Cooperativismo y Desarrollo, May-August 2023; 11(2), e608
Translated from the original in Spanish

 

Original article

Procedure for community participation in the "Rocío del Sol" Local Tourist Center project

 

Procedimiento para la participación comunitaria en el proyecto Centro Turístico Local "Rocío del Sol"

 

Procedimento para a participação da comunidade no projeto do Centro Turístico Local "Rocío del Sol"

 

Silfredo Rodríguez Basso1 0000-0001-6737-4080 antropol@upr.edu.cu
Jorge Freddy Ramírez Pérez1 0000-0001-7891-2016 freddy@upr.edu.cu
Iverilys Hernández Pérez1 0000-0003-2124-0962 iverilys@upr.edu.cu

1 University of Pinar del Río "Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca". Faculty of Economic Sciences. Center of Studies for Management, Local Development, Tourism and Cooperativism. Pinar del Río, Cuba.

 

Received: 19/04/2023
Accepted: 16/08/2023

ABSTRACT

The result presented here responds to the policy of implementing a government management based on science and innovation, through the Municipal Development Strategies. The same was conceived fundamentally, from the participation that, in the legislative, is established in the new law governing the organs of the Popular Power in particular, the 132/2019, and more recently, the agreement 518 of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba of 2023. The objective of this research was to design a procedure for community participation in the "Rocío del Sol" Local Tourist Center project in the Guane municipality of Pinar del Río province. The empirical methods were based on the collection and analysis of documents, the semi-structured interview and the use of brainstorming. As a result, the phases of the procedure structured in four stages were elaborated: Phase I Preparatory, Phase II Diagnosis, Phase III Planning and Execution and Phase IV Monitoring and Evaluation. This procedure demonstrated the value of community participation as one of the inputs to be used by the Municipal Government for an efficient management of local development, specifically in projects related to Local Sustainable Tourism.

Keywords: local tourist center; community; municipality; participation; procedure.

RESUMEN

El resultado que se presenta responde a la política de implementar una gestión de gobierno basada en ciencia e innovación, a través de las Estrategias de Desarrollo Municipal. El mismo se concibió en lo fundamental, desde la participación que, en lo legislativo, se establece en la nueva ley por la que se rigen los órganos del Poder Popular en particular, la 132/2019, y de manera más reciente, el acuerdo 518 del Consejo de Estado de la República de Cuba de 2023. Esta investigación persiguió como objetivo diseñar un procedimiento para la participación comunitaria en el proyecto Centro Turístico Local "Rocío del Sol" perteneciente al municipio Guane de la provincia Pinar del Río. Los métodos empíricos se sustentaron en la recopilación y análisis de documentos, la entrevista semiestructurada y el uso de tormenta de ideas. Como resultado, se elaboraron las fases del procedimiento estructurado en cuatro etapas: Fase I Preparatoria, Fase II Diagnóstico, Fase III Planificación y Ejecución y Fase IV Monitoreo y Evaluación. Con este procedimiento, se demostró el valor de la participación comunitaria como uno de los insumos a utilizar por el Gobierno Municipal para una gestión eficiente del desarrollo local, en lo específico, en los proyectos relacionados con el Turismo Local Sostenible.

Palabras clave: centro turístico local; comunidad; municipio; participación; procedimiento.

RESUMO

O resultado aqui apresentado responde à política de implementação de uma gestão governamental baseada na ciência e na inovação, por meio das Estratégias de Desenvolvimento Municipal. Foi concebido fundamentalmente com base na participação estabelecida na nova lei que rege os órgãos do Poder Popular, em particular, a 132/2019, e, mais recentemente, o convênio 518 do Conselho de Estado da República de Cuba de 2023. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi elaborar um procedimento para a participação da comunidade no projeto do Centro Turístico Local "Rocío del Sol" no município de Guane, na província de Pinar del Río. Os métodos empíricos basearam-se na coleta e análise de documentos, na entrevista semiestruturada e no uso de brainstorming. Como resultado, foram elaboradas as fases do procedimento estruturado em quatro etapas: Fase I Preparatória, Fase II Diagnóstico, Fase III Planejamento e Execução e Fase IV Monitoramento e Avaliação. Com esse procedimento, foi demonstrado o valor da participação comunitária como um dos insumos a serem utilizados pelo Governo Municipal para uma gestão eficiente do desenvolvimento local, especificamente em projetos relacionados ao Turismo Local Sustentável.

