The tourism industry in the last decade has increased dramatically worldwide, to the point of being the economic sector with the highest growth rates worldwide. In practice, this impetuous development entails the displacement of millions of people towards tourist centers where, potentially, they can generate strong environmental impacts.in the areas they visit. That is why it is vitally important to achieve the development of tourism from the perspective of sustainable development, which implies the use of the natural and socioeconomic, historical and cultural potentialities of the environment, taking into account a rational management, its protection and the guarantee of preservation. for the use of future generations, taking into account the characteristics of the cultural and historical identity of the host communities.
Introduction
The tourist activity has had in the last decade ever higher increases worldwide, generating the movement of millions of people around the world to various tourist destinations in the most diverse geographical areas. Attention to such a wave of visitors brings with it the need to develop an infrastructure around this economic activity, which generates strong environmental impacts in the receiving areas.
The geographic area of the Caribbean Sea is made up of small island territories, of which the Cuban archipelago, with its approximately 111 thousand square kilometers and its more than 4 thousand small islands and cays, constitutes the largest of these states. Islands in general, and especially those with a small surface area, have the characteristic of being very fragile environments from an ecological point of view, precisely due to their reduced geographic space and the relative isolation caused by their insular condition. This characteristic in practice is manifested in that:
- They are generally not abundant in water resources, which makes them very sensitive to low water availability due to weather events such as drought. They are poor in energy resources, especially fossil fuels such as oil, so they depend heavily on the international market. highly dependent on foreign trade to obtain certain inputs necessary for tourism.
Despite these limitations, among others, the tourist area of the Caribbean Sea is characterized by a rich nature both in the emerged lands and in its oceanic waters together with a diverse cultural heritage based on one of the most multi-ethnic processes of syncretism and transculturation in the world. the world, within an environment that presents low levels of environmental impacts when compared to other geographical areas such as the European Mediterranean Sea basin.
Development
These premises laid the foundations of the agreement taken in December 2001 at the Third Summit of Governors of the Association of Caribbean States held in the Venezuelan Isla Margarita, to designate the Greater Caribbean as a sustainable tourism zone, the first of its kind recognized in the world. This step is vital for the area if it is taken into account that economic income from tourist activity represents between 30-40% of the gross domestic product of these countries.
Cuba is inserted in this system as a member of the ACS, taking into account within its environmental policy, the clear definition of sustainable tourism enunciated in Law 81 of 1997 or the Environment Law of the Republic of Cuba.and that expresses that sustainable tourism is that which is carried out in such a way as to harmonize the effective use of the aesthetic, recreational, scientific, cultural and any other potentialities of the natural resources that constitute its base, with the protection of these resources and the guarantee that they can provide equal or superior benefits to future generations. " (). On the other hand, the World Tourism Organization establishes the following definition: sustainable tourism meets the needs of today's tourists and host regions, and at the same time protects and fosters opportunities for the future. It is also based on respect for national culture and its territorial expressions and on the integration of local populations to the development of their activitiesthus contributing to the elevation of the quality of life of human beings. ().
The implementation of sustainable tourism in Cuba from the economic growth of the activity, focuses within the international practice on the subject from two essential ideas:
1. Reduce and mitigate undesirable impacts, preserving the environment for future generations as much as possible. This question, when applied to the particular case of island settings, acquires a particular connotation due to the fact that the area of the Caribbean Sea, the territories-islands that make them up have a set of common peculiarities that make them very fragile geographic spaces..
For example, the low and sometimes null availability of energy resources and other vital resources make them highly dependent on foreign trade. This aspect is exacerbated when a large amount of inputs necessary for the development of the tourism industry are not produced in the countries and have to be imported in international markets with prices that are generally quite high, contributing to the increased cost of the activity. The sustainability strategy for the development of tourism in CubaTherefore, it is aimed in the first place, to achieve the greatest possible energy self-sufficiency through strict energy saving policies in the infrastructure related to greater efficiency in the energy generation capacity in the country. The use of alternative sources of energy is encouraged, such as the development of wind energy, which is in full experimentation phase in pilot regions such as Isla de la Juventud and the north of the province of Ciego de Ávila as a premise for its extension to other areas where the conditions of speed and stability of the wind circulation make it economically and environmentally viable.On the other hand, the need to substitute imports through the production of inputs in the country aimed at tourist activity is a driving force behind the development of the economy on a sustainable basis, an element that generates employment and through the application of cutting-edge and clean technologies. allows to achieve local development in the areas in which these production facilities are located.
2. Increase the added value represented by the growing interest of tourists to visit scenarios where sustainable tourism practices are implemented. This element is directly related to the development of so-called "ecotourism" or "nature tourism" although its incidence does not have to be related by force, only to natural spaces, but in fact it is also linked to urban areas, taking into account that the Environmental sustainability is related to the entire geographic space as an area of socialization of the space or as an environment of interrelation between the natural, socioeconomic, historical, cultural, folkloric components, etc., of the environment. Cuba has historically been a tourist destination typically marketed as tourism of the three S (sun, sand and sea), that is, beach in the tropics.
