Cusco

Cusco demonstrates keystone mutualism on a civilizational scale—the entire regional economy has evolved around a single heritage asset that attracts resources from across the globe. Founded in the 12th century as the capital of the Inca Empire, the city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Today, Machu Picchu draws 1.5 million visitors annually, generating an estimated 40:1 return on tourism investment and creating 36,000 jobs in the surrounding area alone. Peru's tourism sector contributed $21.6 billion to national GDP in 2024, with Cusco capturing a disproportionate share.

The transformation from ancient capital to tourism monoculture has yielded measurable results. Cusco's poverty rate dropped from 63.8% to 21.6% by 2022—a decline driven substantially by tourism employment, though mining contributed as well. In 2024, over 1.1 million Cusco Tourist Tickets were sold, 5.7% more than in pre-pandemic 2019 and 63% above post-pandemic lows. Peru received 3.26 million international tourists in 2024, a 29.37% increase over 2023, and the country accounted for 50.7% of all international tourist arrivals to South America—with most passing through Cusco.

Infrastructure investments continue to deepen the dependency. A 28.4-kilometer paved road to Machu Picchu, due for completion in 2025, will reduce access time from 4-5 hours to 2 hours. Cusco hosted the 2024 APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting, signaling Peru's intent to further develop this sector. Yet monocultures carry risk: visitor limits at Machu Picchu, climate impacts on the Inca Trail, and economic concentration in a single industry all represent constraints that the region's current structure cannot easily escape.