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31 pages, 958 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Community-Based Tourism in Ecuador: Community Ventures of the Provincial and Cantonal Networks

by Claudia Patricia Maldonado-Erazo, María de la Cruz del Río-Rama, Patricio Noboa-Viñan and José Álvarez-García

Sustainability 2020, 12(15), 6256; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12156256 - 3 Aug 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5601

Abstract

The aim of this work is to identify community the initiatives anchored to community-based tourism (CBT) in Ecuador with the aim of providing an overview of the current reality of community tourism in the country, in addition to publicizing the product lines under [...] Read more.

The aim of this work is to identify community the initiatives anchored to community-based tourism (CBT) in Ecuador with the aim of providing an overview of the current reality of community tourism in the country, in addition to publicizing the product lines under development within community initiatives. The methodology used is a descriptive analysis based on the review of secondary sources, which reflect the reality of the different tourism initiatives related to the Plurinational Federation of Community Tourism of Ecuador (FEPTCE) at the level of continental Ecuador. FEPTCE groups indigenous, Afro–Ecuadorian, Montubian and mestizo communities, who depend on their territory and have identified tourism as a mechanism to continue living with dignity within these territories, due to the option of economic diversification that is generated. Within the communities that belong to the FEPTCE, living with dignity implies achieving a good quality of life, which is not based on satisfying a series of basic needs, but implies going further, achieving the idea of “Good Living”, that is to say, reaching an appreciation of well-being, based on the conception of the full set of what culture is, in order to generate comprehensive sustainability of its spaces. Among the main results, the distribution and coverage that the FEPTCE has within continental Ecuador regarding community tourism is shown and analyzed. As a formal network of community-based tourism, it is made up of five networks at the regional level and nine at the provincial or cantonal level, which are analyzed in this study. The consolidation of the initiatives launched has been difficult with only 83 of the initial 121 being active and only 18 registered as community tourist centers. This case study shows that in Ecuador the network approach as the first step in the development of the CBT worked. Therefore, the development of the CBT must be approached from a network approach in which indigenous peoples (indigenous, mestizo, Afro-descendant, etc.) participate, administrations, the private sector, civil society, NGOs and tourist destinations, to which they must to join academic institutions by contributing solid data obtained through research that helps tourism development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Community-Based Tourism: A Resilience Perspective)

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20 pages, 2240 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Governance, Community Resilience, and Indigenous Tourism in Nahá, Mexico

by Pilar Espeso-Molinero and María José Pastor-Alfonso

Sustainability 2020, 12(15), 5973; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12155973 - 24 Jul 2020

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 6636

Abstract

Employing resilience as the theoretical and methodological framework and focusing on governance, this long-term anthropological study analyzes the socio-ecological system of a small indigenous community, with community-based tourism development. After 10 years of ethnographic and participatory work with the Lacandon Maya of Nahá, [...] Read more.

Employing resilience as the theoretical and methodological framework and focusing on governance, this long-term anthropological study analyzes the socio-ecological system of a small indigenous community, with community-based tourism development. After 10 years of ethnographic and participatory work with the Lacandon Maya of Nahá, Mexico, our anthropological research explores the complexities of community governance and its role in protecting the socio-ecological system. The processes of land restitution initiated by the Mexican government and the arrival of migrants from different ethnic groups in the surrounding areas have resulted in significant socio-ecological adjustments being made at the community level. A self-regulated governance system is evaluated to understand the drivers and variables that generated vulnerabilities in the system, as well as the factors that fostered resilience in the establishment of the Nahá’s Natural Protected Area of Flora and Fauna. Our results show that although the current Lacandon political organization is fairly recent, pressures from neighboring communities have fostered resilience responses. To protect their space from such pressures, the Lacandon, convinced of their ethnic legitimacy as guardians of the Lacandon Jungle, have internalized the official political-environmentalist discourse. This role has had critical implications for the birth and development of the Indigenous tourism system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Community-Based Tourism: A Resilience Perspective)

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26 pages, 5613 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Family Relations and Socio-Ecological Resilience within Locally-Based Tourism: The Case of El Castillo (Nicaragua)

by Antonio Luis Díaz-Aguilar and Javier Escalera-Reyes

Sustainability 2020, 12(15), 5886; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12155886 - 22 Jul 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3022

Abstract

Although family-run micro and small businesses largely form the crux of the locally based tourism sector, either as part of a community organization or as independent units of private enterprise, in El Castillo (Nicaragua) can be found an example of how, even in [...] Read more.

