ABSTRACT

This chapter addresses the managerial dimension of Machu Picchu, its continuity and change in recent decades. Much has been said and written about Machu Picchu from very many different perspectives: its sensational discovery in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, its identity as one of the most enigmatic ancient sites in the world, its inscription on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List in 1983 and, more recently, its nomination as the Seventh Wonder of the World. Aguas Calientes is a small city created 50 years ago in the valley beneath the Inca City of Machu Picchu exclusively and explicitly to exploit the externalities of tourism. Instituto Nacional de Cultura (INC) Cusco is a very complex organization, a sort of portfolio of individual entities, tasks and departments that are related to the great number of archaeological sites in the region.