Tourism's Impact on Easter Island

The tragedy of the oceanic islands lies in the uniqueness, the irreplaceability of the species they have developed by the slow processes of the ages. In a reasonable world men would have treated these islands as precious possessions, as natural museums filled with beautiful and curious works of creation, valuable beyond price because nowhere in the world are they duplicated.

— Rachel Carson

Easter Island is the only island in this part of the Pacific that has regularly scheduled flights, a large choice of hotels, tourist guides, shops and a thriving souvenir trade. It thus attracts tourists coming from the direction of Tahiti as well as from Santiago. Most of the year tourism is manageable; the Summer months (December - March) are, however, crowded and expensive.

Many come for the Tapati festival, held around the first part of February. This is vacation time in the southern hemisphere. It is also the time of year when huge cruise ships stop at the island. They only stay one day (in some cases, only a few hours). However, their impact is way out of proportion to the time they are there. These ships may carry as many as 1000 passengers.

When they arrive to the island, passengers (and crew) must be off-loaded in small tenders as there is no deep water port. While this eliminates some of the elderly passengers, it is common for 800-900 people to disembark in a few hours and then be taken around the island in buses to see the archaeological sites. Naturally, they are divided up into bus loads, but it is still 800-900 persons trampling the sites. This is a huge impact on the island's fragile sites. This is also the least beneficial type of tourism as cruise passengers are not on the island long enough to spend any money, they don't eat or sleep on the island. So they make a huge impact, get back on their ship, and leave. The only benefit goes to the bus owners! This is not the kind of tourism that Easter Island needs (or deserves).

Another very superficial type of tourism has developed in the past few years. These are expensive private charters, usually on an 'around the world' tour. They fly in, spend one night at a hotel, and leave the next day. They are taken around to see the major sites, see a dance performance, and off again to another exotic island. Again, this is not the kind of tourism the island needs or deserves. These expensive charters stay at the Chilean-owned hotel (so the money goes off-island), the tourists have little time to shop, and have only a superficial look at the island. They are also easy to spot: the women are smartly dressed, wearing high heels and stockings and lots of jewelry. They complain because there are no cement sidewalks at the sites and their shoes get dirty.

Many writers have compared Easter Island's history to our world of today: a microcosmic example of what can happen if we continue to despoil our natural resources and overpopulate our planet. This is a powerful analogy for those who value the irreplaceable treasures of our world. And now these small islands face global warming and rising sea levels. Tourism that is environmentally and culturally aware is a must, for the harm that can be done by hordes of tourists is incalculable. When you visit Rapa Nui, forget about a 3-day tour and allow yourself time to savor this special place and meet the islanders. Take time to sit and reflect at the incredible archaeological sites. Spend time on the soft sands of the beaches and swim in the turquoise waters. Get in touch with the universe and yourself.

• • •

The latest figures from Sernatur (thanks to Francisco Edmunds) show a clear increase in tourism over the years. Since 1990 when the island had 4,961 tourists (502 were from the Chilean mainland), the numbers have gone up to 21,434 in 1999 (6,248 were from the Chilean mainland). So far this year (January to September), there have been 12,544 tourists. January traditionally has the highest number of tourists, with October, November, December and February coming in with slightly fewer visitors. June is always the slowest month for tourism.