Problems and perspectives of the Community Tourism in Panama
The key of the problem: the access to the protected areas
Problems and perspectives of the Community Tourism in
Panama
Port Mutis: the value of the Self-management
The Panamanians of all the social and political sectors, encourage big hopes with regard to the potential contribution of the tourism, in the employment generation and the economic reactivation of the country. However, if significant changes are not introduced in working of all the involved actors, the tourism can become a lost opportunity.
During 1999, the tourism grew to world scale in 4.3%; 666 million travelers, which produced a global expense of 456.000 million dollars. Without going farther, in that year Costa Rica received little more than a million visitors that left near 1.000 million dollars; the tourism grew in 14%, more than 3 times that the world average. Unhappily the news of Panama are not so flattering. The managers have informed that the offer is growing much more than the demand: the hotels are empty.
Diverse interpretations have offered to explain this situation, but total coincidence exists in that the problem is not due to the lack of attractiveness. To continue mentioning to Costa Rica, 70 percent of the tourists arrived to that country in 1999 in beach search and sea, and near half of the vacationers he/she carried out walks for paths or he/she practiced the flora observation and fauna, and other ecotourism activities. Who can doubt that Panama has better beaches and of more abundant and more diverse natural wealth?. The difference between both countries are in three essential aspects: the paper of the State, the diversification of the product and the wide managerial base with strong root in the communities.
The Panamanian state, in general terms, it has not been able to fulfill their function of to support and to facilitate the activity of the managers. It leaves important of the resources that should arrive to the arks of the IPAT (Panamanian institute of Tourism) , they are using in financing other public activities; also, the budget of the alone institution invests a small part from its budget to the promotion activities. While in Costa Rica the institute of tourism dedicates near 50% of its budget for the international tourist promotion, the Panamanians only dedicate Obviously 20% . who doesn't promote, he/she doesn't sell.
The roll of the State, therefore, it should be re-evaluated to depth. It is necessary to recover resources for the IPAT and to restructure the budget of the institution to guide them prioritarily to the promotion of the country like tourist destination; it is required, also, a bigger participation of the managers in the taking government decisions related with the politicians and actions related with the development of the sector tourism.
Another
problem, equally important it is the inevitable necessity to adjust the tourist offer to
the new world tendencies. Panama achieved an important level of specialization tourism of
business and events, but this product is no longer enough to maintain the rhythm of
growth. A special effort should be carried out to develop the product "
ecotouristic" like complement of the traditional products in what the Panamanians are
strong (observes you that the main product of the Costa Ricans is the traditional sun and
beach", but supplemented with cultural and natural products).
La diversification of the alone offer is possible if he/she leans on in a wide
managerial base, of small and great scale. The alliance among the small, medium and great
company is one of the keys of the Costa Rican success. 44% of the tourists that arrive to
the neighboring country stays in four five stars' hotels; but more than the half he/she
makes use of "bed and breakfast", inns and family houses conditioned for such an
effect. They have a varied offer and within reach of all the pockets (the institute of
Costa Rican tourism possesses a specific program of support to the small company).
Also, the tourist development is really sustainable in the measure that an active participation of the communities exists. If the tourists that visited Costa Rica in the high season qualified to the country with note superior at eight, in a scale of the 1 at the 10, he/she was due to the hospital treatment of their inhabitants. But this attitude toward the alone tourist can be forged if the populations perceive a direct benefit of the tourist development. It is not alone of a cultural question.
Managerial
sector and some organizations of the civil society are offering to promote these changes.
For example, it is meritorious the effort that carries out the Non Government Organization
APRONAD in to organize and to qualify Santa Rosa's communities and Guayabalito, located in
the riversides of the River Chagres, so that they can offer packages ecoturístics. These
and other so many initiatives should receive the direct and expedite support of the state.
All this requires of a change of structures, but mainly of mentality. A change for which
their time has arrived. The moment is now.
The Net of Eco Tourism with Community Participation will
contribute to face a serious problem that can affect the future of the Hidrografic
Watershed of the Channel of Panama and, long term, the operations of the Channel and even
its governability.
“The creation of areas protected in the Cuenca of the Channel has affected to
many humble families that you/they live inside or near to these wild areas and of which
depend for its subsistence. Many of the residents from the Cuenca don't know that they
live inside her, neither why it is important to conserve it. For them the Cuenca is only
the national parks, toward which he/she has gone the attention of the institutions in
charge of its conservation.
Their protection should take into account the necessities of the communities so that they
are central actors in its development.
The philosophy of the protected areas, based in the prohibition of the use of the natural
resources, is reflected in the signs used in the limits of these parks that specify a long
prohibtions list to the communities: not to fish, neither to hunt, non to destroy neither
to extract. It is generating it a spiralworrisome of confrontation based on the inspection
by the authorities and in the escape for the residents. This hairspring should break,
modifying the norms on the use and protection of the natural resources, sustained in
scientific investigations on the characteristics, potentials and limitations of the
biological resources, consent to which should be arrived agreement between in common
the communities, the municipalities and ANAM (National Authority of. Environmental)”
The scarce commitment of the residents from the Cuenca, associated to untenable productive forms, contributes to worsen a panorama characterized for:
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The exhaustion of the traditional sources of sustenance. The extensive cattle raising, traditional agriculture of it touches and he/she burns, pruning of trees, indiscriminate hunt, they are causing the destruction destruction of the immediate natural environment. |
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The existence of the protected wild areas, declared after the processes of colonization of new lands, braked the process of expansion of the ecumenical space, but at the same time it contracted the economic spaces of production, generating a conflict between the resident and its environment. |
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The first floor levels of formation professional force the residents to incorporate to the informal economy, under conditions of underemployed or of seasonal workers and in multiple cases, sink to the lines of the unemployed; this reality is the cause of an attitude unscrupulous toward the natural resources of the Cuenca and the proliferation of the criminal acts. |
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The absence of appropriate systems for the handling of the solid waste and liquids accelerates the processes of contamination of the superficial and underground bodies of water, the irreversible damage of the productive layer of the floors and the reduction of the natural habitat of animal species and vegetables. |
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The high degree of existent cultural variety in the towns hinders the works of integration of the communities around a common calendar. |
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Many places of difficult access, with high productive potentiality, have difficulties unsalvable for their access to the public services, of electric power and of communications, reason why they live in isolation conditions and separation of all type, fact that is inconceivable, since is at few hours of the capital of the country. |
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The area is one of those of bigger biodiversity of the country and of the world, as regards life animal and vegetable; however, the lack of knowledge, of technology and of economic resources it impedes the residents the use of these to increase su quality of life. |