Palavras-chave: centro local de turismo; comunidade; município; participação; procedimento.

 

INTRODUCTION

Tourism development in the country to date has focused its hallmark on the sun and beach version, however, at the local level there are potentialities that are currently untapped as attractions, particularly in the communities. Channeling social responsibility from an external vision in both directions: tourism-community-tourism. It lays the main foundations of a new model of managing the activity called Local Sustainable Tourism, which purpose is aimed at energizing local economies, which gives the community a dual role as host and beneficiary.

At the local and community level, several proposals focus on participation as an inseparable resource of local tourism development: Costa and do Nascimiento (2011) with their participatory and weighted strategic diagnosis, applied to community tourism projects in Brazil; Navarro Gamboa et al. (2019) with community participation and alternative tourism in indigenous areas in the Mexican context and Ramírez Hernández (2019) with his methodological proposal for the generation of tourism products from the local community.

For the Cuban case, as an example, the contribution of Cabrera Díaz et al. (2017), as well as Darias Fuertes et al. (2017) through the application in Pinar del Río of participatory tools in tourism scenarios, with case studies where the involvement of the population is transversal in all stages of the life cycle of the projects. Cardet Fernández et al. (2018) and Perera Téllez et al. (2021), for their part, emphasize the role of participation in integrated tourism management in municipalities with heritage potential, or Almaguer Torres and García Rivas (2022) with their approach based on Municipal Development Strategies. These are examples of how the country has set the standard in tourism in line with the territorial and local level, but not without major challenges to overcome.

The present proposal is compatible with the law governing the organs of People's Power, in particular 132/2019 and the conception that exists around the local and community development processes that are based on citizen participation (Juliá Méndez, 2016). And more recently, with agreement 518 of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba of 2023, which establishes the Methodology for the development of integrated community work from the constituencies.

With respect to the aforementioned methodology, the proposed procedure does not overlap with it; on the contrary, it complements and directs it in a specific manner for cases in which Local Sustainable Tourism projects are developed.

In this sense, the procedure aims to systematically identify how the "Rocío del Sol" Local Tourist Center project responds to the problems affecting the community. It contributes to organize and promote the collective effort of the inhabitants to solve their own needs. In addition, it improves coexistence and contributes to decide the work strategy to be generated in a determined period and its corresponding activities, as well as to carry out the evaluation and control of the results of the developed actions. All this, with the purpose of improving their quality of life. However, participatory work is not always achieved, much less integrated, to take advantage of and develop the community's potentialities to the maximum.

The "Rocío del Sol" Local Tourist Center Project, from its articulating perspective, requires the participation of the "Juan Gómez" community, present in its area of influence, for which it will be necessary to sensitize it in correspondence with its role to play, characterize it, in order to determine the problems, values and expectations that it places on the initiative.

The procedure has four stages: Phase I Preparatory, Phase II Diagnosis, Phase III Planning and Execution and Phase IV Monitoring and Evaluation. For its materialization, it is supported by 15 steps. These close with a plan of actions aimed at community participation for each of the phases mentioned. This tool demonstrates the value of community contribution as one of the inputs to be used by the Municipal Government for an efficient management of local development. The above responds to the National Economic and Social Development Plan until 2030 (PCC, 2017) which, in one of its strategic axes, the one related to Productive transformation and international insertion, in its specific objective number 8, expresses:

"Strengthen the competitiveness, diversification and sustainability of the tourism sector with the purpose of increasing income from service exports, its capacity to create sources of employment, promote national and local culture and increase its linkage with domestic markets and national production".

With the purpose of contributing in tourism matters to what is expressed in the previous idea, the objective of this research is to design a procedure for community participation in the "Rocío del Sol" Local Tourist Center project, Guane municipality, feasible to generalize in communities involved in small-scale Local Sustainable Tourism projects, which scope extends to the tourist development programs contained in the Municipal Development Strategies of the province of Pinar del Río and to those of the rest of the country.

 

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The materials and methods used were the following: the compilation and analysis of specialized texts that define community and participation. As well as documents that regulate this matter legally and strategically. In particular, the law governing the organs of the People's Power, 132/2019, agreement 518 of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba of 2023, which establishes the Methodology for the development of integrated community work from the districts and the Bases of the National Economic and Social Development Plan until 2030: Vision of the Nation, Axes and Strategic Sectors. In order to specify the priorities related to local productive transformations in the tourism sector. The structured interviews and group work, through brainstorming, were conducted with community stakeholders and members of the local government. This made it possible to establish the phases, premises and roles that made it possible to design the procedure.

