RT Journal Article
T1 Sustainable Tourism and Natural Protected Areas: Exploring Local Population Perceptions in a Post-Conflict Scenario
A1 Andries, Delia Marina
A1 Arnaiz-Schmitz, Cecilia
A1 Díaz Rodríguez, Pablo
A1 Schmitz García, María Fe
A1 Herrero-Jáuregui, Cristina
AB 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.
PB MDPI
SN 2073-445X
YR 2021
FD 2021-03-23
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/8178
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/8178
LA eng
NO Andries, D.M.; Arnaiz-Schmitz, C.; Díaz-Rodríguez, P.; Herrero-Jáuregui, C.; Schmitz, M.F. Sustainable Tourism and Natural Protected Areas: Exploring Local Population Perceptions in a Post-Conflict Scenario. Land 2021, 10, 331. https://doi.org/10.3390/ land10030331
NO This research was funded by: (i) the Universidad Complutense de Madrid through two cooperation projects “Cooperation in research and sustainable development in the Bajo Lempa region, El Salvador: pilot experience of restoration of riverside forests” and “Diagnosis and quality of soils in the Bajo Lempa region, El Salvador: associated ecosystem services and food security”, and (ii) the project LABPA-CM: Contemporary Criteria, Methods and Techniques for Landscape Knowledge and Conservation (H2019/HUM-5692), funded by the European Social Fund and the Madrid Regional Government.
NO Comunidad de Madrid
NO Universidad Complutense de Madrid
DS Docta Complutense
RD 18 mar 2026