Tourism employment is still limited in our community. Women would like to produce and sell more artesanía, our traditional handicrafts, but there is not yet a reliable market.
The few people already working in tourism are local, which is important in a region where many young people leave because jobs are scarce and agriculture receives little government support.
Dollarisation, inflation and population growth have made life steadily more expensive. Land and housing prices have risen, and families manage by avoiding luxuries and taking additional work whenever possible.
Tourism should create a market for local skills, not another reason for young people to leave because opportunities remain elsewhere.
Visitors often buy imported products because few locally manufactured alternatives exist. Handicrafts and food are the main exceptions. This shows why we need support to improve product quality and expand what communities can offer.
Traffic and noise have increased in Riobamba, while our village remains quiet. The government is improving roads, electricity, telephone connections and water supplies, partly to support the modest number of tourists.
Local people must participate in tourism decisions. Indigenous women’s organisations already show how community involvement can work. Planning should not happen only in government offices or tour-company headquarters.
If local people do not help decide how tourism grows, they may carry its costs while large operators collect its benefits.
I want investment in training, product development and local attractions to be channelled through local government and community organisations. I am concerned that a few large tour operators could establish a monopoly and push residents aside.
Visitors also need better information about what the area offers. Tourism should extend beyond a few familiar sites and give local producers, guides and communities a genuine role.
We welcome tourism’s possibilities, but development must strengthen local livelihoods without asking us to surrender the cultural norms and values that make this place our home.