 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Proposal for community participation in the "Rocío del Sol" Local Tourist Center project

In accordance with the precepts of sustainability in a tourism development project, from its multidimensional approach, the social dimension is one of its pillars, where the community plays the dual role of beneficiary and, at the same time, provider of goods and services.

Therefore, establishing the way for their involvement in the entire life cycle of the Local Sustainable Tourism project is a necessity that contributes to its development. The following procedure facilitates this purpose, which has been necessary to elaborate despite the fact that there is already a methodology established in agreement 158 of the year 2023, issued by the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba (2023).

Description of the procedure

The application of a community participation procedure in the area of influence of the "Rocío del Sol" Local Tourist Center project, which involves the "Juan Gómez" community, requires the following premises:

The procedure consists of four phases: Phase I Preparatory, Phase II Diagnosis, Phase III Planning and Execution and Phase IV Monitoring and Evaluation. In order to be able to carry out these phases, they are supported by 15 steps, which are shown in figure 1.

Figure 1. Graphical representation of the procedure for community participation in Local Sustainable Tourism projects
Source: Elaborated by the authors

Phase I. Preparatory

Awareness raising and organization of the process for community participation

Although an Integral Community Work Group (GTCI in Spanish) should exist in each community to be developed, it is necessary to instruct it specifically to enable it to implement the community participation process in a Local Sustainable Tourism project. If the GTCI has not been created, it will be established as provided in the methodology of the aforementioned agreement 518.

However, before training is undertaken, it will be necessary to review whether the structure and membership of the GTCI correspond to the needs of community participation in a project of this nature. It will have a multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder composition. It will be integrated by local actors of the People's Council of reference, with emphasis on the residents in the area of influence of the "Rocío del Sol" Local Tourist Center (Annex).

This group has a broad spectrum of action, taking into account everything related to the integral development of the community, popular control and its relationship with the physical space in which it lives. In addition, it establishes the guidelines and watches, together with the government bodies, for the progress of the community, as well as demands, contributes and participates in a protagonist way for the solution of the main problems that have a negative impact on the community.

In other words, the GTCI is the spokesperson for the community's feelings in terms of its development, under the prism of sustainability, that is, the environmental, economic, social, political-institutional, ethical, technological, communicational and other problems that affect it.

The GTCI should be made up of representatives from all social strata of the community, from official and legally recognized entities, formal and informal opinion leaders who are elected by the community itself, under the precept of their commitment to contribute to community development.

For its conduction, it shall be under the direction of a Coordinator, a Vice-Coordinator and a Recording Secretary. The latter shall keep and protect the documentation emanating from the meetings held.

In its operation, the GTCI will meet once a month on a regular basis, starting from the implementation of the community participation process. In case of urgency, it will meet extraordinarily, as many times as necessary. The agenda of each meeting includes social concerns, solutions to problems and proposals for benefit through local development.

Step 1: Training of the GTCI in charge of the implementation of the procedure

This GTCI will be in charge of initiating and conducting the community participation process within the "Rocío del Sol" Local Tourist Center project. In order to put it into operation, it will be necessary to carry out training actions, with the purpose of providing it with the necessary cognitive capacities that will allow its performance, above all, the full mastery of the procedure and other tools that facilitate its implementation. This responsibility will correspond to the academic institutions related to the work profile of the GTCI (University, Municipal University Center, among others).

Step 2: Development of GTCI activity schedules

The GTCI will establish its schedule of activities, which will govern its internal life, not to be confused with a plan of actions to be developed for community development, which will be discussed later.

Phase II. Diagnosis

In order to change the reality of the community, in its link with the tourism project, it is necessary to carry out an in-depth diagnosis with a multidimensional approach. That is to say: the identification of the problems, difficulties and potentialities present. These elements contribute to have a more precise idea of what needs to be transformed.

The community diagnosis is not an action to be carried out by a group of researchers; on the contrary, it is a process involving all community stakeholders, accompanied by others who facilitate it. As a participatory diagnosis, it allows local people to learn about their own reality, analyze the cause of their problems, share experiences and exchange knowledge.