This characteristic has resulted in high visitor pressure in traditional beach poles such as Varadero in the province of Matanzas.
In times of the summer season, when visitors from abroad and nationals join, on this beach, nestled on a long and narrow peninsula, more than 100,000 bathers can flow in a single day. In Cuba there are other tourist poles with these characteristics, in great demand, as is the case of the northern keys of Cuba in the Sabana-Camagüey archipelago or the Guardalavaca beach in the province of Holguín. The sustainable tourism development strategy in Cuba, among other actions, tends to encourage ecotourism activity by taking advantage of the natural wealth of the Cuban environment. These benefits are expressed in a practical way in the location in the country of 6 biosphere reserves (Peninsula de Guanahacabibes, Ciénaga de Zapata, Buenavista, Cuchillas del Toa, Sierra del Rosario and Baconao),Ramsar sites (such as Ciénaga de Zapata), spaces categorized as Natural Heritage of Humanity (such as Alejandro de Humboldt National Park) among others within a national system of protected areas with a well-structured sustainable management policy. As part of the values of Cuban nature is the extraordinary richness and diversity of flora and fauna, biodiversity as a whole possessing more than 40% of endemism, which is a consequence of the very insular condition of the Cuban territory.As part of the values of Cuban nature is the extraordinary richness and diversity of flora and fauna, biodiversity as a whole possessing more than 40% of endemism, which is a consequence of the very insular condition of the Cuban territory.As part of the values of Cuban nature is the extraordinary richness and diversity of flora and fauna, biodiversity as a whole possessing more than 40% of endemism, which is a consequence of the very insular condition of the Cuban territory.
Consequently, sustainable tourism in Cuba is oriented to three fundamental dimensions:
- Economic development from achieving quantitatively and qualitatively sustainable growth Social development guaranteeing community participation in the activity in different destination areas Development of the natural component respecting the carrying capacity of ecosystems, conserving natural resources and biodiversity, reducing waste and avoiding pollution.
Within the modalities of tourist activity in Cuba, three stand out due to the influx of visitors and the infrastructure created for their development. These modalities are beach tourism, which takes place preferentially in coastal areas such as the Varadero beach on the Hicacos peninsula, cultural or city tourism, which takes place in urban environments; A typical example of this is the city of Havana, and nature tourism or ecotourism, which occurs in natural settings, usually (although not necessarily) in protected areas that contain important values of their environment and biodiversity, such as the case of the Ciénaga de Zapata National Park (Matanzas province),which is also a Biosphere Reserve and a Ramsar site (referring to the Ramsar Convention for wetlands of international significance).
In Cuba, the Community of "Las Terrazas" is considered as the first sustainable tourism project, located in the surroundings of the Sierra del Rosario, in the Cuban province of Pinar del Río, the westernmost of Cuba. The Sierra del Rosario is a group of low mountains that holds the international category of Biosphere Reserve. This project, which began to take shape in 1968, has already accumulated more than 30 years of experience in this field. The sustainable tourism project of "Las Terrazas" integrates in its beautiful natural environment very important values derived from the application of an accurate local sustainable tourism policy, among which the following stand out:
- The harmonious and integrated insertion of the constructive infrastructure into the natural environment of which the hotel "La Moka" is a living example with the conservation of tree species in situ within the lobby of the facility. The integration of the community to the sustainable management of resources and conditions of the local environment based on sustainable tourism and community socio-economic development. The conservation and protection of the natural and cultural heritage of the territory under the principles of sustainable development.
The Community "Las Terrazas" is a clear example of the development of ecotourism in the field of rural eco-development with a broad and direct participation of the community in the sustainable management of the environment's resources based on sustainable tourism.
