Exploración de las expectativas de los residentes del cantón Sevilla de Oro frente al turismo como medio de desarrollo local

Abstract

This research is based on the need to determine the potential of tourism as a dynamizer of the economy for the development of a territory. The study takes place in the canton Sevilla de Oro which, initially, is perceived as an emerging canton in the tourist activity. In this context, the expectations of the residents of the Sevilla de Oro canton regarding tourism as a means of local development were known through the following sections, (1) define the degree of tourist vocation of the canton; (2) analyze the perspective of the direct and indirect actors of tourism activity in the canton; and (3) identify the prospective of the GAD of Sevilla de Oro in the tourism field. To this end, a qualitative approach of descriptive-exploratory scope and cross-sectional was proposed, through the application of a tool to measure the tourist vocation and semi-structured interviews. The data had a hermeneutic analysis of semantic networks using Atlas.ti version 23 software. It was concluded that the canton Sevilla de Oro lacks a tourism vocation, although has considerable tourist potential. However, the under-utilization of resources, insufficient management by the authorities, the widespread lack of knowledge of the population, and the dependence on those in positions of power has hindered the progress of tourism in the canton. Consequently, despite the high expectations of the residents of the canton, they focus exclusively on the generation of economic resources, considering tourism only as a financial benefit and not as a means to boost local development. Keywords: tourism, local development, residents, planning, participation