Thus, with the participatory diagnosis, a more objective and comprehensive description of the existing situation in the community and its environment is required; the strengthening and empowerment of the subjects and their community, leading to an authentic and self-management process. The collective and organized solution of problems, the identification of the main protagonists, the actors and their roles and the responsibilities that are inherent to them. Finally, to prevent community development from being generated or led by people who are not from the community.

For the diagnosis, participatory workshops are held with the community, seeking consensus, although it is advisable to do it by interest groups where positive and negative criteria of the various aspects of community life will be contributed.

The opinions collected will be grouped into themes in order to be able to act on them in teamwork, selected according to the possibilities of the members to provide solutions.

Thus, in order to carry out the community participatory appraisal, the following steps must be followed:

Step 3: Description of the community reality

This step takes into account the actions of the community, its relationship with the physical environment in which it lives, the links established between the actors, the evolution and role of the institutions and the community in general. In other words, how the community has transformed its reality and what are its results. To this end, the following must be taken into account:

Step 4: Social and historical practice

In this step, it is diagnosed how the community's inhabitants see, appreciate and conceive the objective reality, as well as how and what is their disposition to transform it. To do this, the following elements need to be collected:

Step 5: Subjective and symbolic values

This step is of great importance in the community diagnosis, because not infrequently the tendency is to make a diagnosis that does not take into account customs, beliefs, popular wisdom, spirituality, among others, which prevent an integrating vision and, consequently, the inability to transform reality in an effective manner. For this, it must be taken into account:

Step 6: Analysis of the information obtained from the diagnosis

After analyzing the information collectively, the problems to be solved will be identified and the potentialities will be determined. In the same way, the limitations of the community will be known. In addition, the protagonists responsible for the actions to be carried out to transform reality will be identified. At this point, it is possible to review and definitively establish the objectives to be achieved in community participation.

As the process of analyzing the information obtained goes on, it is refined or filtered in order to verify more precisely the problems and difficulties.

In relation to the definition of the problems, the following questions will be considered as an aid: What is or are the problem(s), where is the problem, what is the magnitude of the problem, and who are the people affected?

In the problem identification process, a range of problems will appear, so it will be necessary to select the highest priority ones for analysis, since it is not possible to provide solutions to all those identified; those that do not result will remain in the problem bank to the extent that it is feasible.

The problems selected as top priority will require material and human resources for their solution. These will be subject to identification and evaluation. Among them: people with experience in the solution, finances, material inputs, technology and popular knowledge. The interrelation of these elements will be the expression of the existing capacity of the community to face the problems and provide solutions.

At this point, it is necessary to analyze the limitations that may hinder the solution of problems and, consequently, the transformation of reality.

Among the main limitations that could be imposed are:

Experience has shown that limitations may outweigh potential, which makes it necessary to redefine or adjust the initial objectives set. This is due to the fact that any process of this type is not linear, but rather that during the course of the process, shortcomings may appear that make it necessary to reanalyze reality.

In this step, once the main problems to be solved have been identified, the objectives of community participation will be determined. These are the results to be obtained with the same. In other words, they attempt to describe the change in reality that must take place in a way that can be verified and measured, i.e., it is the response to the problems identified.

The definition of the objectives establishes what is to be improved in order to change the reality of the community, once the causes that generate the recognized problems have been identified. These objectives must refer to the central cause that generated the problem and that, at the same time, can be achieved.

Each objective must be accompanied by one or more activities or actions aimed at achieving it. They must be planned in terms of time, resources to be used, people in charge and participants.

Phase III. Planning

In the process of transforming the reality of the community, it is essential to plan what is to be done. In this phase, the objectives, goals, activities, people in charge and means to be used in a determined period of time can be organized in such a way that they are achieved with economy of resources, efficiency and efficacy.

Planning organizes interventions to transform reality, but reality is complex and dynamic, so it must be flexible.

Step 7: Problem selection

In this step, the problems already identified in step 9 will be taken up again in order to be able to define "what to do".

Step 8: Prioritization of objectives

Similarly, the objectives that were identified in step 9 are assumed and goals are established for each of them, facilitating the "what for to do".

Step 9: Definition of procedures

The tools to be used at each stage of the procedure will be defined, allowing the "how to do".

Step 10: Programming

The plan of actions to be followed to achieve the established objectives will be drawn up, taking into account the necessary resources, both material and human and financial, i.e., "with what and with whom".

