Smart Destinations to Redefine the Traditional Development Paradigms along with technology to Create Collaboration, Behavior Change, Human Development, Resiliency and Sustainability through Ecotourism as Stewardship. Introduction This document provides an overview of the logic model applied to Community Based-Tourism (CBT). This document will include brief concepts and assumptions underlying the smart tourism concept applied in the Ecuadorian complex contexts. It identifies smart destinations, smart people (women, youth, children, government, community), smart business ecosystems and smart experiences as the main legs of the model that support the program: Technology/Connectivity, Education/ Innovation, Business/Entrepreneurship and Stewardship/Collaboration. BCF offers a Smart Toolkit that includes data collection and processing based on a Community Resource Inventory (CRI) , and based on those results, understand the community based on the assets and challenges, for this BCF has create a CRI which is a community resource inventory to strength or create. In doing so it establishes the smart community as a distinct form to move from a traditional tourism to an innovative smart-ecotourism. On the other hand Community Capacity building also creates enhanced at-destination experiences. We propose a transformational model of development by the smartification, not only the use of the technology but also enhancing people to be more resilient, more responsible that allows to redefine paradigms, moving from dependency, technological and economical inequality gap, lack of participation to self-efficacy, resilience, reciprocity, collaboration and sustainability; with an investment in the seven capitals and proactive intervention of the main actors (stakeholdres) like public, civic, private, academia and media; where both tourists and locals collaborating each other, using technology as a driver for interaction, communication, and education, create and promote a dynamic and sustainable ecosystem.
! Problem Statement General Problem of Ecuador Beyond Chacay Foundation (BCF) since 2012 has developed a variety of experiences related to development, networking, technology, training, leadership, government, etc. in rural Ecuadorian Community Based Tourism (CBT) in major tourist towns from all four regions like Galapagos, Amazon, Sierra and Coast. In order to understand how communities function in terms of development. The main problem summarized is the Fragile Unsustainable Growth in Community Based-Tourism that has a lot of potentialities to enhance and challenges to reverse the effect through a development program.
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Despite its potential favorable impact, tourism can also have negative environmental effects on the natural environment act as a challenge to tourism growth. If the community´s permanent or temporal citizens don’t contribute to the protection of the natural environment, social and cultural resources, they will collapse. Mismanagement of the unregulated flow of tourists (quantity over quality) can lead to excessive solid waste, litter, erosion, sewage, water, energy consumption, food problems and air pollution, natural habitat disturbances, wear and tear of the infrastructure, and environmental degradation (Gebeyaw, 2011).
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Community problems The philosophy of Smart Destination, based on the benefits of the Shared Economy model, is to maximize the benefit (qualify of life, in Spanish bienestar, and in Kichwa, Sumak Kawsay) of the local population. Here are some major challenges we focus on:
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1) Natural and human opportunities for personal economic growth where typically consumerism results in an unveven distribution of capital (economic, physical, natural, sociocultural and human) 2) Vertical leadership that blocks participation, creates autonomy and a less equitable use of available resources 3) The invisible world (microentrepreneurship and its potential) with women as the largest percentage of this group, mostly self-employed as artisans, food and home-based workers, who dont have access to grants, loans, work spaces, equipment, suppplies, capital, markets, access to technology and other economic resources 4) Strengthening of micro-organizations, associations and groups 5) The need for horizontal networks and collaboration of all stakeholders working towards a common goal 6) Lack of self-reliance and practical knowledge 7) Lack of technical entrepreneurship and technical expertise in general 8) A lack of opportunities available in the current tourism (Smart and Green Tourism) marketplace such as promotion, credits, etc. 9) New Market of Smarter and Greener Tourists 10) Lack of promotion of local communities
Challenges can change constantly, vary from one culture to another and between regions, and are different in each historical period. Poverty varies according to what people think about it: Security, Affection, Understanding, Participation, Leisure, Creativity, Identity, Freedom.
! National Assests !
