Sustainable Ecotourism: Benchmarking of the Case of Costa Rica to Promote Tourism in Colombia Ecoturismo sostenible: benchmarking del caso de Costa Rica para impulsar el turismo en Colombia

Abstract

Ecotourism is one of the sectors that glob­ally have been growing the most in recent years. In Latin America there are two countries that are successful in this area: Costa Rica and Colombia. In the case of Costa Rica, it is a leader in ecotourism not only at the Latin American level, but it has also distinguished itself as a power in this sector thanks to the development and growth they have generated. On the other hand, Colombia has been characterized by its geographical position and for having a great variety of flora and fauna, offering national and international tourists new alternatives and travel experiences. Tak­ing this into account, a benchmarking was carried out between these two countries in order to analyze whether it is possible to take the experiences of Costa Rica and implement them in Colombia. A simple weighting analysis of the most important strategic variables for Costa Rica’s success was also carried out, arriving at three key variables for ecotourism: economy, politics and ecotourism places. For each of these, a quantitative analysis was also carried out to study the statistical data that leads us to understand these elements and also identify business opportunities. Finally, to legitimize the results of the benchmarking, a qualitative investigation was carried out with companies, projects and experts in ecotourism in Colombia.