Heritage management. An alternative for sustainable tourism development in rural mining communities

Abstract

Community tourism as a function of the development of rural communities is currently becoming a topic of great relevance. The present work, linked to the Innovation Project "Strategy to promote the heritage values of the Isabel María valley for the community development"; has as objective: to expose the results of the elaboration of a strategy for the promotion of the values of the cultural and natural heritage of the mining municipality. The Research-Action-Participation method was used together with other methods and techniques of social research, taking into account the respect for the cultural identity and customs of the inhabitants of the three proposed communities. The efficient implementation of the strategy requires the integration of the people who own this heritage, the cultural institutions and other social actors of the territory. It was necessary to analyze ways and means to encourage the communities to manage, care for and conserve this heritage in order to achieve sustainable community development based on tourism.