SURFING FOR A SHAMAN: Analyzing an Ayahuasca Website

While niche tourism has been explored in multiple and varied contexts, few studies have examined spiritual tourism in the context of the Amazon. Through a detailed textual analysis, this study discursively explores the complex social and cultural phenomenon of spiritual tourism, as examined through an ayahuasca tourism website. Ayahuasca tourism involves traveling to the Amazon to participate in a shaman-led ceremony and drink the hallucinogenic tea ayahuasca. This paper analyzes a study of one of the most frequently visited websites, Blue Morpho Tours. Findings suggest that the appropriation and commodification represented on this site have significant implications for the local peoples of the Peruvian Amazon, and, as spiritual tourism increases, to other cultures and peoples as well.