BUSINESS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

ECONOMY OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

Influence and impacts of tourism on the economic development and community construction
of Choco

MEMBERS:

Juliana Cortes
Código: 64151088

Angie Loren Mora

Código: 64151367

Karen Ballén
Código: 64151346

Bogotá, November 8, 2018

 Influence and impacts of tourism on the economic development and community
construction of Choco

Introduction.
In recent decades, tourism has undergone continuous growth and transformation, to become
one of the most important economic sectors in the world, accounting for about 10% of world
GDP. (UNWT, 2017), recognizing tourism as an important factor in local populations, as it
covers economic, environmental, political and sociocultural factors, where it is sometimes
taken as an alternative to development, however, the costs that it could generate are not taken
into account. According to UNWTO tourism is a social, cultural and economic phenomenon
linked to the movement of people to places outside their habitual place of residence for
personal or professional business reasons,classifying in sun and beach tourism, religious,
health, ecotourism, sexual and LGBT; on the other hand for Pierre Rosser the tourism is a
phenomenon of masses, related to the mechanisms of the consumer society, where the human
concentration produces havoc (Rossel,1988), also Bianchi mentions that tourism is a process
of social change, Community relations, consumption, production and space.(Bianchi,2009).
As evidenced above there are different perspectives of tourism, on the one hand some see it
as an opportunity for economic development, and others as a process of inequality and power
in the other. However in recent years a new term has appeared,as is ecotourism, which is
defined as "All forms of tourism based on nature in which the main motivation of tourists is
the observation and appreciation of that nature or traditional dominant cultures in the natural
areas".(OMT,2002) , this method is implemented for tourism in Chocó.
The tourism in Choco is one of the sectors or services that has been gaining importance in the
economy of the region during the last years, this thanks to the peace process signed with the
FARC and to its diverse beaches, natural parks, climate, etc. nevertheless and in spite of the
Recent media attention, tourism continues as an activity that is difficult to promote and has
not generated the expected contribution to sustainable development.Taking into account the
situation of the Territory, it is necessary to ask yourself ¿how tourism in Choco has
influenced economic development and community construction in the region?This research
aims to analyze the consequences in the strengthening of tourism sector in economic
development process and community construction in Choco region.To answer the question,
first we will analyze the general panorama of the economic development in Choco,
continuing with the general panorama of the community, in third place we will analyze the
development of tourism and its consequences for the strengthening of the economic
development, and finally analyze the influences of tourism in the construction of the
community.
Hypothesis
The strengthening of tourism sector in Choco has influenced the economic development and
community construction in the region.
General Objective
Analyze the consequences in the strengthening of tourism sector in economic development
process and community construction in Chocó region.

Objective 1: To study general view of the community in the region

Objective 2: To analyze the tourism development in Choco and its consequences of the
strengthening in the community development
Objective 3: To analyze the influence of tourism sector in the community construction
Objective 4: To study general view of economic development in Chocó coming from the
tourism sector
Chocó as a tourist site

The Department of Chocó located northwest of Colombia, limiting to the north with Panama
and the Caribbean Sea (Atlantic Ocean), to the northwest with Antioquia, to the west with
Risaralda, to the south with Valle del Cauca and to the west with the Pacific Ocean makes the
Chocó a strategic area, Besides, it has the privilege of having two seas, a great topographical
variety and richness in ethnicities and cultures, with higher temperatures of up to 27º. Within
the ecosystems there are a great variety of ecosystems that go through mangroves, deltas,
cliffs, beaches, forests of great rainfall and multiple rivers that make it attractive for
scientists, adventurous tourists, ecologists, etc.

The jungle of Chocó is one of the richest in the world in terms of flora and fauna. It also
shows the passage of humpback whales, sea turtles and large birds, which can be seen in
natural national parks (PNN) ready for tourists as is Utría located between the municipalities
of Bahia Solano and Nuquí,there are also the Katíos and Tatamá sites where you can have a
great contact with nature.

Chocó has a great natural attraction that offers options to know the vegetation, the Pacific
Ocean surrounded by beautiful, beaches and a peculiar humid climate, leading to its main
tourist attractions; mainly the tourist who receives Chocó they are adventurous, people who
usually make trips to little known destinations and get out of their usual environment,
generally people who are interested in the preservation and care of the environment, flora and
fauna, seek connection and contact with nature, being considered a tourism of sun and beach,
sustainable, ecotourism and community in its majority.

Panorama of the economic development of Chocó coming from the tourist sector 2010-
2018.

The tourism sector in the Department of Chocó has been characterized by being ecotourism,
being characterized by the decrease in the impacts generated in the environment, contracted a
benefit for the economy of a country and the pace decreases the poverty rate; It also brings
social and cultural benefits, also contributes to the growth of gross domestic product and
increases public investment in road infrastructure, basic, recreational and cultural services,
However, the department has not made tourism benefit from this sector, due to the conflict,
inequality, poverty and state oblivion suffered , leading to little investment in the tourism
sector, however between the years 2010-2018 a considerable increase has been evident in this
sector.

