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controlling the geographical location of said species. With humans this cannot apply as it does to other species

because it is our own intention that dictates our location as a species. However, because humans are sentient,

on a more abstract level their free will can be defined as the factor that introduces them to new places. In the

question of tourists, the rise of the ecotourism in Peru has led to the increase in tourists in the country, and one

could argue that the government of Peru has created incentive for tourists to come. In this way humans do

become a controlling or facilitating factor in bringing outside or other humans into the country, simply not

how other invasive species are physically introduced.

Another issue with classifying tourists as an invasive species is that they are not actually a “new,” non-

native species. However, if we look at humans from different places not necessarily as different species but as

different sub species that maintain unique micro biomes and cultural practices that affect their environment,

not only tourists but colonizers can be posited as invasive. This abstract take on invasive species should not be

disregarded simply because of the basis of species. Forcing and conforming to such qualitative definitions of

invasive species excludes certain demographics (Catford, Vesk, Richardson, & Pysek, 2012). Humans,

although the same species are vastly different beings even on an individual level, let alone a societal and

cultural level. Genetic diversity can greatly differ due to an organism’s environment, and with humans

specifically, nurture can dictate how a tourist would perceive and interact with a non-native ecosystem. All of

these factors exhibit how humans can be alien organisms that cause detriment to a native ecosystem. Tourists

can also meet another criteria of many invasive species concerning self-replacing populations. They sustain

self-replacing populations not necessarily through reproduction but through globalization and word of mouth.

Tourists have created the need for an industry and therefore sustains it for generations. This creates the

longevity many official invasive species have, as well as maintains the idea that most of the time invasive

species become a common part of the ecosystem (Catford et al., 2016). As shown by the growth of the

ecotourism industry, the population of tourists in Peru is not only being maintained, but growing at a rapid

rate. The abundance of non-native organisms is another defining factor of invasive species, and is one of the

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