Although family-run micro and small businesses largely form the crux of the locally based tourism sector, either as part of a community organization or as independent units of private enterprise, in El Castillo (Nicaragua) can be found an example of how, even in the absence of a community organization to provide a structural framework, the development of local tourism has sustained practically all businesses set up and run by households, organized largely through family relationships. This structure is pivotal in stoking resilience, not only with regard to private businesses, but also to the system of tourism (specific) and, by extension, to the whole of local society and the surrounding socio-ecosystem, or socio-ecological system (SES) (general). The case study presented here, developed on the basis of long-term ethnographic fieldwork, highlights the role of the family structure within Locally-Based Tourism (LBT) in general and also in specific cases, such as the one studied here, in which it takes on a particularly central role. The confirmation of the importance of families and family relationships as key elements in the robust development of tourism in El Castillo, and of the specific characteristics that its local society presents for this, must be taken into account in order to support Community-Based Tourism projects by institutions and organizations interested in promoting sustainable local development. Indeed, once further case studies are conducted, with a view to providing comparative evidence of these findings, it might even be proven advantageous to create a distinctive subcategory within LBT: Family-Based Tourism. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Community-Based Tourism: A Resilience Perspective)

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13 pages, 1203 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Questioning the Role of Tourism as an Engine for Resilience: The Role of Accessibility and Economic Performance

by Bogdan-Constantin Ibanescu, Mihail Eva and Alexandra Gheorghiu

Sustainability 2020, 12(14), 5527; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12145527 - 8 Jul 2020

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 3393

Abstract

During the last decades, tourism activities were promoted by local and regional policy-makers as a universal solution for rural areas’ suffering from massive depopulation, technological delay, or economical struggles. A large debate flourished in the literature on whether and to what extent tourism [...] Read more.

During the last decades, tourism activities were promoted by local and regional policy-makers as a universal solution for rural areas’ suffering from massive depopulation, technological delay, or economical struggles. A large debate flourished in the literature on whether and to what extent tourism could play a role in supporting rural localities. Some valid evidence was brought by researchers backing the cure-all role of tourism, as well as by those who criticized the limited, or even negative, impact of tourism on rural areas. However, following the economic crisis of 2008, the attention switched to a newer and more relevant topic: Does tourism increase the resilience performance of rural areas? Our paper tries to answer this question by focusing on both economic and demographic resilience, which are the most sensitive sectors during an important shock. Following a detailed territorial breakdown according to a twofold typology (spatial accessibility and number of employees), correlations were used to determine the impact of tourism activities on building resilience for each type of rural territory. The results indicated a positive effect of tourism activities upon economic and demographic resilience performance in highly accessible rural areas, while in peripheral areas, the impact was insignificant. This paper provides new insights into the various roles that tourism plays in rural areas and offers suggestions for local policy-makers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Community-Based Tourism: A Resilience Perspective)

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16 pages, 254 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Community-Based Tourism as a Factor in Socio-Ecological Resilience. Economic Diversification and Community Participation in Floreana (Galapagos)

by Esteban Ruiz-Ballesteros and Alberto del Campo Tejedor

Sustainability 2020, 12(11), 4724; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114724 - 9 Jun 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3852

Abstract

In order to understand the effect of community-based tourism (CBT) on sustainability, bespoke instruments are required. This paper advocates the application of resilience thinking as a theoretical-methodological resource suited to this purpose. The methodological perspective proposed here focuses on two core elements in [...] Read more.

In order to understand the effect of community-based tourism (CBT) on sustainability, bespoke instruments are required. This paper advocates the application of resilience thinking as a theoretical-methodological resource suited to this purpose. The methodological perspective proposed here focuses on two core elements in the functioning of any socio-ecosystem in which CBT is developed: (1) diversification of productive activities; and (2) collective participation in tourism. To reflect on this proposal empirically, an ethnographic case study was conducted on the island of Floreana (Galapagos). The analysis shows that resilience thinking is an appropriate strategy to study the effect and significance of CBT with regard to the general resilience of the socio-ecosystem and, therefore, the sustainability of its desired configuration. The analytical perspective proposed here allows us to understand: (1) how CBT functions in a specific case; (2) its contribution to the resilience of the socio-ecosystem; and (3) the consistency of that resilience by virtue of the functioning model of CBT. This analytical model furthers the study of CBT as a strategy for sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Community-Based Tourism: A Resilience Perspective)

21 pages, 8984 KiB

Open AccessArticle

“May the Smoke Keep Coming Out the Fireplace”: Moral Connections between Rural Tourism and Socio-Ecological Resilience in the EUME Region, Galicia

by Bibiana Martínez Álvarez and Jose A. Cortes-Vazquez

Sustainability 2020, 12(11), 4602; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114602 - 4 Jun 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2751

Abstract

For several decades, tourism has been considered an important instrument for the sustainable development of rural areas. However, a great deal of scholarship has cast a doubt on the actual economic and ecological impacts of many of these initiatives. Acknowledging these critiques, we [...] Read more.