A tourist area with high environmental values from the perspective of sustainable tourism is the Hicacos peninsula, in the Cuban province of Matanzas, where the world-famous Varadero beach is located and which is currently the main sun and beach destination in Cuba. Varadero is nestled in a natural environment barely 20 kilometers long and approximately 0.5 in average width, receiving in record moments more than 26 thousand visitors per day in high season. This destination is associated, as two problems to take into account, the large influx of foreign and national visitors coinciding within a relatively small area in extension, and the high ecological fragility due to its condition of an elongated beach strip located on a peninsula. In the specific case of Varadero beach,It is administratively part of a municipality of the same name and the strategy that is developed based on sustainable tourism is aimed at four fundamental areas of action:
- The beach conservation work highlighting the need to care for the littoral dune as a natural protection element. In the territory of the Hicacos peninsula, in which the Varadero beach is located, there is the Office for the Conservation and Recovery of the Beach, an entity attached to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment of Cuba, in charge of monitoring and protection-recovery of the beach. Numerous actions have been undertaken on the Varadero beach in this order. The location of adequate signage in the territory for the orientation-education of bathers and visitors,the relocation of buildings located on the littoral dune and recently the successful dumping of sand for the rehabilitation of the beach in a volume that reached figures of more than a million cubic meters are examples in this order The integration of the infrastructure to the environment, respecting, as far as possible,natural values of biodiversityown area. This is expressed in the construction of a low-floor hotel infrastructure with buildings that do not exceed as far as possible the five levels of height and avoid the tendency to the existence of tall buildings as they exist in other tourist scenarios such as Cancun in Mexico. The gradual incorporation of the community to the dynamics of tourist activity with a sociocultural approach that implies community environmental education and training. The declaration of an important sector of the peninsula as a zone of sustainable tourism implies the need for the incorporation of the communities into environmental management based on a policy of training and education as a premise for the insertion of the inhabitants in the framework of socio-economic relations and cultural that develop in their environment.The implementation of clean practices in hotel and non-hotel management reflected in the rational use of water, energy and a philosophy of recycling waste that allows to keep the environment clean and ensure the recovery of reused materials. In this regard, much more must still be gained in the level of awareness of decision-makers and workers in general linked to the activity. For a country with limited resources such as Cuba, the implementation of recycling and reuse practices for disposable materials is vital as a way to promote jobs, save in all areas and promote environmentally sustainable practices in the management of resources.energy and a philosophy of recycling waste to keep the environment clean and ensure the recovery of reused materials. In this regard, much more must still be gained in the level of awareness of decision-makers and workers in general linked to the activity. For a country with limited resources such as Cuba, the implementation of recycling and reuse practices for disposable materials is vital as a way to promote jobs, save in all areas and promote environmentally sustainable practices in the management of resources.energy and a philosophy of recycling waste to keep the environment clean and ensure the recovery of reused materials. In this regard, much more must still be gained in the level of awareness of decision-makers and workers in general linked to the activity. For a country with limited resources such as Cuba, the implementation of recycling and reuse practices for disposable materials is vital as a way to promote jobs, save in all areas and promote environmentally sustainable practices in the management of resources.For a country with limited resources such as Cuba, the implementation of recycling and reuse practices for disposable materials is vital as a way to promote jobs, save in all areas and promote environmentally sustainable practices in the management of resources.For a country with limited resources such as Cuba, the implementation of recycling and reuse practices for disposable materials is vital as a way to promote jobs, save in all areas and promote environmentally sustainable practices in the management of resources.
Varadero is crucial for the practical implementation of sustainable tourism in Cuba because it accommodates the highest density of visitors per area / day within the tourist destinations of Cuba.
Finally, an obligatory reference within Cuban tourist destinations, is the Sabana-Camagüey archipelago region, also known by the name of Jardines del Rey. This insular group extends along 465 kilometers along the north coast of the island of Cuba from the Hicacos peninsula in the western province of Matanzas, including territories also belonging to the provinces of Villa Clara, Sancti Spíritus and Ciego de Ávila to the bay of Nuevitas in the eastern province of Camagüey. Its strictly insular environment is made up of hundreds of small islands, cays and islets separated to the north of the Atlantic Ocean by the largest coral reef in the Western Hemisphere, surpassed only by the Great Australian Barrier Reef.Its eminently flat lands contain the biodiversity and the best preserved natural environment in Cuba, surpassed only by the intricate mountainous areas of the Cuchillas del Toa (Biosphere Reserve) in the eastern region of the country.
Its natural environment, the virgin and beautiful beaches, the transparency of its waters, its rich biodiversity of flora and fauna, both terrestrial and marine, make these island territories highly attractive tourist destinations and development prospects for Cuba. The environmental policy aimed at the implementation of sustainable tourism in this region, taking into account its environmental fragility, is aimed at promoting the influx of visitors with expectations that combine interest in purely recreational elements with those of ecotourism by putting them in contact with the natural riches of the environment.
The purpose of managing these natural systems is to develop tourism of excellence by minimizing environmental impacts and making a rational use of natural resources such as water and energy, integrating the infrastructure to the environment in a harmonious way and involving the community in making decision-making in a participatory manner and with the awareness of direct beneficiaries of the improvements achieved in this area. This leads to regional development projects based on the application of the principles of sustainable tourism and with the primary objective of linking the main activity, tourism, with local community development strategies that involve the active and democratic participation of the communities. in the fundamental decisions that concern them.
Conclusions
Sustainable tourism is a practical philosophy in Cuba from the perspective of sustainable development and its materialization involves a set of Cuban state agencies such as the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, and the Ministry of Education. and many others.
In these actions for the integrated management of sustainable tourism in Cuba, the political will of the Cuban state leadership to implement environmentally sustainable practices in tourism that promote the conservation and protection of the great environmental, aesthetic-scenic, heritage and cultural values is reflected once again. cultural of Cuba.
Sustainable tourism implies the participation of the community in the fundamental decisions of its application and in the reception of its benefits, as well as in the promotion and dissemination of the most indigenous cultural traditions of the cultural identity of Cuba and its nationality. It also leads to a process of training and environmental education for all the protagonists that contributes to the formation of a culture and environmentally responsible behavior in these spaces that are so important to nature, the economy, society and Cuban culture.
Bibliographical sources
- Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba. Law 81 or Law of the Environment. July 1997 Sustainable Tourism. Basic Training Module. Capacity 21 GEF-UNDP Sabana-Camagüey Project. Cuba.
