La ciencia como recurso para el desarrollo turístico sostenible de los Archipiélagos Patagónicos

Abstract

The article analyses the activation of the object “science” on the coast of southern Chile to create a destination for scientific tourism. A territorial resource is “revealed” through the selection and enhancement of scientific objects. A research centre acts as an articulator of the tourism development project and trans‑ forms “generic” resources to “specific” ones. New heritage milestones are created around cultural geographi‑ cal areas and relevant themes for scientists and local actors. New social links and collective dynamics allow the creation and insertion of an emerging tourist destination in the national and international scenario. Giving value to resources for the creation of a sustainable destination is carried out in 5 theoretical stages; selection, justification, conservation, exposure and valorisation. In practice, it requires the formation of a network of actors to clarify the nature of the destination and the marketing of four possible scientific tourism products: scientific and sports explorations, eco‑volunteering or cultural trips with scientific content. In this manner the Patagonian Archipelagos offers products based on scientific resources enhanced by local actors to create a sustainable destination.

Grounding Sustainable Tourism in Science—A Geographic Approach

“…Bourlon [1] expanded on the concepts of ST, patrimonialization, and territorial coherence, positing that these processes occur within the five steps of an effective ST process, when ST resources are identified and shared in a manner that permits local stakeholders to evaluate and align within the territorial priorities. When this occurs, a scientific resource is transformed from being a generic, or universal, scientific concept, into a specific, place-based scientific resource, that is valued and recognized by TS stakeholders within the territory.…”

“…Within the Palena River watershed project, TS phase one results (developed through the empirical research presented in this paper), were used to inform these processes (Figure 1). Using a series of forums and a participatory process that matched resources with local actors and their interests, the research results and maps were presented, debated, and discussed, as the actor network moved through the discovery, justification, and territory coherence building processes [1,12,13]. The actor network included scientists who lived or worked in the area and were interested in TS collaboration, entrepreneurs in tourism and related sectors, and organizations that managed tourism resources and scientific information.…”

“…Over the past 15 years, researchers and communities in the Aysén Region of southern Chile, have attempted to construct a tourism grounded in scientific knowledge and processes to support the resilience and sustainability of local socio-ecological systems while contributing to territorial competitiveness and coherence [1][2][3][4]. Scientific tourism (ST), in this context, builds on the scientific heritage of a geography, by matching researchers with local actors in an ongoing process that leads to shared understanding and the creation of new scientific knowledge that can support the conservation and resilience of communities and their natural and socio-cultural settings.…”

“…The fourth phase focuses on building mutual competencies and service supply consolidation through the production of materials to support scientific dissemination and participatory science. Lastly, the fifth stage develops and implements strategies for communication, promotion, and market access to foster economic viability [1,5]. This article focuses on the initial stage of the ST development process, documenting empirical research conducted within the geographies surrounding the Palena River watershed in the Aysén Region of Chilean Patagonia.…”

“…Future project actions will focus on the fourth phase of the TS process, through the collaborative development of these pilots, which should allow the network to build mutual competencies, validate their assumptions, and consolidate service supply through the production of materials to support scientific dissemination and participatory science. Lastly, the fifth stage will involve development and implementation of strategies for communication, promotion, and market access to foster economic viability [1,5]. Future research is suggested to accompany these later steps in the TS process, evaluating the viability and sustainability of the pilots and further validating the effectiveness of the information gained through the current research.…”