Backpacker tourism in the Brazilian Amazon: Challenges and opportunities

The Amazon rainforest has the potential to become one of Brazil's most important ecological attractions based on the region's diversity of ecosystems. While there is strong domestic and international pressure for conservation and balanced development of the Amazon rainforest (Filho 2006; Ruschmann 1992; Wallace and Pierce 1996) including sustainable tourism development, the region's tourism potential is largely untapped. Surprisingly, even backpackers, usually one of the first groups to explore remote and interesting areas, are largely absent from the area. This chapter discusses the current status of backpacking in the Brazilian Amazon, and explores the difficulties that are likely to be encountered in developing this tourism sector. The discussion will focus on aspects of the supply side of backpacker tourism in Brazil's two largest Amazonian states, Amazonas and Para, with a specific focus on the lack of government support for the backpacker sector, access issues, cost, attractions and the natural environment.