Step 11: Timeline of actions

Specifically, the schedule of actions to be carried out for the transformation of reality will be determined (Gant Chart), i.e., "when and until when".

Step 12: Identification of obstacles

It will be necessary to identify the possible obstacles and risks to be faced as a preventive measure to solve them.

Step 13: Conception of the monitoring and evaluation procedure

In this step, the necessary tool is prepared to be able to carry out the next phase, which consists of monitoring and evaluating the entire community participation process.

Phase IV. Monitoring and evaluation

This phase is of great importance; it is the key to the continuity and improvement of community participation in the process of transforming reality. Once the action plan has been implemented, it is necessary to know if it is being fulfilled or not, for which it is essential to follow up on each one of them.

This makes it possible to know whether or not the time, resources, fulfillment of objectives, among others, have been used and where to direct the correction of the problems encountered along the way.

To this end, monitoring and evaluation of community participation will be carried out, both of which go hand in hand, since one depends on the other.

Step 14: Monitoring the community participation process

This step is not really a moment, but a continuous process of reviewing day by day the fulfillment of the actions planned during the community participation process. This will contribute to arrive with more information at the time of the evaluation.

Monitoring controls the use of resources and compliance with expected results. During monitoring, information is collected and analyzed to detect anomalies in the process, which facilitates the necessary corrections and reorientation of actions.

The results of monitoring contribute to consolidate the necessary information for decision making during the execution stage. The implementation of monitoring must be agile, well oriented and concerted, taking into account qualitative and quantitative elements.

For monitoring purposes, indicators must be defined in accordance with the nature of the action to be monitored.

Monitoring actions are carried out in a concerted manner. All community actors participate in it: president of the Popular Council, district delegates, members of the GTCI, social and political organizations, institutions and enterprises represented in the community, among others.

There are different ways and mechanisms for community participation throughout the process that complement it:

The district coordination meetings are another space for monitoring and evaluating compliance with the actions of the community transformation plan.

The meetings of the constituency delegates with the population allow to know the opinion and suggestions of the voters, becoming another way of control and evaluation. The same happens with the meetings of the mass organizations.

Step 15: Evaluation of the community participation process

The evaluation of the community participation process allows for a periodic assessment, which helps to make decisions before moving on to a higher stage of the process.

It is much more complete and deeper than monitoring; for this, its periodization is established, so that at each established moment a critical analysis of all actions and their results can be carried out. For this moment, it is important to use the information obtained during the monitoring process in the previous step.

The first step in the evaluation process is to review the document that marks the community participation and verify compliance with the established objectives and the activities contained in the action plan, as well as the management of resources.

The evaluation is the moment when it is necessary to readjust and program the next stages of community participation, or if the time has come to terminate it. This is not recommended, since it must be continued, if it is desired the community keeps on a constant dynamic in its development.

At the conclusion of the evaluation at that time, local stakeholders will be informed of the use made of the resources and whether the objectives and goals set at the beginning of the process were met.

For the record of monitoring and evaluation, it is recommended that all data or documents generated be written down and filed. At the end of the central report of community participation, all the documents that have been produced throughout the process should be attached. Among them, the invoices of the investments and expenses executed during the transformation and the partial evaluations should be included. In the case of the latter, they should end with a list of criticisms and recommendations.

In summary, the design of a procedure for community participation in the "Rocío del Sol" Local Tourist Center project constitutes a tool that, from the "Juan Gómez" community itself, should solve the main problems existing in the community. At present, in the implementation of the Municipal Development Strategies, with respect to the Local Sustainable Tourism line, community participation is still limited. This is a decisive issue when it is intended to achieve its fundamental purpose: the improvement of the population's quality of life. The involvement of all stakeholders in the phases that make up the structure of the procedure ensures the effectiveness of Local Sustainable Tourism projects. This demonstrates the value of community participation as one of the resources to be used by the municipality for an efficient management of sustainable local development.

