1. bibiana cala iceland 2016

Editor's Notes

• #4: The communities where the research project was developed are located in the central region of Colombia, SA. The Government of Colombia was sponsoring rural development projects around the country through a program called PADEMER. This purpose of this program was to promote economic development and diversification options in the rural areas. At that time the rural areas in Colombia were characterized by communities with high levels of poverty and low levels of education and training.
• #5: The two communities I worked with were the Towns of Nimaima and Vergara. At the time I joined the consulting team (as a practicum student) that was developing an Agritourism project in these communities, the project was in its second phase. The project was focused on creating and enhancing the tourism plans offered in two small municipalities in Colombia, South America, through financial support, technical assistance, and the training and promotion of the local small businesses. These businesses offer tourism services such as lodging, tour guides, extreme sports, food, arts and crafts, and others.
• #6: At the time I joined the project I didn’t have a clear picture of my research goals; therefore I started my integration into the community as a participant observer of the day-to-day activities hoping to become familiarized with the status and better delimit the research project scope. In general terms, the problems I encounter were the inadequate systematization of experiences in the formulation and execution of rural tourism projects regarding their sustainability and the inadequacy of tools created in accordance with the sustainable tourism principles that were available for the execution of said projects. Thus, the ultimate objective of my research project was to establish some evaluation mechanisms in order to measure the accomplishment of objectives in rural tourism development projects within the frame of sustainable development. Objective: to analyze an experience from the perspective of compliance and integration of the sustainable tourism principles and to propose a methodology based on the work with the community. Justification Lack of systematization of experiences in the formulation and execution of rural tourism projects Need of evaluation mechanisms to measure the accomplishment of objectives in rural projects within the frame of sustainable tourism
• #7: This research project was developed following the case study methodology, which establishes a specific case (program, event, person, process, institution or social group) within its real context, prepared in advance, from which general conclusions can be drawn.
• #8: In addition, participatory workshops were conducted. These consisted of discussion groups that collectively consider the social circumstances that are the object of the study. This instrument not only seeks to collect information, but also to analyze and plan, so that it becomes immersed in the active and analytic identification of lines of action capable of transforming the situation being studied.
• #9: In order to analyze the project from the sustainable tourism perspective I designed the Sustainability Matrix; however this tool was not only designed for the purpose of analyzing this specific project but it was designed to formulate or evaluate a tourism development project in a rural location, based on the sustainability principles. This matrix cross-references the sustainability dimensions (economical, environmental, social, cultural and political-institutional) against projects’ evaluation criteria that were designed based on the sustainable tourism principles and project management elements. The Sustainability Matrix was reviewed and updated in May 2016. New project management elements, new criteria for sustainable tourism development and other examples of sustainable tourism principles were considered for this new version of the matrix.
• #10: These criterions were considered to be relevant insofar as they considered different aspects of the strategy that, when taken into account, would result in a sustainable project.
• #12: It is worth emphasising that this evaluation did not include indicators of the project performance, but rather it focused on analyzing the project strategy within the framework established by the sustainable tourism principles instead of evaluating the efficient execution of the project. This approach is valid, especially since the project management staff usually performs this kind of evaluation. In order to define the indicators, the Matrix was developed in its entirety to determine the sustainability criteria to be measured by them. Although the original objective was to develop third generation indicators, only a few of them could be summarized in a single variable. Furthermore, while some of the indicators arose directly from the research project, others were taken from different studies and indicator banks to avoid on the one hand repeating the definition of indicators that had already been developed, but also, on the other hand, to ensure the project evaluation tool would include a list as complete as possible. In recent years new sustainability indicators have been developed and tested, hence it was appropriate to review and update the original indicator lists. Likewise, the original list is currently under review and thus is not presented in this paper. The author expects to publish an up-to-date list in 2017.
• #13: In the first place it is important to clarify that the research presents a methodological approach for the evaluation of sustainability in a tourism project, but since the case has been properly documented and systematized, additional studies and reviews can be performed. The Sustainability Matrix and list of indicators are not intended to be the ultimate word on the evaluation of sustainability for rural tourism projects, but they do provide a starting point and a tool for project planning. estimate the values of the proposed indicators and with the resulting data determine their usefulness and applicability in the sustainability analysis. This will allow guidance of the rural tourism planning in a region or country by considering the specific needs of all the stakeholder groups (local communities, ecologists, business owners, government and visitors).