For several decades, tourism has been considered an important instrument for the sustainable development of rural areas. However, a great deal of scholarship has cast a doubt on the actual economic and ecological impacts of many of these initiatives. Acknowledging these critiques, we argue in this paper that a more accurate examination of the implication of rural development projects based on tourism should not merely look at the number of overnight stays or the income generated, but also at the multiple, subtle and complex implications of tourism for socio-ecological resilience. In order to do this, we argue, it is crucial to pay attention to the moral values underpinning tourism practices. Through an ethnographic analysis of the material, symbolic and experiential transformations brought about by a number of tourism initiatives in a rural region in Galicia, our goal is to discuss the complex connections between the promotion of this new activity, the diversification of the local economy, and the social reproduction of local communities and their specific forms of human-environment engagements. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Community-Based Tourism: A Resilience Perspective)

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15 pages, 1817 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experiences of Resilience and Mapuche Community Based Tourism in the Pre-Cordilleran Territories of Panguipulli, Southern Chile

by Marisela Pilquimán-Vera, Gustavo Cabrera-Campos and Patricio Tenorio-Pangui

Sustainability 2020, 12(3), 817; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12030817 - 22 Jan 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 4513

Abstract

In Latin America, community resilience has emphasized the solidarity capacities and strengths of indigenous communities to face and proactively overcome adversities derived from political and social violence. This is the case of Mapuche communities linked to community based tourism in pre-cordilleran areas of [...] Read more.

In Latin America, community resilience has emphasized the solidarity capacities and strengths of indigenous communities to face and proactively overcome adversities derived from political and social violence. This is the case of Mapuche communities linked to community based tourism in pre-cordilleran areas of southern Chile. This article analyzes tourism experiences of these Mapuche communities, based on a qualitative exploratory and descriptive approach, in order to determine their relationship with community resilience processes. The conclusion is that community based tourism has contributed to absorbing external disturbances associated with the processes of territorial dispossession, colonization, and extractive and neoliberal policies that these communities face, resist, and overlap without losing their identity. This tourism also reinforces processes of cultural revitalization of communities, connected social capacities, and development of organizational strategies to achieve the collective desire for a favorable future associated with their life plans. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Community-Based Tourism: A Resilience Perspective)

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Review

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16 pages, 2770 KiB

Open AccessReview

Minority Community Resilience and Cultural Heritage Preservation: A Case Study of the Gullah Geechee Community

by Ladan Ghahramani, Katelin McArdle and Sandra Fatorić

Sustainability 2020, 12(6), 2266; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062266 - 13 Mar 2020

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 13246

Abstract

The Gullah Geechee community of the south-eastern United States endures today as a minority group with a significant cultural heritage. However, little research has been conducted to explore this community’s resilience in the face of climate change and other environmental impacts. The database [...] Read more.

The Gullah Geechee community of the south-eastern United States endures today as a minority group with a significant cultural heritage. However, little research has been conducted to explore this community’s resilience in the face of climate change and other environmental impacts. The database Web of Science was searched and 109 publications on the Gullah Geechee community were identified. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, we analyzed the publications to identify patterns and primary research themes related to the Gullah Geechee community’s resilience. Findings revealed that Gullah Geechee‘s cultural heritage is vulnerable to climatic and societal changes, but can also be a source for enhancing community resilience and promoting more sustainable community-led heritage and tourism developments. A framework is proposed for building community resilience in the context of minority and/or marginalized communities (e.g., Gullah Geechee). This study highlights the urgent need to not only better understand and incorporate a community’s economic dimensions and losses in various decision- and policy-making processes but also their cultural and social dimensions and losses. This systematic analysis can help inform both heritage preservation and community-led tourism practices and policies related to the Gullah Geechee community, as well as help direct new research efforts focusing on minority and/or marginalized community resilience. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Community-Based Tourism: A Resilience Perspective)

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