Making Guatemala a Leading Geotourism Destination
Guatemala signed a Geotourism Charter in 2007. A Geotourism Map Guide is on the verge of being launched, after an exciting participatory process carried out throughout the whole country. Through this proposed initiative the Guatemala Geotourism Council seeks to influence the majority of tourism businesses and practitioners in Guatemala to implement actions and changes leading to becoming more Geotourism oriented. This task will be achieved through designing a Manual of Geotourism Practical Actions, carrying out a trainer of trainers program, and establishing a standard and public recognition system, as well as a monitoring system. The effort also seeks to generate a joint marketing ...
Sobre ti
Información de contacto
Title
Sr.
First name
Ronaldo
Last name
Mejia
Your job title
Deputy Director
Name of your organization
Counterpart International, Guatemala
Organization type
NGO
Annual budget/currency
$875K Gua Prog, $109 MM Org
Mailing address
1ra. Calle 17-96 Zona 15, Vista Hermosa 2
Telephone number
(502) 23691347
Postal/Zip Code
N/A
Country
Guatemala
Website
Email address
Alternative email address
tu idea
Esta será la dirección usada para marcar tu participación en el mapa.
Street Address
1ra. Calle 17-96 Zona 15, Vista Hermosa 2
City
Guatemala
Estado/Provincia
Guatemala
Postal/Zip Code
Country
Guatemala
Geotourism Challenge Addressed by Entrant
Quality of tourist experience and educational benefit to tourists , Quality of benefit to residents for the destination , Quality of tourism management by destination leadership , Quality of stewardship of the destination.
Organization size
Small (1 to 100 employees)
Indicate sector in which you principally work
Destination-stewardship business
Year innovation began
2006
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Indicate sector in which you principally work
Living culture, Nature, Indigenous people, Adventure, Educación, General tourism, General destination stewardship/management, Otro.
Nombre de tu proyecto
Making Guatemala a Leading Geotourism Destination
Describe Your Idea
Guatemala signed a Geotourism Charter in 2007. A Geotourism Map Guide is on the verge of being launched, after an exciting participatory process carried out throughout the whole country. Through this proposed initiative the Guatemala Geotourism Council seeks to influence the majority of tourism businesses and practitioners in Guatemala to implement actions and changes leading to becoming more Geotourism oriented. This task will be achieved through designing a Manual of Geotourism Practical Actions, carrying out a trainer of trainers program, and establishing a standard and public recognition system, as well as a monitoring system. The effort also seeks to generate a joint marketing ...
BID/FOMIN
Si perteneces a un pais de Latinoamerica y el Caribe tienes la oportunidad de presentar tu iniciativa para acceder a fondos para innovaciones en turismo sostenible del BID/FOMIN (para mayor informacion leer la seccion sobre la oportunidad BID/FOMIN en la pagina principal del Desafio).
Deseo postularme.
Si perteneces a un pais de Latinoamerica y el Caribe tienes la oportunidad de presentar tu iniciativa para acceder a fondos para innovaciones en turismo sostenible del BID/FOMIN (para mayor informacion leer la seccion sobre la oportunidad BID/FOMIN en la pagina principal del Desafio).
Consumidores (viajeros), Agentes detallistas, Operadores de Turismo, Prestatarios de servicios turísticos, Grupos comunitarios autóctonos, Atractivos naturales y culturales.
Indica cuales de estas tematicas cubre tu innovacion (elige todas aquellas opciones que apliquen)
Planificación y Gestión de destinos, Innovación y diversificación en el desarrollo de productos turísticos, Profesionalización, buenas prácticas y certificación de servicios turísticos sostenibles, Estrategias y herramientas innovadoras para la promoción y puesta en mercado de destinos y productos en turismo sostenible y geoturismo..
Innovación
What is the goal of your innovation? Please describe in one sentence the kind of impact, change, or reform your approach is intended to achieve.
Guatemala will become a leading Geotourism destination with businesses and organizations incorporating Geotourism principles into their philosophies and operations.
Please write an overview of your project. Include how your approach supports or embodies geotourism or destination stewardship. This text will appear when people scroll over the icon for your entry on the map located on the competition homepage.
Guatemala signed a Geotourism Charter in 2007. A Geotourism Map Guide is on the verge of being launched, after an exciting participatory process carried out throughout the whole country. Through this proposed initiative the Guatemala Geotourism Council seeks to influence the majority of tourism businesses and practitioners in Guatemala to implement actions and changes leading to becoming more Geotourism oriented. This task will be achieved through designing a Manual of Geotourism Practical Actions, carrying out a trainer of trainers program, and establishing a standard and public recognition system, as well as a monitoring system. The effort also seeks to generate a joint marketing strategy aimed at positioning Guatemala as a leading Geotourism Destination. An online interactive Geotourism Map Guide, supported by a marketing campaign, is a natural step forward, and one that will provide an excellent marketing opportunity for all venues and organizations implementing Geotourism in the country.
