1.4. METHODOLOGY

• Delimit the competencies of the leading national, departmental, and district entities that influence or regulate tourism activity. • Carry out participatory dynamics with tourism service providers and members of the value chain to collect data related to the needs and problems of the destination. • Analyze the destination weaknesses, opportunities, strengths, and threats through information collection instruments such as surveys, interviews, and data analysis from primary research sources. • Define the tourism planning model´s strategic lines for sustainable development and improve tourism competitiveness in Santa Marta. • Develop an action plan for the tourism planning model implementation, delimiting strategic axes, strategies, suggested programs, indicative actions with their respective indicators, goal lines, and execution deadlines.

It should be noted that the strategic plan that could be formulated based on the proposed model will have its own objectives. The most important will be: improve tourism planning and management processes, facilitate the governance of the tourism sector, reduce the local dependence on tourism, adopt tourism as an activity that generates employment and socio-economic development, and facilitate the protection and restoration of nature attractions affected by tourism activities carried out without environmental sustainability criteria.

1.4. METHODOLOGY The methodology used in this research work is a mixed methodology based on the development of experimental tools through the collection of data in the field, review of bibliographic sources, interviews, and participatory workshops with public entities members, tourism service providers communities, rural communities, and actors associated with the tourism value chain such trade union leaders, hoteliers, travel agencies owners, multimodal tourist transport operators, tourism service providers and entrepreneurs dedicated to tourism complementary activities. Part of the qualitative methodology was applied when the Regional Tourism Competitiveness Index of Colombia, developed by the Tourism Thinking Center of Colombia – CPTUR, was analyzed. It considers the socio-economic characteristics of the country, the regional development of tourism activity, and the interrelationship of tourism with other productive sectors. The model helped to identify the destination capacity to insert itself in the market in a sustainable way through the articulation of public and private actors; its ability to create high quality, innovative and attractive tourism products capable of generating added value to tourists and visitors through the sustainable and responsible use of the District natural and cultural heritage (CPTUR, 2019).