Retos y aprendizajes para el turismo de naturaleza en Colombia

This book starts from a basic premise: the relationship between tourism and nature.

On one hand, for more than half a century, tourism has grown steadily worldwide: from a few countries and tourist destinations visited in the mid-20th century, we have reached the present day, where it is difficult to identify in which countries tourism is not an economically relevant issue. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism contributed over 10% of global goods and services production. To understand the magnitude of this figure, it is worth noting that in 2019 the contribution of tourism exceeded global agricultural or mining production.

On the other hand, the relationship between humans and nature has become increasingly complicated over the same period. Throughout the second half of the 20th century, we followed a path where the ecological crisis was denied, questioned, discussed, and underestimated by various political and economic groups in almost all nations systematically. However, in the 21st century, ecological and environmental tragedies—such as high rates of biodiversity extinction only seen in past mass extinction events, among many other possible examples—have provided difficult-to-contest evidence. Thus, the question tends to shift from whether there is an ecological crisis or if we can stop it, to, rather, how we adapt to the ecological crisis we have caused. Undoubtedly, for countries like Colombia, where nature tourism appears as a very relevant potential for economic and social development in the future, this is a topic that should not be ignored.

Consequently, this publication offers six research studies conducted from various disciplinary and thematic perspectives on nature tourism in the country. This effort brings together researchers from various institutions, such as the University of Guadalajara (Mexico) and the Alexander von Humboldt Biological Research Institute. It also includes collaborators from different faculties of the Universidad Externado de Colombia: 1) Social Sciences and Humanities; 2) Finance, Government, and International Relations; and 3) Tourism and Hotel Business Administration.

contenido

Introducción 7

Capítulo I

Aportes para entender la sostenibilidad del turismo de naturaleza. Estado del arte, definiciones, perspectivas, 

limitaciones y retos 19

Daniel R. Calderón Ramírez

Capítulo II

El turismo de naturaleza en Colombia a la luz de la ecología política 51

Leonardo Garavito González

Capítulo III

Gestión del potencial del turismo de naturaleza: aproximación metodológica 87

Clarita Bustamante Zamudio

Johan Manuel Redondo 

Diana Morales-Betancourt 

Capítulo IV

El turismo comunitario de naturaleza: ¿es posible la reciprocidad ecológica en tiempos de paz y cambio climático? Dos estudios de caso en Colombia 149

Capítulo V

Riesgo de masificación turística en los parques nacionales naturales de Colombia en la transformación del conflicto armado 203

César Oliveros-Ocampo

Rosa María Chávez-Dagostino

Capítulo VI

Recomendaciones para el turismo de naturaleza en Colombia: contraste de casos destacados en el mundo 265