Local culture, society and resources as products for tourism development at “El Cisne” Parish

Abstract

Culture has its basis in society because human beings play a fundamental role in the development of peoples through creativity, historical memory and all the elements that make a destination unique; according to UNESCO, culture is the set of distinctive, spiritual, material and emotional features that characterize a society or a social group, which distinguishes it from other groups and forms its own identity. The interest of people to know the features that distinguish communities or social groups, attracts large numbers of tourists who seek to learn about lifestyles, customs and traditions that differentiate the place from other destinations.

One new form of tourism is cultural tourism since it encompasses the elements of both tourism and culture. It is an activity that contributes not only to economic development but also to social integration and the rapprochement between villages; in this approach, cultural and tourist policies converge in order to convey value and respect for resources. There is also another kind of tourism that incorporates the cultural approach: community tourism. This concept was mentioned for the first time in the work of Murphy. Its importance is due to the definition of relative issues of the impact of tourism on local communities, in which it is important to consider both the tourist and the local population in order to minimize the negative impact that may occur and to try and enhance the positive cultural, social, physical or economic benefits. In this context, the objective of this research is to analyze the current situation of the El Cisne parish, based on local culture, society and resources, and the type of tourism that can be developed, looking at the consequences of tourism on the basis of sustainable development. For this proposal, a secondary methodology of the bibliographic review has been used which aims to diagnose the state of tourism and identify the criteria for integration and sustainability that can be assumed by host communities.