check through the different blogs,forums and guidebooks about the travel agencies that are recommended.Don´t trust much on web pages because ALL OF THEM SAY THEY ARE GOOD AND THAT THEY ARE THE BEST. NOBODY IS PERFECT! Keep that in mind.

If the tour is too cheap there is problem. All hotels have beds,but not all of them are in the same condition.All the travel agencies have tour guides but not all of them speak English fluently and not all of them are professional.All the travel agencies in Arequipa go to Colca Canyon but just a few of them do different circuits. Travel with those that do different circuits the others are just pooling clients.

If you would like to spend your holidays in Arequipa, don´t be a sheep following others. Your holidays are important and in order to enjoy a visit it is better not to take conventional tours where you spend much time inside a bus with a guide that doesn’t care about you because you are inside a big group.

Check the circuits in detail with your tour operator and find out about the places you will visit during the tour.

Adventure tour operators have their equipment inside the travel agency.Read the references of the tour guide you are traveling with.The tour guide is the key of the tour. If several travel agencies give you the same name it is simple. They are not the tour operators.

Thank you very much for your reading and good luck.

The Colca Specialist.