Tourism is one of the most promising economic resources on the planet due to its contribution to the social, economic and cultural development of the countries. In this sense, it is possible to specify the need to develop tourism under a sustainable concept and avoid a development model that can generate disorganization in tourist destinations.
Hence the need for a trained staff to work in the different hotel facilities as a fundamental enclave of the tourism sector that include sustainability criteria in their decisions and projects.
The Meliá Cayo Coco Hotel belonging to the Jardines del Rey Tourist Destination does not have a defined mechanism that allows it to diagnose and evaluate the Economic Dimension as one of its aspects in contributing to Sustainable Tourism Development.
This research includes the design of a System of Economic Indicators that specifically and precisely illustrates the execution of an evaluation process that measures the economic performance of the hotel facility. An analysis of the economic situation presented by the Hotel Meliá Cayo Coco is also carried out and the results obtained after the application of the indicators proposed for this purpose are presented.
The novelty of the work and its main contribution consists in providing the managers of the Hotel Meliá Cayo Coco with a tool that helps them diagnose the Economic Dimension as an important aspect of Sustainable Development, making it possible to achieve greater efficiency in the use of financial resources.
SUMMARY
Tourism is one of the most promising economic resource in the Planet due to it social, economic and cultural contribution of the different countries. Owing to this, urges the need of creating a well - planned Ecological Tourism to avoid the devastating impact to the Natural resources.
It is important the training and selection of a hand labor equipped with the capacity, skills and will to achieve the different tasks proper of the different jobs in the Motels to garantice not only the full customers satisfaction but the efficiency of the resort. People able to achieve the Programs and Projects to protect the Eco-environment as well.
The Meliá Cayo Coco Hotel, in the touristic destination “Gardens of the King”, does not have a defined mechanism to diagnose and evaluate the economic dimension to contribute in development of a Stable Tourism.
This research is a design of a system of economic patterns to show us in a precise and concrete way the economic development and achievement of the different goals of the Hotel.
This work is also about the economic situation of the Meliá Cayo Coco Hotel after being applied the set of indicators former mentioned and the results achieved. The importance of this research is that we pretend to provide the Soard of Directors of the Hotel with the proper toul to measure the economic dimension, which is the mason stone in the Development of a Stable Tourism achieving a setter efficiency of the financial resources.
INTRODUCTION
Sustainability involves a process of adaptation that has been incorporated into the different spheres of our society and the world in general. Today many sectors of the economy in some countries have built cooperative efforts that privilege sustainability criteria in their decisions and projects. This challenge involves the training of administrators, managers and analysts who have a set of capacities, conceptual skills and tools to integrate sustainability criteria in the different aspects of the socioeconomic, political, environmental and heritage types that constitute sustainable development.
The adoption of a sustainable vision of development allows evaluating the use of natural space, achieving greater socioeconomic well-being in the population and promoting a lasting competitive advantage for companies, therefore it is a challenge for our country to investigate more on how to develop ourselves today without affect future generations.
When we analyze sustainability issues, they are often based on competition between economic sectors for scarce resources: land, water, energy and waste assimilation capacity. This makes the role of human beings essential in maintaining the balance between progress, growth and proper use of resources, in order to ensure the future development of other activities and processes.
In general, sustainable development requires a process of change towards an ideal in which the habits of production, consumption and investment allow people, in the present and in the future, to enjoy the material, social and environmental conditions for an existence. worthy with better quality of life. ¨Sustainable development is above all, the search for development itself, understanding not only growth but transformation of economic and social structures in order to increase the quality of life of the population and achieve the progressive formation of new ethical values.¨
One of the main economic activities worldwide is tourism, which is carried out in complex economic-social conditions, which implies a constant effort in the search for ways that enable sustainable survival that helps guarantee optimal levels of economic profitability. typical of the activity, this was stated at the World Conference on Sustainable Tourism (Lanzarote 1995), where the terms that describe sustainable tourism development were specified, which should be understood as the development of tourism that allows it to maintain its viability, for an indefinite period. of time, without degrading the physical and human environment.
