Building Peace through Tourism: Community Experiences from Post-Agreement Colombia

Tourism can be much more than an economic activity. In territories affected by armed conflict, it can help create livelihoods, strengthen communities and open spaces for encounter, memory and reconciliation.

The event “Building Peace through Tourism: Community Experiences from Post-Agreement Colombia” brings to Eichstätt actors directly involved in community-based tourism initiatives connected to Colombia’s peace process.

Doris Suárez Guzmán is a signatory to the Colombian Peace Agreement and co-founder and director of La Casa de la Paz in Bogotá.

Esperanza Torres Alvarado (Ximena) is also a signatory to the Peace Agreement, a community leader in Agua Bonita, Caquetá, and a representative of Turipaz – Turismo Integral por la Paz.

Both Doris Suárez Guzmán and Esperanza Torres Alvarado are members of Red Tupar, the Tourism, Peace and Reconciliation Network of Colombia.

The event will focus on their experiences with community-based tourism and its connections with peacebuilding, local development and reconciliation.

The discussion will also include Marie Witzel, Director of V Social Foundation, and David Gómez, researcher and peace and conflict professional at V Social Foundation.

The event will explore the role tourism can play in territories affected by conflict: How can sustainable livelihoods be developed? How can community-based initiatives strengthen local structures? And what role can encounters between visitors and local communities play in processes of peacebuilding and reconciliation?

The event provides an opportunity to discuss these questions with actors directly involved in such initiatives in Colombia.

15 October 2026 | 11:00 AM–1:00 PM | Room O17-105, Eichstätt

Language: English

Moderator: Dr. Luis Peña, Scientific Coordinator, ZILAS

The event is organized by ZILAS in collaboration with the V Social Foundation and Red Tupar – Tourism, Peace and Reconciliation Network of Colombia.