UN Tourism and CAF (Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean) launch the Indigenous Tourism Challenge for Latin America and the Caribbean

MADRID--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UN Tourism and CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean have launched the Indigenous Tourism Challenge – Latin America and the Caribbean. This initiative seeks to identify and support innovative tourism projects that highlight the richness of cultural expressions and the relationship with the environment of the indigenous peoples in the region.

Indigenous tourism enables communities to place value on and revitalize their culture through authentic tourism experiences. It makes it possible for travelers to get to know native peoples and experience their traditions, customs, and ancestral knowledge. This method encourages autonomy and sustainable development of indigenous communities, preserves their cultural identity, and strengthens their role in managing their heritage and tourism as an economic activity.

The challenge is designed to turn indigenous tourism into a key driver of economic development, while deeply respecting community autonomy, ancestral traditions, and the natural environment on which indigenous peoples rely for their livelihood.

The initiative supports projects that promote economic empowerment, strengthening financial autonomy of indigenous communities through tourism; cultural preservation, protecting traditions, languages and rituals with the direct participation of the communities; promoting gastronomy and local cuisine together with regional producers and markets; and community innovation, with proposals that add value to tourism without altering the traditional way of life.

Finalists will receive specialized mentoring, access to global tourism networks, and unique opportunities for international visibility. The winning project will receive investment backing of USD 10,000, in addition to support to implement their initiative.

Natalia Bayona, UN Tourism's Executive Director, emphasized: "Indigenous tourism, which UN Tourism has been promoting for a decade now, is not just a way to promote artistic and culinary expressions, and the knowledge of native peoples; it is also a tool to protect the tradition and ancestral knowledge that characterize the region. We encourage young people to apply and lead the way to sustainable development in communities. Because the future of tourism is theirs, it is in our hands that the most human economic sector of all shines and develops.”

Oscar Rueda García, CAF's Tourism Director expressed: "This is an invitation to undertake experiential tourism projects that make it possible to learn about the culture and knowledge of our "big brothers." This living culture is the wealth of Latin America and the Caribbean when we have more than eight hundred indigenous peoples and their population is 10% of the region. Applications are open until June 15 and the winner will be announced on August 9, International Day of Indigenous Peoples."

The original source-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the source-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.