Explain in detail why your approach is innovative
Our approach is innovative because it promotes actions for all participants in the tourism value chain in Guatemala. Experience has shown us that people are reticent of training that doesn’t lead to results. Thus, the first step is to create a manual of Geotourism Practical Actions that can start being implemented immediately by tourism businesses and practitioners. People in Guatemala want to be better stewards but many times lack the time and technical assistance needed to implement the changes. Our trainer of trainers program and our standard and public recognition system will provide everyone with practical tools and technical assistance to begin implementing practical actions influencing performance and business philosophy. For this effort to be widespread enough there must be rewards and motivation for all participants. The public recognition system and an online Geotourism Map Guide have been identified as two strategic marketing tools that will generate the necessary motivation for businesses and tourism practitioners to become engaged. Guatemala’s establishment as a leading tourism destination will be carried through an inside – out process, beginning with a strong public relations effort so that Guatemalans become engaged in and proud of Geotourism and their Geotourism assets and leading to outside marketing efforts.
Impacto
Describe the degree of success you have had to date. How do you measure, both quantitatively and qualitatively, the impact on sustainability or enhancement of local culture, environment, heritage, or aesthetics? How has it transformed or contributed to the power of place or demonstrated the sustainability of tourism? How does your approach minimize negative impacts?
We are currently able to measure the impact of our interventions on performance and economic indicators for businesses and service providers. We are able to know which businesses are growing or becoming more efficient in their business practices and which ones are not. We are also able to determine which businesses and service providers are implementing negative impact mitigation actions through direct reporting and auditing. We have found out that without a critical mass implementing sustainability or enhancement efforts, impacts will be isolated and may even be non significant. Through this proposed project we will reach a greater number of stakeholders and also develop a standard system for monitoring Geotourism practical actions implementation and for measuring impacts of these actions. The marketing efforts based on the online map guide will make a strong emphasis in power of place and businesses will be required to demonstrate how they are minimizing negative impacts. Just as we did during the printed map guide production process, in each locality we will team up with local authorities, associations, tourism and business chambers, etc. in order to maximize impact of our actions.
In what ways are local residents actively involved in your work, including participation and community input? How has the community responded to or benefited from your approach?
Local residents and local institutions supported Geotourism and participated actively from the beginning. Over 1,600 people attended events to discuss Getourism in Guatemala, and nearly 900 nominations were received in the map guide production process. Persons and institutions became engaged in promoting Geotourism and participation in the nomination phase by volunteering time and work, organizing events, distributing electronic messages and providing input and feedback. We are looking to capitalize on this interest and get a vast majority of the people and organizations related to tourism involved in implementing Geotourism principles and promoting Guatemala as a Geotourism destination.
How does your program promote traveler enthusiasm, satisfaction, and engagement with the locale?
Currently these issues are promoted through our training and technical assistance programs. We constantly encourage businesses and service providers to increase opportunities for interaction and feedback with tourists. We look at Geoturism practical implementation and the online map guide as a great opportunity to engage most tourism businesses and practitioners in an effort to better serve tourists and also as an educational and engagement tool for visitors. Through the dynamic and interactive design of the map guide, visitors will be able to plan ahead, provide feedback and stay in touch with people and places visited.
Describe how your work helps travelers and local residents better understand the value of the area's cultural and natural heritage, and educates them on local environmental issues.
Guatemala’s Geotourism program is part of a greater project called Alianza para el Turismo Comunitario, (Cooperative agreement between USAID and Counterpart International). The Geotourism Map Guide will be a powerful tool for promoting the heritage of Guatemala both to international visitors and locals. Some efforts have been carried out by the Geotourism leading partners: promoting the added value of Guatemalan coffees, promoting sustainable tourism best practices and producing birding checklists and natural protected areas guides. This proposal is aimed at consolidating the educational and stewardship power that Geotourism can have as a holistic concept and supported by marketing tools.
Esta presentación se trata de
Sostenibilidad
How is your initiative currently financed? If available, provide information on your finances and organization that could help others. Please list: Annual budget, annual revenue generated, size of part-time, full-time and volunteer staff.
The development of the Geotourism Map Guide and the implementation of the Geoforums throughout the country, was financed through a public – private partnership. ANACAFE and INGUAT covered the direct costs of National Geographic developing the mapguide. Counterpart International, through its USAID financed Alianza para el Turismo Comunitario covered the logistical costs of all the geoforums and the technical support required for the complete Map Guide and Geotoursim implementation processes. Total estimated cost of the initiative thus far is US $ 150,000.
Is your initiative financially and organizationally sustainable? If not, what is required to make it so? Is there a potential demand for your innovation?
The initiative, so far, has been able to raise the funding needed for all the proposed objectives and activities. Organizationally, the leading partners and Geotourism Council are committed to the initiative and will continue to work as new challenges and tasks appear. Generating a manual, a training program, and an internet based marketing strategy will generate more demand for Geotourism related actions. Once the online Map Guide is implemented, it is expected that advertising and donations will cover the costs of site maintenance and the technical person in charge of filtering nominations and updates.
What are the main barriers you encounter in managing, implementing, or replicating your innovation? What barriers keep your program from having greater impact?
