Tourism has the potential to empower women, particularly in rural areas. However, little is known about whether it can have the same effect in Andean communities, mainly because the traditional social and cultural structures of those communities have limited women’s ability to empower themselves through traditional economic activities. Through interviews with residents participating in agritourism development in seven communities across the Cusco and Puno regions (Peru, South America), this study examined the role of agritourism development in the empowerment of women in those communities as well as the ways in which it has changed traditional gender roles. Study findings revealed that agritourism contributes to four areas of empowerment for women: psychological, social, political, and economic. However, the culture of the Andean communities still has considerable influence on gender dynamics and may prevent women from garnering all the benefits of tourism development. Agritourism development in those communities should incorporate gender-related cultural considerations to navigate and overcome barriers, thereby allowing the maximization of empowerment benefits for women.

The demand and offer of recreational activities on farms has increased over the last decades and promises increased growth in the future because of the benefits it brings to farmers and visitors. Despite this growth, a breadth of names (e.g., agritourism, farm visit) are used interchangeably to depict this activity. Such inconsistency reflects a lack of industry branding which diminishes marketing effectiveness and hinders stakeholders’ collaboration. Therefore, a study was conducted to evaluate the Memorability, Distinctiveness, Relevance and Flexibility and overall preference of eight typical names associated with recreation on farms among farmers and visitors. The multimodal approach employed reveals that efforts are needed to standardize and diffuse a brand name for recreation on farms because of reduced Memorability. Although “Agritourism” appears suitable to brand recreation on farms given its Distinctiveness, Relevance, and Flexibility, results are inconclusive and call for further efforts for educating the public about its meaning.

The Peruvian government has supported community-based tourism (CBT) for the last ten years seeking to improve the well-being of marginalized rural communities sustainably. Yet, the notion of sustainability among these CBT providers has not been formally assessed, nor the impact of different managerial models in such a notion. Thus, we interviewed members of seven CBT initiatives operating in the Peruvian Andes to evaluate their level of understanding of sustainability and their awareness of the impacts their activities produce. Analysis yielded five themes and 17 sub-themes which altogether illustrate interviewees’ understanding of sustainability attained throughout their path of developing CBT. Findings revealed these CBT initiatives implement many sustainable practices, likely due to the training they receive from supporting agencies. Notably, they assert CBT should remain complementary to agricultural livelihoods as to allow benefits to outweigh negative impacts. Findings also show management and networking inefficiencies in need of improvement to increase sustainability.

Experiential tourism can be a catalyst for enhancing the wellbeing of indigenous communities. Yet, experiential tourism is a conundrum as cultural adaption to increase tourists’ satisfaction can threaten authenticity. This study examined the dialectic between experiential tourism and traditional culture among seven Quechua communities in Peru offering experiential tourism, by addressing three questions: (1) What is the perceived the role of ancestral traditions in experiential tourism? (2) To what extent modernism permeates into their lifestyles?, and (3) How do they negotiate ancestral traditions and modernism? Data collected in 2015 revealed that locals involved in tourism considered a priority to keep their ancestral traditions alive by passing them on to new generations; those not involved in tourism are less compliant of cultural authenticity. As a result, study communities showed signs of acculturation, syncretism and re-authentication. Findings also revealed that tourism is perceived as the catalyst for keeping and recovering traditional cultural manifestations, while modernism of certain practices is a necessity. This study contributes to the tourism scholarship by stressing the necessity to negotiate the coexistence of modernity and traditions in experiential tourism. Findings also elucidate policy and marketing suggestions to increase the positive effect of experiential tourism in heritage preservation.