The emergence of a trans-border tourism frontier in the Central Andes (Triple Frontera: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile)

This article theoretically discusses a universal geographical process, the territorial reconquest of low-density peripheral spaces. This process is analysed through the concept of 'conquest frontier', understood as multidimensional. The tourism specificities of that frontier are at the core of this research and have been extensively surveyed in the field between 2003 and 2009. In fact, the emergence of a trans-border tourism frontier in the Central Andes has been an active process for the last twenty years. It superimposes itself onto two other distinct frontal dynamics: an older but still active mining frontier and an eco-frontier that participates in its tourist attractivity. This Andean trans-border area is marked by serious military control and a relatively closure of the three national States on historically disputed national borders. Tourism development induces three successive and concomitant processes on these Andean territories: an increase of outsider's domination on local areas, a predation of the natural and social environment that is potentially detrimental to tourism demand, and a multi-scalar regulation trying to overcome these negative effects. These problems give a better visibility to local indigenous demands for land and cultural recognition - the Atacamenos in Chile, the Aymaras in Chile and Bolivia, the Quechuas in Argentina and Bolivia, and the Kollas in Argentina were connected during the pre-Columbian era.