Ecuador, the most biodiverse country per square meter on planet Earth is comprised of four worlds (regions): the Coast, Sierra, Amazon and the Galapagos Islands. Ecuador in the 21st century is one of Latin America’s hidden jewels, winner of various international awards, but the prevalent mindset is on of submission and dependence, starting with the Inca and the Spanish conquistadores. The Smart Destination (SD) model proposes mobilizing the country`s extraordinary natural capital with a commitment to conservation using communication technology (ICT)
and information to achieve two important goals: a) improving the quality of life of local citizens while conserving a community´s natural resources; and b) increasing the quality of smart/green tourist experiences in destination communities with an invitation visitors to become stewards in collaboration with their local hosts. Local Assets Our intervention begins with an ABCD (Asset Based Community Development) approach which allows us to understand and leverage existing strengths within the targeted community. We believes that every community member has gifts to contribute to realize sustainable development , including the minga (Quichwa word that means collaboration) and other activities based on the Sumak Kawsay (Quality of Life) Ideology. Building bridges create reciprocal relationships, which leads to resiliency. We believe in proactive transformation that is human centered where where actors share a caring attitude with a commitment toward a common goal. People´s opinions are important, based an inside out, upside down ((Mcknight and Kretzmann, 1996) model.
! Resources Offered !
BCF in the SD projects offers its slogan Building Bridges, Touching Lives with a Stewardship focus, with tourists investing their Talent, Time, Experience and Treasure. Following an initial data collection process, the intervention includes organization, planning, execution, constant evaluation, and scaling, as well as a toolkit and a Community Resource Inventory (CRI) that guides our invervention..
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The Intervention One of the keys to success of our SD model is stakeholder collaboration, with participants that include: local members of the community (including municipalities, electrical utility companies, interest groups, etc.), national or international organizations and grantmakers, academia (Universities and Local schools), and local governmental agencies (representing Ministries of the central government). Much of the decision-making and work must happen within the communities themselves. However, BCF offers consultation durig the first year of the application of the program so that leaders and groups can work together to create conditions under which it is more likely that community efforts will be successful and sustainable. Based on the model we propose in our toolkit, we the following specific stepts to assist people who are trying to change their communities for the better. 1. Working with community partnerships, grantmakers and governmental agencies to promote involvement in community work. 2. Build Community capacity where people can work together to improve their
community, with a focus on efficiency and effectiveness. 3. Provide information to help focus efforts on issues with the greatest impact on community health and development. 4. Support action planning to improve the community – Application of the Toolkit and ongoing Community Evaluation. 6. Integrate Agents of Transformation (PATs, or university students) to use a variety of methods to build capacity for doing community work and involve local youth. 7. Measure, document and ongoing communcation of the process of community and system transportation with evidence on how the community is improving. 8. Share and publish outcomes, providing presentations on social media, conferences, etc. 9. Develop collaborative partnerships with a commitment to scale 10. Invest in the community with extensive training on the tools, process, networking, community marketing, for key stakeholders to understand and improve the variables that affect community health and development. Challenges: Several of the major limitations to date have been: • A lack of resources to fund initial activities of the program. • The dependency attitude of local governments and key stakeholders who believe these programs should be without cost • From the central government in the community-based tourism is lacking of carry the promise to increase, promote and provide improved livelihoods for rural communities. • There are programs running that is missing to embrace more the community shareholders to create a good impact, particularly to enable education for both tourists and locals. • Lack of active community participation in the development of their local industry, even though this has allowed for greater benefits to be retained within the community (Choi and Sirakaya, 2006). • Also tourism, is based on community resources, needs and decisions, so their level of success is varying depending on many factors known as challenges of CBT development such as the heterogeneous nature of the communities in Ecuador, because many Ecuadorian CBT are intregrated for internation or national immigrants who are not form the town but are integrated in the investors group having more privileges, etc. and the locals have limieted acces to participation in tourism development and the benefits of tourism. • Lack of resources, information and power in relation to other stakeholders in tourism process, hence they are vulnerable to exploitation by big companies. • Lack of awareness and lack of cooperation/partnerships.
