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The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School Department of Health and Human Development WELL-BEING IN LAS SALINAS, NICARAGUA A Thesis in Recreation, Park and Tourism Management by Lindsay Erin Usher 2010 Lindsay Erin Usher Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science December 2010 ii The thesis of Lindsay Usher was reviewed and approved* by the following: Garry Chick Professor of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management Department Head Thesis Advisor Deborah Kerstetter Professor of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management Christine Buzinde Assistant Professor of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT Well-being has been explored from individual, family and community perspectives and involves people’s satisfaction with their quality of life. For developing countries, well-being is a concern because of widespread poverty and whether people’s basic needs are being met. One prominent idea for poverty alleviation and economic improvement is tourism development. Women especially are impacted by and receive benefits from tourism differently than men. The question is whether tourism can contribute to improving the quality of lives, for men and women, in developing countries. Surf tourism is a growing sector which has not received much academic attention but has the potential to have tremendous economic and social impacts on remote communities worldwide. Nicaragua is one such country that is seeing this sector grow due to its tropical climate and high quality surf generating coastline. The community of Las Salinas, Nicaragua is one of the prime surf spots on the west coast of Nicaragua. Surf lodges have begun to pop up in there over the past 15 years. I stayed with a local Nicaraguan family in this community for three weeks and conducted interviews with 27 participants to learn about how residents perceived well-being in their community. The results revealed that the seasons, caring for the environment, foreigners, a bad economic situation, government forces, religion, social problems and family solidarity were the main factors which influenced well-being in the community. Tourism did emerge as a major factor in the economic well-being of the community. The implications of this study are that while tourism may improve the economic situation for the community, many other factors about community life need to be taken into account when considering tourism development. Future research might include studying more objective indicators of well-being for this community and including more residents. Another direction may be how much ownership and the level of influence in tourism iv development increases or decreases the amount of benefits the community may receive that could contribute to their well-being. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. vii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................... viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 Delimitations ............................................................................................................... 4 Limitations .................................................................................................................. 5 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................ 6 Definition of Terms .................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 2 Literature Review ................................................................................................... 9 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 9 Well-being .................................................................................................................. 9 Family Well-being ...................................................................................................... 10 Women’s Well-being .................................................................................................. 11 Community Well-being ........................................................................................... 12 Well-being and Tourism ............................................................................................. 16 Tourism and Poverty Alleviation ................................................................................ 16 Gender and Tourism ................................................................................................... 21 Coastal and Surf Tourism ........................................................................................... 22 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 26 Chapter 3 Study Context: Nicaragua ...................................................................................... 27 Indigenous Groups in Western Nicaragua .................................................................. 28 Tourism in Nicaragua .............................................................................................. 29 Las Salinas .................................................................................................................. 33 Chapter 4 Methods .................................................................................................................. 36 Sample ........................................................................................................................ 39 Data Collection ......................................................................................................... 39 Data Analysis .............................................................................................................. 42 Chapter 5 Results .................................................................................................................... 45 Los Temporadas .......................................................................................................... 46 Invierno .................................................................................................................... 46 Verano ...................................................................................................................... 48 Cuidar La Naturaleza ................................................................................................. 49 Personas De Afuera ................................................................................................. 51 vi Turismo ................................................................................................................... 51 Extranjeros ............................................................................................................. 53 La Economia Es Muy Baja ..................................................................................... 54 No Hay Trabajo ..................................................................................................... 54 Pobreza .................................................................................................................... 55 Gobierno ..................................................................................................................... 56 Religion ...................................................................................................................... 57 Problemas Sociales ..................................................................................................... 57 Actividades Malas .................................................................................................... 59 Conflicto .................................................................................................................. 60 Comunidad Unida ....................................................................................................... 61 Hombres y Mujeres .................................................................................................. 61 Chapter 6 Discussion and Conclusion .................................................................................... 65 Discussion ................................................................................................................... 65 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 74 Implications ............................................................................................................ 77 Future Research ........................................................................................................ 77 References ................................................................................................................................ 79 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Surfing map of Nicaragua........................................................................................ 33 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Well-being Interview Questions. .............................................................................. 41 ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would