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As per the popular travel website Trip Advisor, the visitor experience of Machu Picchu is considered a once in a lifetime, unmissable experience, being described as amazing and mystical. Due to the nature of the area, there is a reasonable amount of hiking to be done at the site in order to get the most out of the visit. A popular option employed by the more adventurous tourists is to access the citadel through the Inca trail. The visitor sessions are divided into two sections, the morning session and the afternoon session, covering four hours each. Visitors are seen to have the best experience early morning, where the cloud cover is less and the sunrise presents for an incredible view. It is also advised to take a tour guide, who can give a lot of context and information about the heritage of the site, as well as the relevance of the various structures and ruins present at the site. Many guides have been praised for their insights of Machu Picchu, with some reviews calling the hiring of a guide a ‘crucial’ part of the experience. With its scenic location and rich biodiversity, it is no wonder that many visitors find many panoramic views around this mountaintop citadel. Staying at the nearby town of Agua Calientes is a good idea for tourists who want to explore the entire site.
While the majority of the reviews and experiences of visiting Machu Picchu are positive, there are quite few areas where the visitor experience can be improved. A common theme that we can find from the negative reviews of the site is the problem of overtourism, with the constant sight of people and buses ruining the aesthetic and overall experience of the place. Reviews have also stated that these cause long lines and wait times, which tend to dampen the experience further, with the worst time being the high season in July. Another issue faced by visitors is the lack of prepared guides, with one review stating that the guides were unprepared and provided inaccurate and varying stories about the sites, and another stating that the guide did not tell them anything that they could not have found in a guidebook. Another review noted the lack of safety barriers and proper signage, which is incredibly dangerous given the location of the sanctuary.
To resolve the issues faced by current visitors, we can look at the recommendations made by Pedersen in his 2002 Manual regarding World Heritage Management. He recommends employing the use of tour guides to monitor the tourist behavior at the site. I believe that this can also be applied to ensure tourist safety, thus eliminating the need for safety barriers which could potentially cause damage to the site. This could also work in the benefit of the local community, generating more employment to match the size of the crowds at the site. The number of tour guides should be proportional to the tour groups as well, and should be included in the current number of people allowed at the site. Financing of training of guides can come from tour operators, which can go a long way in enhancing the overall experience. Visitor data acquired by these operators can be used to form demographics on tourists arriving, such as languages spoken by the visitors as well as their motivation behind visiting Machu Picchu, which can be useful in the training of the guides to result in better interpretation of the area by the tourists. Education programs detailing the significance of the area, its resources and the issues that threaten can sensitize tourists about the area and aid in developing respect for this historic and natural marvel before they enter. Pedersen also recommends restricting tourists to parts of the site that have higher durability in order to protect the site. These areas can also be strengthened during the routine maintenance that occurs during the month of January. The inaccessible sites can be experienced through audio-visual aids, guidebooks and through the expert knowledge of the certified tour guides. An increase in visitor charges and additional facilities can be useful in deterring the number of tourists that arrive while supplementing the loss of revenue from this reduction. As per the findings of Larson and Poudyal in their 2011 analysis of Machu Picchu, local development and Peruvian culture were threatened by tourism profits going to the operator agencies. They also found that Andean people viewed international tourism as a threat to their culture and sacred sites. Ensuring that tour guides are from the local community can increase local benefits, deter any increase in tourist facilities that might cause harm to the site, and support a genuine cultural exchange and understanding between the global community and that of the Andean culture, the direct descendants of the Inca civilization responsible for the building of the historic sanctuary of Machu Picchu. The Peruvian government and the Tourism Board can also develop eco-tourism programs that can aid in the conservation of Machu Picchu, and redesign the tourism policy of Peru to redirect the large tourist numbers to other parts of Peru, such as the ruins of Choquequirao, taking the pressure of Machu Picchu.
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