 

REFERENCES

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Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular. (2019). Ley de Organización y Funcionamiento de las Asambleas Municipales del Poder Popular y de los Consejos Populares (Ley 132). Gaceta Oficial de la República de Cuba, Edición Extraordinaria No. 5. https://www.gacetaoficial.gob.cu/es/ley-132-de-2019-de-asamblea-nacional-del-poder-popular

Cabrera Díaz, D., Pérez Hernández, I., & Cabrera Díaz, J. P. (2017). Implementación del turismo comunitario en función del desarrollo local. El caso del Consejo Popular de Sumidero. Estudios del Desarrollo Social: Cuba y América Latina, 5(1), 27-36. https://revistas.uh.cu/revflacso/article/view/5895

Cardet Fernández, E., Palao Fuentes, R., & González Sainz, Y. (2018). Procedimiento para el diseño de productos turísticos basados en el patrimonio de un municipio. Retos de la Dirección, 12(1), 1-16. https://retos.reduc.edu.cu/index.php/retos/article/view/2203

Consejo de Estado. (2023). Metodología para el desarrollo del Trabajo Comunitario Integrado desde las circunscripciones (Acuerdo 518). Consejo de Estado de la República de Cuba.

Costa Mielke, E. J., & do Nascimento Mielke, D. (2011). El diagnóstico estratégico participativo y ponderado - DEPP: Estudios de cuatro casos de aplicación en proyectos de turismo comunitario en Brasil. Estudios y perspectivas en turismo, 20(1), 75-89. http://www.scielo.org.ar/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S1851-17322011000100005&lng=es&nrm=iso&tlng=es

Darias Fuertes, M., Pérez Hernández, M. de los Á., & Ramírez Pérez, J. F. (2017). Turismo rural desde la Educación Popular. Experiencia en la vega tabacalera "Hoyo de Mena", Pinar del Río, Cuba. Estudios del Desarrollo Social: Cuba y América Latina, 5(2), 161-168. https://revistas.uh.cu/revflacso/article/view/5887

Juliá Méndez, H. E. (2016). La concepción cultural en los procesos de desarrollo local y comunitario. Ediciones UNIÓN. http://www.ciericgp.org/baseref/concepcion-cultural-procesos-desarrollo-local-comunitario

Navarro Gamboa, M., Vázquez Solís, V., Van't Hooft, A., & Reyes Agüero, J. A. (2019). Participación comunitaria y turismo alternativo en zonas indígenas en el contexto mexicano: Cuatro estudios de caso. El Periplo Sustentable, (36), 7-33. https://doi.org/10.36677/elperiplo.v0i36.9081

PCC. (2017). Bases del Plan Nacional de Desarrollo Económico y Social hasta el 2030: Visión de la Nación, Ejes y Sectores Estratégicos. Partido Comunista de Cuba. VII Congreso. https://repositorio.geotech.cu/jspui/bitstream/1234/2723/1/Bases%20del%20Plan%20Nacional%20de%20Desarrollo%20Econ%C3%B3mico%20y%20Social%20hasta%20el%202030.pdf

Perera Téllez, G., Betancourt García, M. E., & Coll Ramis, M. Á. (2021). Procedimiento para la gestión integrada de destinos turísticos en ciudades patrimoniales. Un enfoque desde el desarrollo local. Retos de la Dirección, 15(supl), 163-187. https://retos.reduc.edu.cu/index.php/retos/article/view/3982

Ramírez Hernández, O. I. (2019). Propuesta metodológica para la generación de productos turísticos a partir de la comunidad local. Retos. Revista de Ciencias de Administración y Economía, 9(17), 127-143. https://doi.org/10.17163/ret.n17.2019.08

 

Conflict of interest

Authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

 

Authors' contribution

Silfredo Rodríguez Basso wrote the article according to the journal's standards and the editor's recommendations. He elaborated and applied the diagnostic tools for the elaboration of the procedure.

Jorge Freddy Ramírez Pérez elaborated the theoretical-methodological conception of the participatory procedure and worked on the corrections of the article according to the editor's suggestions.

Iverilys Hernández Pérez worked on the elaboration of the procedure and the roles of the different actors involved in its application.

All authors approved the version finally submitted.

 

ANNEXES

Table 1. Roles of the actors involved in community involvement

Actor: Government
  • Draw up and implement the guidelines and policies by which they must be governed, these are collegiate for their enrichment and subsequent application.
  • Support the community in the area of influence of the Local Tourist Center (CTL) with resources as planned in the Municipal Development Strategy for the development of the territory.
  • Articulate government institutions such as: education, public health, culture and sports, community, aqueduct, communication, which will be in function of raising the quality of life of the population in the area of influence of the CTL.
  • Agree on local development projects that stimulate the articulation of economic and social actors in the CTL's area of influence.
  • Accompany the empowerment and community self-management of the subgroup of informal leaders with the economic and social actors in the area of influence.
  • Manage through popular control and citizen participation the relevance of community development associated with the CTL.
  • Jointly negotiate with other stakeholders to eliminate conflicts.
  • Demand that general services are maintained with the necessary quality.
  • Guarantee the operation of basic community services.

