Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

Spring 4-22-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

April 2026

Department

Anthropology

College Granting Degree

Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Department Granting Degree

Anthropology

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Katharina Rynkiewich

Abstract

Understanding the socioeconomic influences of a region is a complex endeavor, as many variables contribute to the fluctuations of an economic system, many of which intersect at the political and, in this case, ecological level. Specifically, this research aims to analyze tourism as one of those key factors to answer this question: How does tourism impact the socioeconomic livelihood of locals from La Isla de Santa Cruz, Galapagos? The Galapagos is a series of islands off the coast of Ecuador known for its rich ecological history as a site of scientific discovery. This has led to the archipelago’s extreme protection of the ecosystem and has raised awareness to the extensive preservation measures that balance the complex yet integrated relationship between locals, tourists, and the environment. Among the four inhabited islands, Santa Cruz hosts a diverse mix of residents that support the tourist-based economy, ultimately being a hub for tourism (Epler 2007, iii, pg. 3). This unique dynamic has led to this ethnographic study regarding local participation in Santa Cruz. From 2025 to 2026, 15 semi-structured interviews and 21 surveys were gathered to reveal the breadth of roles that locals take on to support continuous occupation on the island along with the resource and infrastructural challenges that they face.

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