In 'Dreadlock Holiday', 10cc's song about being a tourist in Jamaica, the protagonist finds himself adrift in a strange land where the locals don't behave as he expects and he finds no respite, not even by the hotel swimming pool. All this despite his professed love of cricket and reggae. 'I don't like Jamaica, I love it!" he cries in despair.

We are in Sucre in Bolivia but being here has prompted thoughts about the impact that tourism has on developing countries. Sucre, the White City, is the first place we've been to that's really on the Western tourist trail as it is on the road to the Bolivian salt flats and Bolivia is one of the favoured destinations in South America for 'adventurous' tourists' and backpackers as it's very cheap.

It is a lovely place. Founded by the Spanish in 1538 its colonial centre has been preserved pretty much intact. All the buildings have to be painted white, hence the name, and development is prohibited in the central area. Being at an altitude of 2,810 m the climate is very pleasant during the day (currently it's about 20 degrees) but at night it does get cold. It is the constitutional capital of Bolivia, although la Paz is the seat of government and the economic and financial capital and there is a large university here. It is also, by all accounts, more prosperous than the rest of the country.

All of this combines to give it a very relaxed vibe. The presence of tourists with money to spend (even the backpackers) means there are plenty of good cafes and restaurants, shops selling Andean handicrafts and no shortage of good accommodation at (by western standards) very reasonable price

On the face of it tourism is good for Sucre. It brings money into the city and supports the creation of many jobs. The presence of tourists in significant numbers has meant that a local NGO has been able to set up a cafe and tour agency, Condor Cafe and Treks, the profits from which are invested into supporting social projects in the surrounding countryside. The need to retain the tourist trade has encouraged the authorities to maintain the attractiveness of the city - it is one of the cleanest cities I've ever seen, and probably contributed to UNESCO declaring it a World Heritage Site. There appear to be few downsides.

To see those it is perhaps necessary to go out of the city into the surrounding villages. Tarabuco, a village about 60 km away, is famous for its weaving. Every Sunday there is a market there where people from the surrounding villages come to buy their everyday necessities. But recently it has become a tourist draw and there are tours organised from Sucre. We eschewed these and made our way on public transport - on a 'collectivo'. These are minibuses which go between local towns and villages. There is no timetable, they just go when they're full. And full can mean perhaps 16 or 17 people in a 12 seater bus. Cosy!

To be honest the market was a bit of a disappointment. The 'handicrafts' were not mostly locally made but typical of stuff you find throughout the Andes, mostly manufactured in Columbia and now, apparently, China. But this is the stuff that appeals to tourists because it is dirt cheap. You can pick up a manufactured alpaca jumper for under £10, a proper hand-made one will set you back £80, rightly reflecting the labour that goes into knitting it. So mass tourism is actually discouraging the production of locally made artisanal crafts. First negative impact.

Second negative impact is the behaviour of many of the tourists themselves. Many Bolivian campesinos do not like having their photograph taken. But that doesn't deter the foreign tourists with their big cameras who seem to think they have the right to poke them into people's faces without so much as a 'may I?" I saw one woman going to take a photo of a market stall and its owner. When the owner asked for money the woman stormed off, obviously angry at his impertinence as if he was somehow only there to play a role in her account of her exotic holiday. I wonder how she would have reacted if the Bolivian man had come into her place of work in Germany (yes -stereotypes confirmed!) and just started taking photos?

Even activities such as bargaining and tipping can be destructive, for example by raising prices for local people or creating divisions between people working for foreign tourists and those servicing the local population.

So am I guilty of hypocrisy in travelling here? I don't believe so. I don't think Bolivia would be better off if the tourists stopped coming. But when we travel to developing countries we do try and observe a few simple rules to increase the positive impact of our stay:
- we stay in local hotels and eat in local restaurants and cafes.
- if we do travel on an organised trip we try and book directly with a local company or at least make sure the company uses a local subsidiary and local guides.
- we try and use local transport wherever possible.
- we bargain where that is the accepted thing but not aggressively, we can afford to pay a bit over the odds (but not too much as that makes things more expensive for local people)
- we try and support local NGOs where they exist. If possible we'll buy artefacts direct from the makers or from shops which pay them a fair price
- when taking photos of people we always ask for permission.
- we try and respect the local environment (even if the locals appear not to).

Today's picture shows what might happen if we don't take heed of such things. It is in the main square of Tarabuco and commemorates the Battle of Jumbate in 1816, during the Independence War, when the Tarabucenos ambushed a group of marauding Spanish soldiers, killing all but the drummer boy and eating their hearts in ritual revenge for abuses committed by the Spanish. You have been warned!

(But please don't mention the long-haul flying)