Since 2018, we have been producing an impact report focusing on the northern regions of Peru, primarily the Amazonas region (Chachapoyas), but also San Martin (Moyobamba and Tarapoto), Cajamarca, Trujillo, and Chiclayo. Here is our Sustainability Report 2024.
Why do we publish an impact report?
At Phima Voyages, “responsible tourism” is not a marketing slogan. We created our agency with the mission of involving our local partners in the tourism development of their region—with the goal, of course, that they benefit from additional income to support their daily activities. It is essential to define the impact we aim to have so we can work continuously to improve.
History of our Sustainability Reports
We published reports in 2018, 2019, in 2022 (covering 2020, 2021, and 2022), and in 2023. This is therefore our fifth impact report.
Our measurement method has not changed, even though in 2024 I had serious doubts about the calculation base used in the 2023 report.
But we continue to track our clients’ expenses on activities or homestays provided by our partners, that are:
- Rural entrepreneurs or associations offering services or experiences (e.g., Tingana near Moyobamba)
- Entrance fees to archaeological sites or museums managed by local tourism associations (e.g., the Karajia sarcophagi)
- Local guides or muleteers we hire on-site
- Homestays (like Casa de Doña Lola or Mr. Jabier’s place in Leymebamba)
In addition to these standard indicators, this year we also included the income of guides and drivers to get a more accurate picture. These are accounted for separately.
Our Commitments
Since 2018, our main indicator has been the number of local partners and the income we generate for them through our trips. We also count the training we provide on-site or online to communities or artisans.
Our goals are, on one hand, to increase the number of local partners, but more importantly, to increase the revenue our travelers bring to them.
At the same time, we continue to raise awareness among our partners and clients about responsible tourism practices.
Local Economic Impact
In 2024, we didn’t add new partners, so we still work with 34 local partners: artisans, tourism or museum associations, private conservation areas (ACP), and homestays.
Of these 34 partners, 14 benefited from our travelers in 2024, either through overnight stays, activities, or entrance fees to a site or park.
This year we welcomed 34 travelers to northern Peru, accounting for 108 overnight stays. That’s nearly double the number of travelers compared to 2023, when we hosted only 18.
In 2023, those 18 travelers generated an economic impact of 2,241 soles. In 2024, the 34 travelers supported our local partners with 6,301 soles—almost triple!
The initiative that benefited the most was the ACP Milpuj of our friend Perico, who hosted several travelers overnight at Casa de Doña Lola, and others for lunch and guided tours of the ACP.
The region with the highest impact was the municipality of Leymebamba, where travelers spent a total of 1,512 soles.
Additionally, guides and drivers in various regions received a total income of 18,490 soles.
Trainings and Capacity Building
In 2024, we conducted trainings and offered consulting to local operators.
For Peruvian entrepreneurs, I advised Jorge Ocmin of Wonder Amazon for 5 hours on how to structure packages and price services. After working with Jorge from 2021 to 2023, he is now operating smoothly and regularly developing his business.
In Peru, Sheila delivered a practical one-hour training in December 2024 to 14 community members in Leymebamba, supported by the local tourism association. The topic was Customer Service and Proper Preparation Before a Client’s Arrival. Through role-playing and scenarios, the training aimed to provide useful tools for handling various traveler interactions. In total, 14 hours of training were delivered.
As in previous years, I taught at Tunon School in Marseille during the first semester of 2024. I led two modules—Introduction to CSR and Time Management—for 15 students. This totaled 40 hours per student, or 600 hours of training delivered.
Team and Partner Engagement
Internal Training
Training our team and ourselves is another key part of our commitment. Learning is essential in our work—to share knowledge and apply good practices.
In 2024:
- Sheila and Jhon completed a one-day first aid course in March.
- Maxime obtained his Travelife training certificate on responsible travel agency practices in October (8 hours).
- Martina completed a 12-hour course on agrotourism and heritage tourism with the International Trade Center (ITC) in April. She also attended a 2-day workshop on Regenerative Tourism with Tourism CoLab in February.
- In July, Sheila represented Phima Voyages on a multi-day FamTrip to the Chachapoyas Ecomuseum, which led to a detailed article on our website.
Certifications and Commitments
As we’ve been Travelife certified since 2019, one of our key missions is to involve all our local partners in the responsibility process—hence the training efforts.
In 2024, several of our partners earned or renewed certifications:
- Gocta Natura (Cocachimba) became BCorp certified in 2024.
- Gocta Lodge (Cocachimba) and Pumarinri (Tarapoto) were re-certified by TourCert.
- Our partner agency in Chachapoyas, Magical Hike, received CALTUR bronze recognition in April 2025.
Environmental Impact
Since 2022, we have supported the REFORESTA project from Conservamos por Naturaleza. Each traveler adopts a tree in the region of Amazonas (this may be at ACP Los Chilchos, Peru’s oldest ACP, or in San Pablo de Valera, a Gocta hike starting point).
- In 2022, our travelers (including both north and south) adopted 57 trees, contributing 2,850 soles.
- In 2023, 64 travelers adopted trees, contributing 3,200 soles.
- In 2024, REFORESTA received 6,200 soles from 124 travelers to maintain trees in conservation areas in Amazonas.
Other Social Impacts
Since October 2024, we began a partnership with the primary school in Cuispes, a village 1 hour 15 minutes from Chachapoyas. The school has 21 students from 1st to 6th grade, taught by two teachers—the director and his wife.
To support the school, since October 2024 we include a 20-sole donation per traveler in our trip prices.
We want to build relationships with local youth to raise awareness about environmental issues and to discuss the potential benefits of responsible tourism—not just for employment, but also for protecting nature, animals, and cultural traditions.
In addition to this exchange between professionals and youth, we’re helping the underfunded school. After discussions with the director, Mr. Dante Vargas Santillán, we decided to provide school kits for all 21 students in March 2025.
The school kit includes: a backpack, notebooks, colored pencils, erasers, pencils, ruler, glue and represents a total of 1 442 soles.
Sheila purchased the supplies and backpacks. On March 18, 2025, she visited Cuispes to personally give each child their school kit and a Phima water bottle for the school year.
Traveler Communication
In 2024, we improved how we communicate with travelers during the booking process. From the start, we explain our responsible commitments and how to travel responsibly.
We inform travelers about Air France’s train–plane combo offers, and recommend booking direct flights instead of flights with stopovers.
Once the trip is confirmed, we send an article covering key topics like choosing ethical souvenirs, child exploitation awareness, and best practices to reduce plastic use.
Since 2024, we’ve introduced a responsibility satisfaction survey to better assess whether our messaging and on-site actions align.
Goals for 2025
For 2025, we aim to increase the impact we generate in northern Peru. To do so, we’ve identified two strategies:
- Better promote the activities and experiences we already offer to travelers interested in the north.
- Attract more travelers to the north. As this audience often consists of return visitors to Peru (who’ve already visited the south), we plan to focus more on a B2B approach to expand our partner network.
Another goal is to implement qualitative indicators—something we currently lack. These indicators will help us track perceived improvements, such as partner satisfaction or changes in local practices. We will define a few indicators to begin tracking this year.