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Output SD initiative builds collaboration as the foundation for an ecosystem where entrepreneurship, education and technolgy are the legs of the stool for resulting in greater individual and collective initiative. The model identifies the following as priorities: • Ecotourism Based on the Co Creation of Shared Value, Association and Common Goal • Local Youth and University Students (graduate and post-grad) as Agents of Transformation: mobilizing and promoting collaboration, education, innovation, research, communication and stewardship behavior as as drivers of paradigm change • Identification and mobilization of Key Stakeholders (public, private, civic, academia, media and community) to Embrace and Promote Collaboration, participation for the change • Locals and Tourists in a Reciprocal Relationship, with the latter as Investors of their Time, Talent and Treasure (the option of investing in social community based projects). • Investing in the Human Capital of both Locals and Visitors to provide knowledge about how the care their land and make it better. • Promoting Social Responsibility and Sustainability among Local Business Owner and government as a part of their government plan. • Using Technology and connectivity to smartificate processes and generate data for a better administration and decision takings. • Strengthening the community networking at the horizontal level • Behavior change through self efficacy, and guidance • Social Responsibility and create new local policies in the execution and deman reports. • Sustainability, Resilience and Stewardship: Awareness of the community needs and assest to encourage locals to be more Smart in the behavious with the respect with themselves and with the nature.
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Outcomes:
! SD-Goal 1: Contribute to the local economy and development of the community by promoting a dynamic business ecosystem to build sustainable and resilient communities. (SDG 1-8-11). Financial Capital Outcome: Empower the economical sector through technical and practical entrepreneurshipTechnical and practical entrepreneurship education: Families with more income, women independent, youth more involve in entrepreneurship and leadership, philanthropic donations, grants for community projects.
SD-Goal 2: Achieve Practical Informal Education in fields of Entrepreneurship, Culture, Environment, Health, Art, Human Rights, Green Business and Ecology to provide services of excellence and change local behaviour (SDG 4, 5, 12 ,13). Social Capital Outcome: a) Experienced SD Practitioners or facilitators (PAT) to guide seasoned personnel guides or less experienced people in developing the skills and knowledge they need to deliver or direct the SD project in communities. b) Knowledge and responsable people to shape and manage international standards in quality of service, environmentally friendly in local spaces and amenities and make sure locals are responsive to community needs and dreams. c) Local high schools and university students as agents of transformation, serving to help reduce the digital divide, economical gap and lack of participation. SD-Goal 3: Promote Women and Youth Participation and Empowerment by social and green entrepreneurship. Human Capital Outcome: a) Youth and women empowered with skills and knowledge of leadership that enables democratic, civic and critical participation with pro-activism and self community identity to engage them in dialogues, agreements and investment in social capital related to local issues, supporting and challenging businesses to begin addressing them. b). Youth with a spirit of innovation with skills to support their creation, implementation and evaluation of green, responsible and sustainable businesses. SD-Goal 4: Ensure Environmental Sustainability, Resilience and Stewardship Behaviour starting from academia to young local citizens with a program Train the trainer (SDG 3,11, 15) Physical and Natural Capital Outcome: a) Data generation in terms of infrastructure, Nexus (air, water, food, waste), carbรณn footprint, environmental challenges, IDH. b) Smartification proposals for the efficiency in the natural resources use and efficacy in term of time and proceses for local satisfaction and visitors experience satisfaction. SD-Goal 5: Develop a Stakeholder Collaboration System for an Integrated and Holistic Sustainable Development by inviting 5 sectors: public, private, civic, academia, and media to work together toward a common goal. As well as the visitors to learn more about the community by using the EcoHelix Platform where they can research, learn, enjoy, rate, and invest. (DSG 8-13-16-17-9) Social Capital Outcome: a) Stewardship behaviour in all permanent and
temporal citizens. b) Stakeholder commitment with more identity to create a network structure for collaboration, group membership and participation for a common visiรณn.
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Application stages One year consultanty in situ and online to Taylor the program to the community, plan, organize, execute, evaluate and scale in a new Project that is going to be managed by the locals with the supervisor of the SD experts. Costs