Community Tourism In Ecuador: A Special Case In The Rio Indillama Community, Yasuní National Park

Abstract

[eng] Community tourism is a recent tourism initiative that is being developed in Latin America as an alternative to traditional tourism. This tourism typology aims to contribute to the conservation of the environment and the participation of the local community in the tourist management of the territory. Community tourism, defined as any solidary tourist activity that allows the active participation of the community from an intercultural perspective and the proper management of cultural heritage, based on a principle of equity in the distribution of local benefits, has been converted since approximately three decades in a strategic activity for many rural and indigenous communities of Ecuador. However, it seems that this process, which began more than thirty years ago, is now showing a marked deceleration and the recovery it has achieved is very little. The objective of the present investigation is to analyze the current state of community tourism, a particular case in the Indillama River Community, Yasuní National Park, and to be able to answer the limiting factors that hinder the takeoff of this activity, born in the same of the indigenous communities.