Challenges for territorial tourism governance in the Tatacoa Desert, Colombia

Abstract

The Tatacoa Desert is a protected area and an exotic tourist destination, where different types of actors and interests converge. This dual condition imposes various challenges for its management and planning. The current state of sustainable development and territorial governance applied to tourism activities in this article consisted of a documentary review, field work supported by interviews and surveys, and the triangulation of its results. The main finding shows that this destination lacks an effective governance model that articulates the economic, social, environmental and political dimensions, supported by the participation of the actors involved. Based on the above, a model of territorial tourism governance is recommended with an emphasis on sustainability and structured in phases, which allows planning, evaluating, adjusting, and even innovating against the current strategies of articulation of actors.