The GDP of Chocó during the years 2010 to 2018 were mostly positive, except for the years
2012, 2013 and 2014 with-3.8,-8.5 and-2.1, however the participation in the trade, restaurant
and hotels has increased over the years, having an increase Significant from the year 2013,
which was 4.8%. On the other hand in the year that evidenced an increase in tourists was
from 2014, with 2,121, demonstrating a progress in each year, for example for the year 2015
to 2017 was 2,497, 3,128 and 3,123 respectively. On the other hand, unemployment during
the years 2010 to 2018 has been found on average from 10 to 12 percent, as evidenced in the
following charts.

GDP Growth 2010-2014

Global rate of participation, occupation and unemployment

Unemployment rate year 2017

Arrival of non-resident foreigners

Fuente: MINCIT,2018

Regarding the above information, it can be indicated that the ecotourism strategies that have
been taken in the department do not correspond with the desired results, as is the
unemployment rate, because it was expected that the employment will increase with the
increase of Arrivals of tourists with the passing of time, however unemployment increases or
stays in the same ranks. Ecotourism is regarded as a generator of socio-economic progress,
but this is not evident in some respects, as it is to encourage employment. As for the
participation of trade, reparations, restaurants and hotels, there has been evidence of growth
compared to previous years, leading to an increase in the arrival of tourists to the department.

The panorama of the community in the department of Chocó

The population of Chocó, before the time of the Spanish conquest was a land inhabited by
different indigenous tribes throughout the territory. Unfortunately, after the arrival of the
Spaniards in the American continent the indigenous population was subjected to cruel
mistreatment and persecution, which caused a considerable population decline which
motivated the Spaniards to look for a new slave labor, the blacks from Africa, who were
brought in deplorable conditions to the new continent.

According to (Sinic, 2018) "The black people were introduced by Popayán to work in the
mines, haciendas, in domestic service and in all difficult and dangerous tasks, suffering the
punishment of the whip and the stocks". Thus, little by little the remaining indigenous
population and African slaves and their descendants settled in what is now the department of
Chocó. "The economy is subsistence and is based on agriculture, mining, fishing, exploitation
of wood and livestock on a smaller scale in the municipalities of Neguá, Carmen del Atrato,
Acandí and San José del Palmar" (Sinic, 2018) .

At present, the Chocoan community (both indigenous and Afro-Colombian) have

characteristics of their region, beyond their traditions and customs, that is to say, due to other
factors such as the historical absence of the state. Such characteristics are evidenced in
aspects such as the lack of road infrastructure, narco-trafficking scene and criminal gangs,
among others. "Health in rural areas is run by yerbateros or teguas, midwives, sobaderos,
espiritistas and sorcerers. In the urban areas of some capitals and municipalities there are
hospitals and health centers, but their attention is deficient because they are not well equipped
"(Sinic, 2018).

The best-known tourist sites of the department of Chocó are: Nuquí, Bahía Solano, Playa
Blanca, Coquí, among others. In these municipalities at the beginning of the 2000s and
following (Ministerio de Desarrollo Económico, 2000) "[...] connectivity problems continue,
extreme poverty in the region, isolation, precarious infrastructure in roads, poor sanitation,
difficult access to raw materials, difficult climate, unsafe marine navigation, difficulty
working with large or medium-sized groups due to air transport conditions ". The state
absence in addition to making tourism in the Chocó did not obtain the expected income,
achieved the settlement of drug trafficking and groups outside the law as paramilitaries.

In addition to the above, another problem in the first decade of the 21st century regarding
tourism in Chocó, is the lack of an authority focused on this issue as stated by the Ministry of
Economic Development (2000). At the time when tourism in the department took force and
the first hotel groups were established, the tourist plans had to be modified to show the
chocoanos attractions such as natural landscapes, jungle, indigenous settlements among
others. But as indicated (Pertuz, 2003) "without taking into account the impact that these
activities generated on natural attractions or cultural values, which began to be seriously
affected."

The natives realized the importance of their territory in environmental terms, that is,
biodiversity and geography, and devised ways to transform the typical mass tourism in Chocó
into Ecotourism. The origins of Ecotourism in Chocó arise in the year of 1998 with the
declaration of the cove of Utría as National Natural Park, later and due to the above there was
an alliance between two highly tourist municipalities: Bahia Solano and Nuquí. According to
(Pertuz, 2003) "In its beginnings, the alliance and the Association of Ecotourist Hoteliers
began to work on the solution of environmental and commercial problems that afflicted
hoteliers in the region and to generate processes of citizen and community participation". In
this way, sustainable tourism began to be forged by the locals in Chocó but they still had to
face other social, economic and cultural problems that indirectly affect tourism in the region.