The rapid growth of the tourism industry currently according to the World Tourism Organization has demanded the need to deploy a set of scientific tools and mechanisms that address the problem of sustainability of tourist destinations. According to this organization, “… Sustainable Tourism meets the needs of current tourists and receiving regions and at the same time protects and fosters opportunities for the future. It is also based on respect for the national culture and its territorial expressions and on the integration of local populations in the development of their activities, thus contributing to raising the quality of life of human beings. ”
The analysis of tourism sustainability is, without a doubt, one of the most attractive and interesting investigations, since it is an activity that has great repercussions in its different aspects, in addition, the real application of the concept of sustainability to tourism development becomes in a fundamental piece of the future of tourist destinations. If we add to this, according to forecasts and indicators, that the tourism sector is the world's first industry in the 21st century, then the importance and opportunity to study in depth the key factors of sustainability in this sector become clear.
Cuba is immersed in this process, particularly in maintaining and increasing the quality of the attributes of the hotel product. In the province of Ciego de Ávila, the Jardines del Rey tourist pole has been given the highest priority, being one of the most important in the country, in which the construction of more than 30,000 accommodation capacities for the international tourism and notwithstanding the development and management of the territory developed, for more than a decade, there are examples of unsustainable practices in the investment process carried out in its different hotel facilities, such as: the construction of rooms in some coastal lagoons and the alteration of the natural relief; the opening of aggregate quarries in ecologically sensitive areas;the oversizing and inappropriate location of some hotels; excessive logging carried out for the construction of road and support infrastructure; the use of conventional gardening with exotic plants and the proliferation of garbage cans in inappropriate places.
When tourism does not have good planning, management and development, it results in environmental and social problems depending on the region in which it is established, thus, from the economic point of view, also, there may be a loss of financial benefits for the Installation if it does not maintain adequate control of tourism development, for which it is essential to have an appropriate organization of work, which is supervised through an action guide for all the authors involved in it, otherwise the Imbalance obtained can be a failure of the tourism business in the medium and long term.
Taking into account the need for hotel facilities, as a fundamental enclave within the tourism sector, to work on the basis of achieving a desired sustainable development in each of its dimensions and due to the fact that most of the research carried out on sustainability in the tourism are from the environmental point of view, without considering the economic impact of this concept is that this research is carried out, which leads to the following:
Scientific problem:
How can you assess the level of sustainability of economic activity at the Meliá Cayo Coco Hotel in the Jardines del Rey Tourist Destination?
The general objective of the research is the following:
Implement a system of indicators applying auditing techniques to evaluate the economic dimension of sustainable tourism development at the Meliá Cayo Coco Hotel.
Research field: Economic Dimension of sustainable development.
Research object: Management Audit.
Hypothesis: If a system of indicators is designed applying audit techniques, then the economic dimension of Sustainable Tourism Development achieved in said facility can be evaluated.
To achieve the proposed objective, the following research tasks were proposed:
- Analysis of the historical evolution of sustainable development and its relationship with tourism. Study and analysis of the dimensions that make up Sustainable Development. Definition of instruments to evaluate the economic dimension of sustainable tourism through indicators. Application of the indicator system for the evaluation of the economic dimension. Diagnosis of the situation presented by the Hotel Meliá Cayo Coco in the selected dimension. Proposal of solutions that contribute to strengthening the efficiency and effectiveness of work in the Hotel, as well as the improvement of tourism sustainability desired.
Different methods were used in conducting the research:
Theoretical Methods:
- The historical-logical method: to determine the historical antecedents of the evolution of sustainable development. Subject: System approach: for the analysis of each of the parts and the operation of the different models designed for this purpose. Analytical - synthetic: to process the information obtained during the audit and synthesize the results.
Empirical Methods:
- Observation and documentary study: to detect the lack of analysis of economic resources with a sustainable purpose. Inductive - Deductive: to reach conclusions based on the hypothesis.
Practical contribution:
The novelty of the work and its main contribution consists in providing the managers of the Hotel Meliá Cayo Coco with a system of indicators that allows them to systematically evaluate the economic dimension as one of the fundamental components of sustainable development, and in this way be able to win in Competitiveness at the international level, considering itself with the stamp of contribution to sustainable tourism desired by the Destination.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The research was carried out at the Hotel Meliá Cayo Coco, it belongs to the Sol Melía hotel chain founded in 1956 in Palma de Mallorca (Spain). Since its creation, its workers have been committed to providing quality service and meeting and exceeding the expectations of the clients who visit them. It is an installation that offers an exclusive product for adults with 5-star quality and corporate image, inserted in a natural and indigenous environment.
A bibliographic study was carried out in search of the different sources of information that agreed to argue the theoretical and methodological evolution of the aspects related to the Economic Dimension within Sustainable Development.
