The production of space in the frontiers of tourism: Critical analysis of the Huella de Glaciares circuit between El Chaltén, Argentina and Villa O'Higgins, Chile

Abstract

Nature-based tourism (NBT) has been positioned as being aligned with conservation objectives and capable of contributing to social and ecological sustainability in contemporary contexts of socio-ecological crisis and global change. Nevertheless, some have characterized this strategy as a capitalist accumulation circuit, a form of commodification and production of nature. In southern Patagonia, NBT exploits roads, trails, and protected areas as tourism resources. This chapter focuses on the production of frontier spaces in south Patagonia through an analysis of cross-border NBT strategies. We present an intrinsic case study of the Huella de Glaciares (Trail of the Glaciers) NBT product, situated in the Santa Cruz Province of Argentina, and the Aysén Region of Chile. Through interviews, participant observation, field visits, and documentary analysis, we identify that the Huella de Glaciares, along with other tourism routes that connect with the larger Patagonia territory, respond to renewed cross-border processes. We observed that the Huella de Glaciares NBT circuit was being advanced and promoted by the governments of both countries and by private tourism agents between Villa O’Higgins and El Chaltén, without adequate consideration of the project’s sustainability in this area of Patagonia.