LOCAL FORCES IN TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE CASTILLOS COASTAL ZONE, URUGUAY: THE ROLE OF LOCAL BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITY GROUPS A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Maria Andrea Schunk March 2003 This thesis entitled LOCAL FORCES IN TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE CASTILLOS COASTAL ZONE, URUGUAY: THE ROLE OF LOCAL BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITY GROUPS BY MARIA ANDREA SCHUNK has been approved for the Department of Geography by Yeong-Hyun Kim Assistant Professor of Geography Leslie A. Flemming Dean, College of Arts and Sciences SCHUNK, MARIA ANDREA. March 2003. Geography Local Forces in Tourism Development in the Castillos Coastal Zone, Uruguay: the Role of Local Businesses and Community Groups (136pp.) Director of Thesis: Yeong-Hyun Kim Whether tourism promotes local economic development remains debatable. The distribution of tourism benefits is affected by local, national, and international actors involved in the tourist industry. This research examines how the Castillos coastal zone, a protected area in southeastern Uruguay, has developed as a major tourist destination focusing on the role played by local forces in the area’s development process. The study is based on interviews with government officials at national, municipal, and local levels, the biosphere reserve management body, business associations, and local residents. The spontaneous development of tourism and lack of government planning led to a prominent role of local business associations and community groups, which became the main tourism promoters in the area spurring economic development and protecting local culture. The role of local forces in tourism development needs to be re-evaluated and governments and international actors need to be integrated into local actors’ projects rather than local actors’ being integrated in governments’ and international actors’ projects, as it has been argued in most of the studies on sustainable development and tourism. Approved: Yeong-Hyun Kim Assistant Professor of Geography Acknowledgments I would like to offer my gratitude to my advisor Dr. Yeong-Hyun Kim and the thesis committee, Dr. Christopher Boone and Dr. Brad Jokisch for their advise and support during the process of this thesis. I would also like to thank all my professors and colleagues from the Department of Geography and the Center for International Studies at Ohio University for two years of intellectual challenge and personal enrichment. I thank the Fulbright Program/IIE for its financial support during my graduate studies at Ohio University. I am grateful to all the people that participated in this research for their help and insight during my field work, particularly to the Castillos Local Government and the community of Castillos. I would like to specially thank Danilo Anton and Diego Martino for sharing with me their knowledge and interest for the Castillos region, and for their support and friendship. I am also thankful to a number of people whose comments, encouragement, and friendship were invaluable to me, Martha, Sandra, Lilian, Ximena, Israel, Jose Luis, Jesse, and Erkan. I thank Steven Rubenstein for his motivating and challenging feedback. Finally, I would like to express thanks to my parents, Maria and Carlos and my brothers, Mario and Alejandro, for their unconditional support, encouragement, and love. I extend this gratitude to all my relatives and friends. 5 Table of Contents Page Abstract ...............................................................................................................................3 Acknowledgments................................................................................................................4 List of Tables .......................................................................................................................7 List of Figures....................................................................................................................10 List of Abbreviations .........................................................................................................11 Chapter 1 – Introduction ....................................................................................................12 1.1 Statement of problem..............................................................................................14 1.2 Objectives of the study............................................................................................16 1.3 Organization of the study........................................................................................18 Chapter 2 – Study area – The Castillos coastal zone.........................................................20 2.1 The Castillos coastal zone.......................................................................................20 2.2 Biosphere Reserves.................................................................................................22 2.3 The Bañados del Este Biosphere Reserve...............................................................24 2.4 Origins of tourism in the Castillos coastal zone .....................................................26 Chapter 3 – Tourism, economic development, and sustainable development...................30 3.1 Tourism and economic development......................................................................31 3.2 Sustainable tourism and ecotourism .......................................................................32 3.2.1 Defining ecotourism....................................................................................34 3.2.2 Principles and guidelines for ecotourism....................................................38 3.3 Major institutions involved in tourism development..............................................40 3.3.1 Conservation organizations.........................................................................41 3.3.2 Multilateral aid institutions.........................................................................42 3.3.3 Developing countries’ governments ...........................................................44 3.3.4 Travel agencies ...........................................................................................44 3.3.5 Local forces: local business associations and community groups..............45 Chapter 4 – Research methods...........................................................................................50 4.1 Interviews with four major forces in tourism development....................................50 4.2 Interviews with residents in Aguas Dulces.............................................................53 Chapter 5 – Tourism development in the Castillos coastal zone: the government and PROBIDES .................................................................................................................56 5.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................56 5.2 Early initiatives for tourism promotion by the government....................................56 6 5.3 Development into an international tourist destination............................................60 5.4 Present conditions of tourism in the study area ......................................................63 5.5 PROBIDES .............................................................................................................66 5.5.1 The Program’s objectives ...........................................................................66 5.5.2 PROBIDES work on tourism......................................................................67 5.5.3 Introducing ecotourism in the region..........................................................70 5.5.4 Local views on PROBIDES actions in the region ......................................73 Chapter 6 – Local businesses and community groups in the Castillos coastal zone .........77 6.1 Introduction............................................................................................................77 6.2 The emergence of local entrepreneurship..............................................................78 6.3 Local business associations....................................................................................79 6.4 Local community groups .......................................................................................85 6.5 Local public-private partnerships ..........................................................................89 6.6 Local actors resisting national and municipal views .............................................90 6.6.1 Environmental concerns in the region’s development................................92 Chapter 7 – Local residents’ views of tourism development.............................................99 7.1 Introduction............................................................................................................99 7.2 Respondents’ profile..............................................................................................99 7.3 Importance of tourism in the local economy .......................................................101 7.4 Views of further tourism development ................................................................105 7.5 Views of PROBIDES and the government in tourism.........................................111 7.6 Local residents’ involvement in tourism..............................................................114 Chapter 8 – Conclusion....................................................................................................120