Among the methods that exist to assess the behavior of the economic situation with a view to sustainability and the particularities of the hotel, it was decided to implement as an evaluation instrument a form of economic indicators selected from an analysis of the Practical Guide of Indicators of sustainable development for tourist destinations published by the UNWTO (2013), as well as the Procedures Manual for Trainers in Sustainable Tourism of the ACS (2014), in addition to an exhaustive analysis of the proposals by the UN, the ZTSC and, in particular that issued by the Cuban Ministry of Tourism.
This procedure is available to the rest of the hotel facilities within the tourist pole since it is suitable for any facility, it only requires a set of informative data provided by the different areas of the center, mainly the Accounting and Finance department as well as the Human capital.
The objective of this design, in addition to calculating the indicators, is to use auditing techniques such as the elaboration of a questionnaire that is easy to understand and analyze, which was applied to a sample of the total number of guests who remained in the hotel in order to obtain the opinion of the service they receive at the facility depending on the number of times they have visited the site, which makes it possible to know to what extent the client is satisfied and what are the main problems that affect it, a topic that will later be discussed at the management level. The technique of observation and interview was also used with some officials of the entity.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
- Customer satisfaction
The first paradigm that was found when looking to measure - usefully - customer satisfaction, is that most managers think that customers are not very willing to participate in measurements if they are long; which generates problems because the conclusion is that to increase customer satisfaction, more detail is required about their dissatisfaction.
There are quite a few executives who think that if you ask a lot of questions, you will not get an answer, perhaps based on the experience or opinion of the interested party. However, experiments show that when the customer is interested in the service they receive, they are willing to sacrifice more time answering more questions.
For this reason, in the current investigation, a questionnaire was prepared that is easy to understand and analyze (see Annex # 2). 60 clients were surveyed, a total population of 120 guests, the selected sample is non-probabilistic and intentional of them, 15 are from French nationality, 20 are Argentines and 25 are English, 40% are repeating. 40% agree that they travel to the facility for the good treatment they receive and the excellent service they offer, they are also pleased with the environmental experience that the hotel has, while the remaining 60% also love to visit the favored destination for the characteristic climate, the cultural roots and the beaches that surround it, in addition to the tranquility that is breathed due to the specific characteristic of the Meliá Cayo Coco designed only for "Adults".
- Gross Added Value (VAB)
Only using the data for 2009 it is observed how the real has a level of value added much lower than the plan with a difference of 1427 601 pesos, a situation that occurs due to the levels of services provided that decreased in that year, it also occurred with respect to as of 2008, that is, there was a reduction in the commercial margin realized, which is nothing more than the difference between the cost of a certain product and the price at which it was sold because the average prices during this period decreased in order to attract more customers motivated by the damages produced at the end of 2008 with the passage of the hurricane …… which brought with it that the facility closed part of its available capacity for 4 months for repairs,However, the expenses of goods and services paid to third parties also decreased since the state insurance company compensated all the damages caused. Another affectation that the installation had was the decrease in the number of flights to the country due to the expansion of the AH1N1 virus in Almost everyone, so there was an increase in the low season where only 50% of the total capacity of the hotel stayed.
From this information it is deduced that the advertising management policy in the entity has many edges that must be studied to enhance the tourist offer worldwide, increase the number of visitors to the facility, thus decreasing the low season in the year to thus achieve greater productivity and efficiency in the economy that leads to sustainable tourism.
- Salary Productivity (PS)
Here an unfavorable situation manifests itself in 2008, which becomes even more acute when compared to the 2009 real, where it can be said that for each peso received per worker, only 0.99 cents was contributed to society. In addition, there was a non-compliance with the plan, the elaboration of which was incorrect since at first sight an undervaluation of the measurement parameter can be seen, in this case 3.00 in 1.14, which is approximately equivalent to one third of the indicator.
- Productivity per man hours (PT)
When analyzing these data, the correspondence that exists with the salary productivity table is observed, where there is a noncompliance with respect to the plan and the actual results for each period analyzed are very small in contradiction to the measurement parameter and even in 2009 the Productivity is lower in relation to 2008, which indicates that the value created for each hour worked has declined after each accounting period, an unfavorable situation manifesting itself in this indicator, as in the previous case.
- Average Salary (SM)
Regarding the average salary, the variations in its results for 2008 and 2009 are not significant because the staff is stable, the salary in this sector is fixed and the stimulus is earned as a result.