The main challenges for our program thus far have been the lack of a nationally endorsed set of Geotourism practical actions that businesses and practitioners can implement and the lack of a system of public recognition for those improving their practice in Geotourism terms. Geotourism needs a powerful marketing platform in order to motivate a critical mass of tourism related venues to implement improvements and to produce significant change in order to position Guatemala as a Geotourism destination. Although Guatemala is a small country, experience has taught us that different regions require different types of interventions, so upon implementing the training and marketing program we will build up on previous experience in order to tailor interventions for each specific region.
What is your plan to expand or further develop your approach? Please indicate where/how you would like to grow or enhance your innovation, or have others do so.
This is a groundbreaking effort in terms of implementing Geotourism at a massive level and with national focus. For the initiative to work we will focus on expanding the implementation of Geotourism practical actions to all regions of the country and all types of businesses and tourism service providers. The online interactive map guide is instrumental in terms of providing opportunity and incentive for everyone interested in implementing Geotourism principles. The approach implemented here could be easily adapted and applied in other localities interested in engaging the general stakeholders in implementing Geotourism principles.
La historia
Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers' marketing material.
I have over 13 years experience in tourism and development projects. Currently Deputy Director for Counterpart International in Guatemala. I served as a project and marketing advisor for Counterpart International’s Puerta al Mundo Maya. I also served as environmental communications specialist with the GreenCOM project (AED) in Guatemala, as editor and photographer for magazine Nuestra Guatemala, as education and communications director for CONAP (the National Parks Service of Guatemala), and as coordinator of “Socioeconomic benefits derived from coffee shade” by the Smithsonian´s Migratory Bird Research Center. Professor for the Education, Ecotourism, and Biology faculties of Del Valle University since 1996.
What is the origin of your innovation? Tell the Changemakers and media communities what prompted you to start this initiative.
There is no doubt that Guatemala is a great place: marvelous weather, friendly people, amazing landscapes and cultural treasures create endless tourism attractions. There have been many well intentioned but no so fruitful efforts to position Guatemala as a tourism destination. Geotourism provides the perfect frame for a place so diverse and so fond of its culture and environment as Guatemala. The Geotourism process in Guatemala has been both inspiring and exciting. In a great collaboration effort, the private sector -through Guatemala’s Coffee Growers Association (ANACAFE)-, the Guatemalan government – through Guatemala’s Tourism Institute (INGUAT), and an international organization – Counterpart International-, signed the Geotourism Charter with National Geographic and embarked in producing a Geotourism Map Guide. The Map Guide process was arduous but gratifying: nearly 20 Geoforums were staged throughout the country, over 1,600 people attended events to discuss Getourism in Guatemala, and nearly 900 nominations were received. Although many members of the team have vast tourism experience, we were able to discover new great destinations and people through this process. People from all walks of life have contributed by donating pictures, work, hosting events, inquiring about follow up, providing information, and motivating us to advance. A remarkable team of experts in relevant topics such as tourism, history, conservation, archaeology, cuisine, and handicrafts, provided great input during the nominations screening phase; furthermore, they all offered to continue supporting Geotourism in Guatemala. It is only fitting that Geotourism is taken to the next level in Guatemala, providing everyone the opportunity to become more Geoturistic and positioning the country as a leading Geotourism destination.
Describe some unique tourist experiences that your approach provides. Be specific; give illustrative examples.
All tourist experiences in Guatemala have the potential of being included in our project, provided that they are committed to implementing actions leading to a more Geotouristic approach. Currently we work with a wide array of businesses and community tourism providers. We are especially careful in creating partnerships between mainstream businesses and new emerging opportunities that can contribute to creating better destinations. Each one of our more than 100 current partners has its own value, but some outstanding examples in term of tourist experience may be:
• Tubbing tours in an unspoiled river near Lachua National Park
• Amazing waterfalls and natural pools in Las Conchas protected recreational area
• Mountain bike and adventure tours in Lake Atitlán in the highlands
• Cave tubbing tours managed by communities in the Candelaria Caves in Chisec, Alta Verapaz
• Jungle tours managed by communities in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Central America´s largest protected area in Petén
• Added value handicrafts produced according to modern market trends and under strict quality control
What types of partnerships or professional development would be most beneficial in spreading your innovation?
Our strategy is based on partnerships at all levels. At a national level Geotourism is driven by an alliance between INGUAT, ANACAFE and Counterpart International. At a regional level, organizations such as local tourism committees, Departmental tourism commissions and others are supporting the initiative. Many of these organizations include businesses, communities, local governments, and academia. At a local level, Counterpart works with over 100 SMEs and community organizations. Our training program will involve partnerships with universities at a national and at the local level and we anticipate our trainer of trainers program to become a valuable asset for tourism practitioners.
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| Geotourism coord w media in Izabal.jpg | 72.67 KB |
| Portada geoturismo.png | 810.88 KB |
| Geoforum Río Dulce.jpg | 73.84 KB |
| DSC04148.JPG | 169.6 KB |
| Guatemala City Geoforum | 636.72 KB |
 | 212 weeks ago Ronaldo Mejia submitted this idea. |