Gran Evento Turistico

One of the main emphases of my work in Rica Playa is to promote tourism. September 23, the first day of spring here, is one of the most important days for visitors to the park. Bus loads of school kids arrive in numbers. Last year, about 300 arrived, or in terms of buses, about nine of them. This year, tourism took on a different flavor and the people in town organized a beach party that included a DJ, beer, typical foods (duck or goat meat with rice), boat rides, horse rides, and swimming. They put a lot of effort into it, including meeting after meeting and even a town clean-up to make a good impression on the visitors. Too bad most of the people at the party were locals. The main flaw, in my perspective, was the lack of advertising to a diverse audience. Visitors would willingly come from Tumbes if they new what was in store for them when they came. In the end, the only group to come from a distance, besides the school buses that came, were the DJs. They left less-than-satisfied with the event though - for due reason. The people in my town had road blocked the exit from the beach so that they could not leave. They were upset because the DJs finished playing an hour before stated in their contract. Glass bottles were thrown (as often happens at the end of Peruvian parties) and the drunk locals stumbled home complaining about how the party was feo because it had ended early.