With the previous results, it could be questioned that the hotel in its economic planning does not take into account an analysis of the results obtained in the previous stage, so the year begins using all the amount of financial resources available without having a control that verify the efficiency in the economic activity that they carry out, which would lead to a moment of boom and development that later in the coming years would become an excessive waste of resources, of course affecting future generations.
- Efficiency in material consumption and service (ECMS)
The efficiency indicator in material consumption and services constitutes a relatively great weight in this type of installation, hence the importance of its analysis; since it is always an expense that participates in the efficiency equation that is nothing more than income less expenses. This indicator is considered favorable since its results are small for both accounting periods and although there is a breach of the plan in 2009, in this case it is beneficial since the real was lower because the services provided were excellent, since they have all the material goods and human resources that they require, in addition a saving in the services received is manifested which led to an increase in efficiency.
- Return on Investment.
Regarding the return on investment for the year 2008, it is considered favorable since the standard measurement parameter of 5% was met, which means that during that year the installation obtained 0.05 cents of profit for each peso of invested assets, however When comparing with the 2009 real, a non-compliance with the plan is first seen in 5 percentage points, in addition there was a considerable decrease in 3 percentage points with respect to the previous year, reaching a level below the measurement parameter as a consequence of a decrease in net profits, that is, during that year only 0.02 cents of profit was obtained for each peso of invested assets, an unfavorable situation.
It should be noted that many of these indicators have been determined by collateral information or calculated by the author of the investigation, since at present accounting is not capable of providing these basic elements, which is considered very necessary; reason why in a concrete way all the aspects of the economic dimension that have to do with tourism efficiency and sustainability are collected in the case of hotel facilities, particularly in the Hotel Meliá Cayo Coco, where customer satisfaction is analyzed as main objective of the activity, as well as the performance of human, material, service and financial resources.
When analyzing sustainability with the system of indicators created in the Hotel, it was determined that the proposal has advantages in being able to evaluate the economic dimension with indicators that respond to current information needs; since the registry of the economic facts and the accounting, were not totally organized based on the needs of the information for the analyzes.
It was demonstrated that the use of the indicators shows qualitatively superior results in the economic order of the facility, in addition to the designed structure, it is more viable for analysis and decision-making.
In order to offer a rating to the economic dimension of sustainable tourism development achieved by the facility, a scale was applied to each indicator, where the evaluation is shown in three ranges, from 0 to 4 points represents non-compliance, 5 points represents partial compliance and from 6 to 10 points is total compliance, in order to achieve a correct adaptation of the same, the author proposes to establish the following correspondence:
- 0 to 4 points: non-compliance or unacceptable. 5 points: partial or acceptable compliance. 6 to 10 points: total or satisfactory compliance.
The indicators were evaluated as follows:
| Indicator | Overall Score | Evaluation |
| Customer satisfaction | 10 | Satisfactory. |
| Gross Added Value | 5 | Acceptable. |
| Productivity Salary | two | Unacceptable. |
| Productivity per man hours | two | Unacceptable. |
| Average wage | 10 | Satisfactory. |
| Efficiency in material consumption and service | 5 | Acceptable. |
| Return on Investment. | two | Unacceptable. |
For the final evaluation of the audit, each value corresponding to the scores given was added and then divided by the number of indicators evaluated, this being an average of 5 points, therefore it concludes with an evaluation of: Acceptable.
CONCLUSIONS
- In order to efficiently manage the contribution of tourist activities to sustainable development, periodic evaluations are carried out, which allow quantitative and qualitative measurements to be made of the impacts on the destination in general. The Meliá Cayo Coco hotel does not have established the mechanisms that enable them prepare your plan taking into account its economic impact on the Sustainable Tourism Development of the destination Jardines del Rey. To assess its economic dimension, a system of indicators was developed, the application of which was feasible, by providing the different levels of management with the elements that allow them assess their results in relation to sustainable development. Once the system of indicators has been applied,It was found that the greatest difficulties revolve around productivity and profitability on investment in the Hotel.
