Evaluación Del Potencial Para El Desarrollo De Turismo Sostenible En El Corregimiento De Taganga, Distrito De Santa Marta-Colombia (Assessing the Potential for Sustainable Tourism Development in the Township of Taganga, District of Santa Marta-Colombia)

Abstract:     
Tourism is the most dynamic economic activity in Colombia, still within the Santa Marta district two of the three biggest attractions in the country, according to Lonely Planet. For its part, the village of Taganga, which is part of Santa Marta, has experienced significant growth in tourism over the past 15 years, but disorganized and spontaneous. This article seeks to assess the potentiality Taganga, as a small tourist destination, to implement a model of sustainable tourism. The methodology combined a deep collection of primary information, with various methods for identification and assessment of tourism inventory, description of the current and tourism market trends, evaluation of the image of the destination, identification of environmental impacts, sustainability assessment the tourist, destination competitiveness analysis and analysis of tourism development agreement the TALC model. Among the main results showed a low sustainability of the current model car, accompanied by an irregular tourist satisfaction for the services and attractions of the district. We identified four tourist segments in Taganga: a. backpackers, b. independent tourists, c. tourists and d. visitors. In addition, the study found that soft nature tourists are most desirable. Another result worth mentioning is the ongoing maintenance of the image, although Taganga has changed substantially over the past 15 years. Finally, recommendations are made to exploit the potential of Taganga as a sustainable destination, especially following the requirements of technical standard NTS-TS 001-1 - Vice Ministry of Tourism of Colombia.

Note: Downloadable document is in Spanish.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 25

Keywords: Sustainable tourism, small destination, Tourism Area Life Cycle Model (TALC), backpacker, nature based tourism, Taganga, Colombia

Accepted Paper Series