The tourism development programs created by the government in Chocó

From the year 2011 the national government through the Fonde de Promoción Turística de
Colombia with the program 'tourism with black communities, Afro-Colombians, native
islanders and palenqueras' began a series of infrastructure projects to improve the tourist
attractions of the Pacific regions , Caribbean and Insular. The most characteristic projects
executed in Chocó took place thanks to Law 1101 of 2006, which co-financed 50% of the
plans of areas committed to preserve their biodiversity, the most characteristic of the
department are:

● Construction of the Nuquí tourist dock worth $ 200,000,000

● Auditorium and Interpretation Center Utría Natural National Park for $ 537,000,000
● Path in Utría Natural National Park with (UEPNNC) valued at $ 1,500,000,000
● Tourist pier of Titumate (Unguía) for $ 530,000,000
● Thermal Construction of Nuquí for $ 520,000,000
● Tourist lodges in areas in Bahía Solano (housing improvement and basic sanitation),
total value of the project $ 153,668,571
● Tourist lodges in Nuquí (Housing improvement and basic sanitation), total value of
the project $ 130,640,000
● Community tourism pilot project for the operation of the tourist product of Termales
de Nuquí
● Conformation of the tourism network of Buceo de Colombia that includes
entrepreneurs from: Pacífico: Nuquí - Bahía Solano- Gorgona- Malpelo
● National Program of ‘Colegios amigos del turismo’ (Nationalized Institute of the
Pacific Coast - Nuquí, Chocó)

The tourist development in the economic strengthening of Choco

The region has many challenges due to its historical abandonment (which may be due, in
part, to its rugged geography), the presence of carrying weapons actors, drug trafficking,
corruption, poverty, among other problems that make of the region one of the most backward
and with greater problems within Colombia. As mentioned by the Camara de comercio de
Chocó (2016) despite the fact that during the last decades, tourism has become a source of
income, it is still underdeveloped despite being a good option for improvement of the quality
of life of the citizens. (Córdoba, 2016)
As mentioned in previous sections, the participation of tourism in the economy remains
minimal, since it has not been useful to reduce the unemployment rate in the region despite
the significant increase in tourists in recent years; This panorama can be explained in part
because many of the activities related to tourism (such as tours or transportation) turn out to
be informal sources of employment, ethnic difference (indigenous and Afro-descendant), as
well as the violence that the territory experiences due to criminal gangs, who frighten the
population, seize land and control illicit crops.
In terms of infrastructure and technology, "Chocó is still isolated at the local, regional and
national levels" (Camara de comercio de Chocó, 2016), as it still does not have optimal roads,
nor with ports in its main rivers or seas, that reduces interconnectivity, which is important for
structuring tourism and reducing travel costs in the territory (Córdoba, 2016). However,
tourism benefits from the integrity of the ecosystem, almost the entire territory "is protected
within the Pacific Forest Reserve, which has an area of 3,484,763 hectares, declared by law 2
of 1959" and this serves to develop an ecological and sustainable tourism (Camara de
comercio de Chocó, 2016). In addition, tourism can be significant to help combat situations
such as logging, illegal mining, the substitution of illicit crops and recycling, the latter,
according to Navarrete (2016) is very low in the region.
Another important point that should be highlighted is that tourism attracts the attention of
national companies that provide these services (Córdoba, 2016), but it can cause both positive
and negative effects, since it can boost tourism and generate jobs, but at the same time must
take into account the offer of dignified and formal work, as well as respect to communities
and their ancestral knowledge.
Despite we can observe that tourism has increased in the region during the last years, this
increase has been moderate and has not represented a component of great importance in the
department's finances. However, sustainable tourism continues to be a useful alternative for
the region because it can be convenient to reduce the unemployment rate, formalize the
informal employment sector, the conservation of biodiversity resources and natural areas
(including increased awareness of recycling), infrastructure development that allows a
responsible and organized tourism, helps in the construction of peace, substitution of illicit
crops, creation of community associations (political participation), etc.

