Sustainable Tourism and Natural Protected Areas: Exploring Local Population Perceptions in a Post-Conflict Scenario
The expansion of urban areas around the world and the application of the sustainability paradigm to tourism discourses has favored an increase in the number of people visiting natural protected areas (NPAs) in their leisure time. While tourism is desired to boost the economy of destinations, mismana...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/3/331 |
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| author | Delia M. Andries Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz Pablo Díaz-Rodríguez Cristina Herrero-Jáuregui María F. Schmitz |
| author_facet | Delia M. Andries Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz Pablo Díaz-Rodríguez Cristina Herrero-Jáuregui María F. Schmitz |
| author_sort | Delia M. Andries |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The expansion of urban areas around the world and the application of the sustainability paradigm to tourism discourses has favored an increase in the number of people visiting natural protected areas (NPAs) in their leisure time. While tourism is desired to boost the economy of destinations, mismanagement can bring negative consequences for social–ecological systems, particularly in post-conflict rural scenarios. In the context of a broader ethnographic research, we analyzed the perceptions of the local population about tourism development in the NPA Jaltepeque Estuary (El Salvador, Central America) and the establishment of a Biosphere Reserve in the area, using structured questionnaires and Multiple Correspondence Analysis for the typification of social actors. We found that overall, the population regards positively the development of tourism in the area. Fishermen are the only ones who highlight the negative economic consequences of tourism development, claiming disparity in the distribution of benefits and an increase in the cost of living. We conclude that although tourism development is an activity desired by local people, there is a need in the community to discuss how this process of socio-economic transformation should be approached and an evident conflict between two different models: the one desired and offered by the population and the one that is currently being developed in the nearby Costa del Sol corridor. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:58:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e804c1248cb14819b13408acde7d6e58 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:58:33Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-e804c1248cb14819b13408acde7d6e582023-11-21T11:42:23ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2021-03-0110333110.3390/land10030331Sustainable Tourism and Natural Protected Areas: Exploring Local Population Perceptions in a Post-Conflict ScenarioDelia M. Andries0Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz1Pablo Díaz-Rodríguez2Cristina Herrero-Jáuregui3María F. Schmitz4Diffuse Pollution of Water Resources and Soil Research Group, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Spanish National Research Council, 28006 Madrid, SpainDepartment of Civil Engineering, Transport, Territory and Urbanism, Higher Technical School of Engineering of Roads, Channels and Ports, Polytechnic University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, SpainDepartment of Sociology and Anthropology, University of La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, 38200 Tenerife, SpainDepartment of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, SpainDepartment of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, SpainThe expansion of urban areas around the world and the application of the sustainability paradigm to tourism discourses has favored an increase in the number of people visiting natural protected areas (NPAs) in their leisure time. While tourism is desired to boost the economy of destinations, mismanagement can bring negative consequences for social–ecological systems, particularly in post-conflict rural scenarios. In the context of a broader ethnographic research, we analyzed the perceptions of the local population about tourism development in the NPA Jaltepeque Estuary (El Salvador, Central America) and the establishment of a Biosphere Reserve in the area, using structured questionnaires and Multiple Correspondence Analysis for the typification of social actors. We found that overall, the population regards positively the development of tourism in the area. Fishermen are the only ones who highlight the negative economic consequences of tourism development, claiming disparity in the distribution of benefits and an increase in the cost of living. We conclude that although tourism development is an activity desired by local people, there is a need in the community to discuss how this process of socio-economic transformation should be approached and an evident conflict between two different models: the one desired and offered by the population and the one that is currently being developed in the nearby Costa del Sol corridor.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/3/331biosphere reserveEl Salvadorsustainable tourismlocal developmentcommunity-based tourismpost-conflict scenarios |
| spellingShingle | Delia M. Andries Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz Pablo Díaz-Rodríguez Cristina Herrero-Jáuregui María F. Schmitz Sustainable Tourism and Natural Protected Areas: Exploring Local Population Perceptions in a Post-Conflict Scenario Land biosphere reserve El Salvador sustainable tourism local development community-based tourism post-conflict scenarios |
| title | Sustainable Tourism and Natural Protected Areas: Exploring Local Population Perceptions in a Post-Conflict Scenario |
| title_full | Sustainable Tourism and Natural Protected Areas: Exploring Local Population Perceptions in a Post-Conflict Scenario |
| title_fullStr | Sustainable Tourism and Natural Protected Areas: Exploring Local Population Perceptions in a Post-Conflict Scenario |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sustainable Tourism and Natural Protected Areas: Exploring Local Population Perceptions in a Post-Conflict Scenario |
| title_short | Sustainable Tourism and Natural Protected Areas: Exploring Local Population Perceptions in a Post-Conflict Scenario |
| title_sort | sustainable tourism and natural protected areas exploring local population perceptions in a post conflict scenario |
| topic | biosphere reserve El Salvador sustainable tourism local development community-based tourism post-conflict scenarios |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/3/331 |
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