ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE EMERGENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM IN AN ETHNIC SPACE. THE CASE OF SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA, NORTHERN CHILE (1950–2022)

Tourism in San Pedro de Atacama (Antofagasta, Northern Chile) has been based on the exploitation of the territorial spaces and natural assets, the archaeological and historical capitals of the area, and the cultural differences of the Atacameño communities. Using a temporal approach, ethnographic materials, and press archives, we focus on three aspects of this activity’s emergence and development. First, we identify how various indigenous, archaeological, and local political actors stimulated it and, later, made it work during the military dictatorship (1973–1990). Second, we address the conversion of San Pedro de Atacama into a touristified ethnic space characterized by drastic transformations. Third, we review the strategies of Atacama’s incorporation into tourism through a state program that, following neoliberal logic, had to face the position and demands of the Atacameños and, lastly, the world sanitary emergency that put the activity in crisis.