Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, is a remote inhabited place on Earth, located over 2,300 miles west of mainland Chile. The island, which covers 63 square miles, is home to a living Polynesian culture that is wrestling with the impact of tourism and Chile’s control over its future.
During a recent running and hiking event across the island, a writer began to understand the complexities of Rapa Nui’s situation. The island’s population is estimated to be around 8,000, with around 2,000 identifying as Indigenous Rapa Nui. Although they are Chilean citizens, the Rapa Nui have recognized Indigenous status and specific rights over residency, land, and decisions affecting the island.
For Indigenous guide Natalie Hotu, the problem is not tourism itself, but rather the lack of control the community has over the number of visitors and the impact they have on the island. Hotu runs her own sustainable guiding business and is developing an educational guesthouse to promote responsible tourism. Natalie Hotu says, “Why don’t they ask the community if we want to support more flights?” She believes that protection of the ecosystem should come first, followed by the social side, and then the economic.
Tourism and Infrastructure
Tourism is the island’s economic engine, with around 80 percent of the population depending on it. However, the island’s mayor, Elizabeth Arévalo Pakarati, has warned that the island does not want mass tourism.
Mahina Pakarati Trengove, an architect at the Rapa Nui Technical Secretariat for Heritage, sees both sides of the issue. “Tourism generates employment in the community and makes it possible to maintain and conserve the national park,” she says. “But the number of tourists is increasing and saturation is increasingly evident. We want an informed tourist who understands respect for our heritage.”
Read Also: Underrated destinations to visit now
The airport dispute has also raised concerns about the island’s contested history. Chile claimed political control of the island in 1888, but the Rapa Nui people argue that they did not surrender ownership of their land. The existing airport terminal sits on land claimed by the Roe family, who have spent over 50 years seeking the return of their land.
According to Trengove, the airport terminal infrastructure upgrade is intended to address regulatory non-compliance issues and matters regarding Indigenous land tenure. However, the volume of the transient population also needs to be regulated, she says.
The pressure on the island’s resources is evident, with summer water shortages and regular electricity outages affecting locals. Natalie Hotu describes the challenges the island faces, and the need to balance tourism and development with the island’s ecosystem and social structure.
The Rapa Nui people are seeking more autonomy from the Chilean state. However, the lack of local coordination and the complexity of the island’s governance structure remain significant challenges.
As the island handles its complex situation, the Rapa Nui people are working to promote sustainable tourism and protect their ecosystem. With the island’s unique culture and history at stake, the need for responsible tourism and development is more pressing than ever. The Rapa Nui people are determined to shape their own future, and it remains to be seen how the Chilean government and the international community will respond to their demands, with Rapa Nui’s history and culture hanging in the balance.