Backpacking and local community development opportunities: A case study from the Brazilian Amazon

This paper examines the economic opportunities that backpacking is able to offer tor local communities in remote underdeveloped regions, in this case the Brazilian Amazon. A number of authors have endorsed backpacking as a strategy for promoting economic development while also issuing cautions about potential negative impacts. Participant observation, focus groups with local community members and indepth interviews were employed to identify the impact that the construction and operation of a backpacker jungle lodge had on the Mamori Lake community located in a remote region about 100 kilometers from Manaus, the largest city in the Brazilian Amazon. The results indicate strong community support for the lodge, enhanced quality of life for local community members, increased concern for conservation of the local ecosystem and a concurrence that encouraging backpackers was a good strategy for local community development.