6. CONCLUSIONS

6. CONCLUSIONS

After the different analyzes carried out within this research work, it can be concluded that the structural problems of the territory related to poverty, the lack of education, and diversification of the economy directly and negatively affect the competitiveness levels of the District. After studying the different development approaches applied in Latin American regions and their limitations, it can also be said that poor economic growth, or poor development of economic sectors, limits the generation of wealth and capital and jobs needed to reduce unemployment rates, labor informality, and inequalities. In other words, this can be a clear example of the phenomenon called the vicious circle of poverty, in which the interaction of all mentioned factors promotes the stagnation of development (Martinez Piva, 1998) and competitiveness. Therefore, it can be concluded that in effect hypothesis 1 that cites “The low tourism competitiveness level of the District of Santa Marta is a direct cause of the local structural problems related to monetary and multidimensional poverty, the low educational achievement of the population, and the low level of economic development and diversification. Those factors have generated high unemployment and social inequality levels, and their impacts are reflected in the predominance of informality and the lack of diversification in tourism services and products. ”, describes the District situation. However, the analysis carried out shows that in addition to the previously mentioned aspects, the lack of tourist infrastructure and roads to ensure the connectivity of tourist attractions with the urban area and vice versa, the low investment in tourism planning and ordering processes, the low Compliance with tourism regulations by tourism service providers and the irresponsible use of natural capital are also primary causes of the low level of tourism competitiveness in the District of Santa Marta. All these aspects denote limitations and failures in the regional development and planning processes since they affect the development of tourism and affect the well-being of the community in general. This suggests that its solution does not only depend on adequate tourism planning. Solving local problems will require joint work and articulating all interested agencies, entities, agencies, and actors, which imposes a great responsibility on the local and regional governance process. On the other hand, the exercise carried out effectively concludes in formulating a strategic tourism planning model, which has two transversal strategic axes that are the basis for the integral development of tourism in any destination: Governance and Sustainability. This model confirms our hypothesis 2 since precisely the destination's current situation is the basis of the proposed model. By complying with this thesis´ specific objectives that proposed the elaboration of the diagnosis of the current state of the tourist sector of the District, the study of the main norms, policies, and plans that govern the activity, the analysis of the stakeholders and main actors of the chain of tourism value and being clear about the situation of the tourism sector at the national level, it was possible to obtain a much more detailed understanding of tourism and therefore, to the approach of more articulated actions and with the holistic approach that the complexity of the sector requires. Likewise, conducting participatory exercises with tourism service providers and members of the value chain led to a deep understanding of the endogenous aspects of the system, helping to formulate bottom-up actions that can then provide real solutions to the main needs and actor problems. In addition, the analysis of the case, destination problems, weaknesses, and threats helped us to define the structure of the model and the strategic axes or lines that make it up,

ensuring that each of the lines and programs focuses on solving any problem and weakness identified:

axis

1. Tourism Governance

2. Integral Development for Competitiveness

3. Community Social Capital

Table 31. Axes and problems to be solved.

Problematic to be solved

Lack of articulation between the internal dependencies of the Administration for the implementation of plans, programs, and projects related to tourist activities and attractions Lack of articulation between the public and private sectors for the formulation and implementation of policies and plans aimed at the destination's sustainable tourism development. Low level of citizen participation in the formulation of policies and sector plans related to tourism Weakness in the articulation between the tourism sector and environmental authorities Low level of technical skills, resources, and specialized personnel for sustainable tourism management of the territory Low allocation of public investment resources for tourism development Lack of reliable information to guide decision-making for the sustainable development of tourism in the District. Lack of tourist infrastructure and roads to ensure the connectivity of tourist attractions with the urban area and vice versa, Low investment in tourism planning and management processes High levels of labor informality and in the provision of tourist services affect the quality of the service and, therefore the satisfaction of travelers Lack of diversification and innovation in the tourism offer High levels of poverty among local tourism actors and indigenous or Afro-descendant communities, especially in rural areas

High levels of social inequality and monetary poverty Weakness and lack of participation of vulnerable communities in the tourist offer

4. Tourism promotion and destination positioning

5. Sustainability and biodiversity protection

Low Santa Marta´s positioning as a sustainable tourism destination Unrepresentative dependence on external tourist information that leads to poor decisionmaking or outside the local and regional context Weakness in the incorporation of sustainability criteria in tourism planning and management processes Insufficient conditions and incentives for the use of natural capital in the value-added proposal of tourism activity Lack of mitigation, control and compensation practices for negative environmental impacts by entrepreneurs and actors associated with the value chain Irresponsible travelers´ behavior and consumption Little compliance and implementation of national policies on sustainable tourism and conservation of natural capital for the use of natural capital in tourism activities Overuse and deterioration of nature tourist attractions

Additionally, in the study of successful cases of tourism planning, such as the case of the Spanish municipality L'Estartit analyzed in the subject of Regional Tourism Planning of the Master (OSTELEA Tourism Management School, 2020), it can be observed how wellplanned tourism, With a vision of the future shared among all the actors in the territory, it contributes to the integral improvement of the destination, but its development requires the commitment and leadership of the Public Administration. Therefore, success also depends on the ability of the Administration to achieve articulation between the various actors and, logically, on the availability of resources for the execution of planned actions, elements well exposed in L'Estartit. Therefore, it can be concluded that, in theory, the actions proposed to strengthen Governance processes in all aspects that define it, taking into account the concept of the UNWTO studied in the theoretical framework, should promote the strengthening of tourism. Likewise, the actions whose objective is the implementation of sustainability in the tourism

value chain or the provision of tourism services and products designed and provided under sustainability principles consolidate the competitiveness and responsible growth of the sector. However, we must be clear that if a strategic tourism plan is adopted in the Santa Marta District based on this tourism planning model, it cannot be guaranteed that the tourism situation will improve since this will depend on the work that forward the District Administration and the resources it allocates for this purpose, as already mentioned. Therefore, it is crucial to offer options for the financing of a possible strategic tourism plan. That is why alternatives such as the Proturismo Stamp and the Tourist Tax were proposed, which can generate part of the resources necessary to execute the proposed actions, although they may not be popular. The adoption of these collection mechanisms will imply a significant effort for those affected by them. Contractors in the stamp and hoteliers and visitors in the Tourism Tax will oppose the measures, and a great work of conciliation and awareness will be necessary to make them help with the process. Likewise, for the creation of Tourist Control Points, conciliation and awareness will be required with the communities that inhabit the areas where the Points are projected. Other vital aspects are, in the first place, the training of the formulators and executors of the actions, which is why a training program is proposed aimed at INDETUR officials trying to cover all important issues so that they can fulfill their functions of acceptable form, and, secondly, the monitoring and follow-up of the results of the proposed actions. Only through careful monitoring will it be possible to establish whether the proposed actions led to the integral development of the sector. Thus, it can be affirmed that the District's situation gave many bases to build an adequate and viable planning model in theory. In practice, its effectiveness will depend on the execution and will of the District Administration and the tourism stakeholders. Finally, what is straightforward and can be seen in some practical cases is that by achieving consolidation of actions that empower local actors, indigenous or Afro-descendant communities, that strengthen local economies, that consolidate support networks and production chains based on Local products that facilitate the arrival of visitors to the points where they are located, will generate income and work for these communities, helping them to achieve better levels of well-being and life and their independence from the urban economy. We hope that any public and/or private actor will carry out these actions to start giving better opportunities to people who need it so much and who, for different reasons, have not managed to access the level of well-being and tranquility that we all deserve.