Influence of the touristic development in the community construction

As mentioned above, the department is mostly made up of Afro-descendant communities and
some indigenous communities, which makes the communities culturally different from the
country. In this sense it is important to emphasize that spontaneous and uncontrolled tourism
can undermine the social structure of the territory, which will cause great negative effects, but
sustainable tourism, as is being attempted in Choco (on its own initiative and promoted by the
State) can help the integration of the community with this economic activity.
The first issue that can be talked about is how tourism makes people notice the particularity
of their culture and this permits the vindication of the "native" identity as a strength and
tourist attraction (Mejia, 2011), where ancestral practices and traditional help to ownership
and sense of belonging by their own territory, while generating cultural and tourist attraction,
which should not be seen as a sign of exoticism (it can be dangerous) if it is useful to
demonstrate the diversity of the territory and allows the extension and preservation of culture.
It is also necessary to understand that tourism changes the configuration of the community,
because it generates, for example, seasonal calendars (e.g. tourist flows or arrivals of
animals), activities that are traditional, especially in agriculture and fishing, go from being
self-support to offer products to tourists, or maybe change in the education and training of
people (Mejia, 2011).
The type of sustainable tourism (and in general sustainable development) is related to
community associations, which allow the community greater political participation and links
"not only community but with state entities that bring physical resources and training in
tourism issues" (Mejia, 2011). An example is the Tourism Posadas program of Colombia
(2002), within the Tourism Sector Plan as a strategy for strengthening and competitiveness of
community enterprises and which has been useful in sectors such as Nuquí (Mejia, 2011),
where tourism has consolidated without confrontation with the investor of the rest of the
country (Pertuz, 2003).
Community experiences in tourism also serve as a peace proposal, for example the Col-Col
cooperation "Colombia teaches Colombia" there is exchange of knowledge and experiences
in tourism that serve to rebuild regions socially and economically, such as the corporation
“Mano cambiada” that operates in the Utria Natural park (APC-Colombia, 2018).
However, despite the benefits it is important to say that often the sustainable tourism that
includes the communities is limited, because if there is no regulation or control over this
economic activity it will be very difficult to see good results. On the other hand, there are
legal problems, because there are laws on lands in collective territories of ethnic communities
(Afro-descendant and indigenous) and protection of natural parks, but there are also laws on
participation and prior consultation with minority communities, which means that projects
must pass by approval of the community, but it is usual for participation to be passive and not
for the majority, which means that the territories are their own property and are special for
minorities only until a large project arrives (Córdoba, 2016).
Conclusion
Choco is a region of Colombia that has historically suffered from state abandonment and
violence, in part due to the difficulties of its topography and its humid climate. However, this
area located in the Pacific has great wealth and great potential due to its strategic location in
the country, besides being an important center of the black and indigenous people that
evidences the country's multiculturalism. Taking into account the above, it is evident that the
department has conditions that are appropriate to develop tourism as an activity that allows it
to promote sustainable development, taking into account that the type tourism more in line
with the reality of the department is a sustainable tourism, which is based on two fundamental
axes: The community and the environment.
Although in the development plans presented by the State and the same region seeks to
promote tourism with a community and ecological approach that allows to improve the
development of the department, in reality, this activity is still limited in the department and
does not constitute a big contribution to economic development, however it is important to
note that over time, the region has gained greater visibility and the flow of tourists has
increased considerably, which is an advance, although it may be very useful for the region
and its Finance, it should be cautious with the type of tourist you attract, the tourism you
want to implement, how the community receives this, etc.
On the other hand, it was observed that the region has as a majority two populations that were
ignored for a long time: The black population and the indigenous population. By having a
culture that is essentially different from that of other regions of Colombia where mestizos and
whites predominate, Choco becomes a place that shows the richness of cultural diversity,
which can be threatened if tourism is carried out reckless way, without structure or planning,
but that make taking into account the needs and opinions of the community, including a
balance and respect for the environment, can come to claim the black and indigenous culture,
which in turn generate feelings of pride and empowerment.
Annexed
The advances made in the department of Chocó demonstrate a sustainable development,
because there is a balance between the economic, social and environmental. The partnership
between the municipalities of Nuquí and Bahia Solano have made tourism in the Chocó stop
being a mass tourism to become ecotourism and the success of tourism in the Chocó was
achieved because its inhabitants became aware that by caring the nature that surrounds them
and making use of it with responsibility, they should not worry in the near future about the
loss of their natural attractions.

As it was mentioned above, the social and environmental issues are related because they are
the same inhabitants who are responsible for creating awareness about the care of nature and
executed projects with that same purpose. The adaptation of their own homes to offer tourists
accommodation is a clear example of the balance between the social and the environmental,
since leaving the stay of tourists at the hands of the hotel industry alone, brings with it
environmental problems. Generally, the hotel industry alone It is responsible for providing
good service and not the environmental damage that this causes.
The adequacy of the houses also represents an economic entrance for the local inhabitants of
the Chocó for which, a relation between the social and the economic is also evident without
affecting the environmental. Additionally, the cultural samples offered by the Department of
Chocó are also an important economic entrance offered by the community (the social part)
and it is also an important attraction of the region that goes beyond what nature offers.

Lastly, the economic and environmental aspects are basically related to the alternation of
ecotourism that the department of Chocó is offering. The Chocoanos do not put their natural
attractions at risk by offering tourist services and in the same way protect the environment
they do not stop earning income from the tourism sector. Making the characteristics of your
region a sustainable tourism economy.

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