Actor: Political and mass organizations
  • To sensitize other stakeholders to achieve consensus building based on participatory relations.
  • Accompany the CTL, the local government for the sustainability of the initiative in the area of influence.
  • Work with the host community to sensitize them to participate in the development of tourism activities.

Actor: Base Business Unit (UEB) for sustainable local tourism
  • Establish relations with the local government and other stakeholders through the Integral Forestry Company that represents the tourism activity, in the case of local management.
  • Manage the tourism product with the integration of the actors in the area of influence by dynamizing the economy with proposals for productive linkages, prioritizing them in the community.
  • Create a close relationship between the Ministry of Tourism and the tourism UEB where a systemic interrelationship and feedback predominate, which will guarantee the adequate positioning of the destination in the market.
  • Stimulate community participation in the creation of tourism activities.
  • Anticipating threats and minimizing weaknesses, as well as taking advantage of opportunities and strengths.
  • Establish a feedback process that measures the effectiveness, efficiency and effectiveness of the tourism activity.
  • Involve communities in awareness and training processes to prepare local people.
  • Design studies on the satisfaction of tourist demand.
  • Plan the project's internal social responsibility with the community, based on the profits generated.
  • Structuring an action plan to support community development management.
  • Establish a system of indicators to measure the levels of sustainable local tourism.
  • Participation in the community council to contribute to the feedback process in the conduct of community development.
  • Ensure a gender and equity approach to community participation in the CTL.

Actor: Empresa Agroforestal Guane
  • The relationship between the forestry activity and the other stakeholders is based on the ministry that responds, which may include the following activities in the destination: forestry, beekeeping, forestry, agriculture and livestock, pharmaceuticals, food, among others, because of the scope of this activity is that its relationship is very important for the development of tourism.
  • To represent the development of sustainable local tourism activities before the Ministry of Agriculture.
  • To control the levels of responsibility towards the local community, guaranteeing a source of employment, productive chains and local income, as well as sustaining the level of diversification of economic activities associated with the locality and supplying the tourist activity, strengthening local development.

Actor: Municipal Administration Council
  • To guarantee services such as hygiene, health, education, leisure, communal services, communication services, among others, with the interest of the local community and visitors.
  • To constantly reconcile the activities developed with community stakeholders.
  • To create new capacities for the expansion of basic services that guarantee the improvement of the quality of life of the community and the tourist activity.

Actor: Receiving communities
  • To develop strategies to become involved in the development of tourism activities.
  • Participate in tourism development, with new developments that contribute to community development.
  • Creation of the Community Development Group, which conciliates local interests among the different stakeholders, in a horizontal relationship, for the development of the community.
  • Obtain benefits from their insertion in the destination and from the development possibilities that may be offered.
  • Organize the community according to an environmental balance, taking into account the carrying capacity in the area of influence of the CTL.
  • Reconcile community development interests with the tourism UEB and Empresa Forestal Integral.
  • To guarantee the quality of tourist services.
  • Stimulate community development from an artistic and cultural approach.
  • Stimulate the creation of handicraft, culinary, cutting and sewing workshops, among others.
  • Reorganize the functional areas of the community.

Other institutional stakeholders
  • Maintain linkages through scientific, cultural, social and non-governmental organizations, financial institutions, local government, with local sustainable tourism UEB and tourism receiving communities.
  • Construct procedure manuals for the adequate development of sustainable local tourism in harmony with the community.
  • Establish the levels of updating and follow-up, in order to guarantee stability and quality in the provision of its services.
  • Support the host community in decision making with a self-management approach.
  • Manage the participatory budget in terms of community self-development.

Non-state actors
  • They provide important information on product acceptance status.
  • It will guarantee the quality of the services conceived.
  • It will contribute to the development of sustainable local tourism.
  • To fully comply with the legal requirements necessary for the development of tourism activities.
  • Contribute to economic and community development.

Source: Prepared by the authors

 


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