Abstract
This chapter is a proposal of exogenous and endogenous practical tourism planning which therefore requires the completion of its construction. In this sense, it is necessary for tourism activities to be socialized, developed, questioned, and reformed by indigenous people, actors, and institutions involved with the planning of the municipality of Bahía Solano. The authors summarize the typology of tourism in sociological context with the aim of Colombian perspectives of social and regional development planning in a destination located on the coastline of Pacific Ocean. The main focuses of this chapter are human resources, people management, and planning in tourism with practical examples of Colombian research in the selected zone.
TopIntroduction
This chapter (aims) to be a complement to the development and planning of the tourism sector of the municipality Bahía Solano, it also contains limitations and requirements for the next implementation of the tourism plan. In the example of this municipality the authors focus on the multidisciplinary approach of the triangulation of three important dimensions: community participation (social cohesion), a predominance of the social dimension as an engine for the integral development of people and the innovation of creativity processes that must accompany the initiatives of indigenous people. In this chapter the authors understand that within the social context most behavior and motives of tourists and stakeholders who manage the touristic destination Bahía Solano in Colombia.
This chapter is divided into five parts:
- 1.
Transformation of natural sites into touristic destinations in a sociological context
- 2.
Overview of Colombian tourism
- 3.
Human Resources, People Management and Tourism in Colombia
- 4.
Fundamental principles of the proposal and strategic plan
- 5.
Conclusion and implications, final reflections are shared on the experience of the work process.
The Authors in this chapter propose this main question and objectives:
What are the critical relationships among actors that could facilitate a tourism planning process in Bahía Solano?
- •
Identify the current approaches of Local Planning in Tourism in a specific region – Bahía Solano, Colombia
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Identify critical current relations between involved parties in the region
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Propose improved ways of working among these parties in the region
TopTransformation Of Natural Sites Into Touristic Destinations In A Sociological Context
Tourism is not only a matter of economic or hospitality planning, but for decades it also is a subject of sociological and anthropological investigations. Tourism today is a diverse and multifaceted phenomenon that responds to heterogeneous societal and individual needs and interests (Cohen, 1972, 1974, 1979, 1984, 2008, Cohen & Cohen, 2012, 2019). New modalities of tourism like lifestyle nomading1 or volunteering tourism are in many aspects different from the traditional forms of modern tourism (Cohen, 2011). New tourists today have become more independent thanks to digital information and communication technologies and cheaper modes of transport. Personal autonomy, individualism and the search for authentic experiences are the main marketing traits for many tourists, today. Ecotourism is a dynamically growing branch that responds to a profound and increasing need of hypercivilized people to perceive a genuine contact with uncontaminated nature, fauna and flora. Locations like Bahía Solano can easily become a touristic destination in coming years as the impact of modernization is still low and the site offers a rich array of natural beauty.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Responsible Tourism Planning: A kind of planning which must ensure, that the future distribution of gains and burdens are fair and just.
Exogenous and Endogenous Development: A theory of regional development, in which the balance between transaction and transformation costs on one hand and management costs on the other turns out to be decisive is employed as a means of explaining growth of why so-called underdeveloped styles of destination are able to compete with more developed destinations as well as the economic success of tourism districts. The involvement of all actors, residents and economic income from exogenous environment with the knowledge of national entities for local development equipped with abundance of natural and cultural resources for transformation.
Sustainability: Involvement of three aspects: economic, environmental and social and the maintenance in synergy effects for regional development and planning process.
Competitiveness: The ability of a tourism destination (in this case) to compete. According to The World Economic Forum (2019) , competitiveness in this sector relates to factors that enable the environment such as institutions and infrastructure, human capital factors such as skills, market enablers such as market size and product market, and innovation ecosystem, including business dynamism and innovation capability.
Social Cohesion: The bonds or ´glue´ that bring people together and integrate them into a united society.
Sociology of Tourism: Scientific discipline investigating how tourism correlates with societal structural settings and what functions it satisfies in today´s societies.
Triangulation: The use of variety of methods, and different types of data, to cross-check that the results obtained by another method are valid.
Social Capital: The social networks of influence and support that people have.
Social Inclusion: Involvement of all actors in tourism (indigenous community, local business, stakeholders, shareholders, and tourists).
Skills: Abilities that a specific country’s workforce possess and use in the tourism industry. There are several ways to measure skills, both nationally and internationally. For example, in the context of competitiveness t ( World Economic Forum, 2017 and 2019 ) it is related to the current country level of training. Some of the indicators that are measured include: the mean number of years of schooling, skills of graduates, ease of finding skilled employees, pupil to teacher ratio, among others. In a context of English skills, (HAYS & Oxford Economics, 2019), the global level of English is measured globally amongst the workers. In the case of Colombia, skills are measured as part of national competitiveness indexes ( Consejo Privado de Competitividad, 2019 ).
Social Innovation: Usage of new social practices that aim to meet indigenous needs in a better way more suitable for resolving life-being of human, involvement in tourism planning, local and social development, or social cohesion.
Informality: Refers to the lack of access to formal regulations for both businesses and labor force in the industry. Informality is the main characteristic in nature tourism in Colombian destinations. When it is observed in the labor force, it is related to the lack of social security (such as health services and pension), in the case of the businesses, it is related to the lack of registration in the National Tourism Registration, cash payments with no valid bills and no tax collection or payment to the state.
Overtourism: The impact of tourism on a destination, or parts thereof, that excessively influences perceived quality of life of citizens and/or quality of visitors’ experiences in a negative way ( UNWTO 2018 ).