Science-based nature tourism as a strategy for ecosystem protection
Content submitted by Swisscontact – Tourism
Submited Date : 25/03/2021

The project aims to utilise nature tourism in order to generate alternative income for local communities and mitigate deforestation and conserve biodiversity in the Santa Marta region.

The National Development Plan includes the Tourism Sector Plan 2018-2022 "Tourism: the purpose that unites us", which seeks to improve Colombia's competitiveness as a tourist destination. This shall be achieved based on initiatives to strengthen productivity, the generation of value and co-responsibility among the actors in the tourism sector, and the country’s positioning in national and international markets.

In this way, the Tourism Sector Plan and the present initiative are aligned in the search for the strengthening of territorial planning and management to develop nature tourism in a sustainable manner. The emphasis lies on protected areas and strategic ecosystems, aiming at the development of infrastructure for the promotion of high-value tourism and specialised products.