Designing journeys through territory

In some of the destinatinations where we operate, factors as altitude, ecosystems, isolation, infrastructure are not just environmental conditions. They shape how people live, how communities organize, and how culture evolves over time. And it’s in this contexts where travel happens. And it changes how we approach design.

Popular routes often concentrate pressure: Too many people, too little time, limited capacity.

The result is predictable: saturation. Part of our work has been to move beyond that. Not by avoiding demand entirely, but by expanding the way territories are understood and connected.

Our exploration of the Great Inca Trail reflects this.

Rather than treating it as a single iconic route, we approach it as a network — a system of interconnected paths, regions, and communities that can support more diverse and distributed travel.

This allows us to:

  • Open new circuits

  • Reduce pressure on saturated routes

  • Extend travel into less-visited regions

  • Create more meaningful and varied experiences

Diversification is often framed as opportunity. In practice, it is also responsibility.

It requires:

  • Longer development timelines

  • Stronger local partnerships

  • More complex logistics

  • Ongoing commitment

But it leads to a more resilient system, both for the destination and for industry.

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Sustainability in Tourism: Working within real systems

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The people behind every journey