REFERENCED BIBLIOGRAPHY
- LAMRANI, S. (2006) Cuba and the conservation of the environment, Rebellion. Consulted on the Internet 11/2/2010. UN (1992) Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Available at www. iadb.org/org idt-aiest (National Association of Experts). Consulted on 11/2/2010. GUDYNAS, E. (2004) Ecology, Economy and Ethics of Sustainable Development, 5th revised edition, Editorial Coscoroba, Montevideo. Pages 47-66, chapter 3.GALEANO, E. (1998) The impunity of the exterminators of the planet. Upstairs legs. School world upside down. Editorial Siglo XXI, Spain. Page 221.CARVAJAL O. (2003) and Ochoa B., The All Inclusive Model of the Sol Meliá hotel group in Jardines del Rey, Diploma Thesis, University of Havana. Cuba.
ANNEXES
SURVEY OF THE DEGREE OF SATISFACTION OF THE VISITOR TO THE MAIN TOURIST DESTINATIONS OF THE CARIBBEAN REGION
MO
1.- WHAT IS YOUR NATIONALITY?
2.- WHAT IS YOUR PLACE OF RESIDENCE?
COUNTRY:
STATE:
CITY:
3.- WITH WHOM DID YOU TAKE THIS TRIP?
(CHECK ONLY)
1) ONLY (A) 3) WITH FRIENDS 5) WITH PARTNERS OF
2) WITH THE FAMILY 4) WITH FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS 6) OTHERS SPECIFY
4.- HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN YOUR TRAVEL GROUP, INCLUDING YOU?
TOTAL () 0 A 14 15 A 24 25 A 34 35 A 49 50 or more (YEARS)
MALE()
FEMALE ()
5.- MAINLY, WHY DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THIS DESTINATION?
1) TELEVISION 5) NEWSPAPERS OR MAGAZINES
2) RADIO 6) RECOMMENDATION FROM FAMILY MEMBERS AND / OR FRIENDS
3) BROCHURES 7) OTHER SPECIFY:
4) OUTDOOR ADVERTISEMENTS
6.- IS THIS THE FIRST TIME YOU VISIT THE DESTINATION?
1) YES (GO TO QUESTION 7) 2) NO ……. CONTINUE
1) HOW MANY TIMES INCLUDING THIS
2) WHEN WAS LAST MONTH YEAR
7.- ARE YOU GOING TO RETURN TO THIS DESTINATION OR ANOTHER IN THE CARIBBEAN REGION AND IN WHAT PERIOD?
1) YES (CONTINUE) 2) NO (GO TO QUESTION NO. 20)
1) FOR THE NEXT 30 DAYS.
2) APPROXIMATELY IN 3 MONTHS.
3) APPROXIMATELY IN 12 MONTHS.
4) IN MORE THAN 12 MONTHS.
8.- WHAT THINGS DID YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT THIS DESTINATION? (LIST FROM 1 TO 5)
1.- ARCHEOLOGY () 9- CLIMATE ()
2.-COLONIAL ART () 10.- HOSPITALITY ()
3.-CRAFTS () 11.- LANDSCAPE ()
4.- MODERN ART () 12.- BEACH ()
5.- NATURE () 13.- ENVIRONMENT ()
6.- GASTRONOMY () 14.-SPAs ()
7.- EVENTS () 15.-RELIGION ()
8- FOLKLORE () 16.-SPORT ()
WHICH ONE?)_____________
9.- HOW WOULD YOU QUALIFY THE FOLLOWING ASPECTS OF THE DESTINATION?
(4 = EXCELLENT, 3 = GOOD, 2 = REGULAR, 1 = BAD)
1) LODGING () 9) ATTITUDE OF THE LOCAL POPULATION ()
2) FOOD () 10) TOURIST ATTRACTIONS ()
3) FUN () 11) QUALITY OF THE ENVIRONMENT ()
4) PUBLIC SERVICES () 12) CLEANING - HYGIENE - HEALTH ()
5) TOURIST INFORMATION () 13) MIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ()
6) SERVICE ATTRACTIVE () 14) LOCAL TRANSPORT ()
7) PUBLIC SAFETY () 15) SHOPPING AND CRAFTS ()
8) PRICE ()
10.- IN GENERAL HOW WOULD YOU QUALIFY YOUR STAY AND YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THIS DESTINATION? ()
(4 = EXCELLENT, 3 = GOOD, 2 = REGULAR, 1 = BAD)
COMMENTS AND / OR SUGGESTIONS REGARDING YOUR TRIP OR THIS DESTINATION
Castro Ruz, Fidel: Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro, 1992.
Guidelines. For Ecotourism in protected areas, 1993.
Good Management Practices Program (BPM) in Sustainable Tourism, measurement scale, 2008. Page 10.
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