Community agency and sustainable tourism development: the case of La Fortuna, Costa Rica

Abstract

Previous sustainable tourism research has called for the promotion of community-based tourism as a means of achieving sustainable development goals. Such community-based development has been noted as essential for sustainable practices because of its capacity to benefit local populations while reducing tourism's negative consequences. Nonetheless, some researchers have warned that community-based tourism, by itself, does not necessarily lead to sustainable practices. This study examines local social interactional elements necessary for the achievement of sustainable tourism practices. Such practices are attainable when certain attitudinal, organizational and/or behavioral conditions are present within a community. Using a case study methodology, this article examines the interactional elements by which residents of La Fortuna, Costa Rica, engaged in sustainable tourism practices. The study was based on the theoretical notion of the community field. It used key informant interviews and participant observation. The study shows how economic, social and environmentally sustainable practices were made possible through community agency, the construction of local relationships that increase the adaptive capacity of people within a common locality. Key factors found to enable community agency are strong intra- and extra-community interactions, open communication, participation, distributive justice and tolerance.

Keywords:

• community agency
• sustainable tourism
• community-based tourism
• Costa Rica
• La Fortuna
• field theory

Notes

1. Following the three pillars of sustainability (Kates et al., 2005; WCED, 1987), sustainable tourism practices will be understood here as those efforts defined and designed by a community in the quest to gain economic benefits and self-reliance, social responsibility and equity and implementation of pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors as they engage in tourism development.

2. In 2005, 78% of the tourists who visited Costa Rica did so primarily to engage in sun and beach activities and 62.3% reported exploring the country's flora and fauna (ICT, 2006). Similarly, EN (2007, p. 202) indicated the main reason why tourists visit Costa Rica was its ecotourism activities, non-degraded environment and beaches.

3. A study conducted by the marketing department of Costa Rica's Board of Tourism (ICT) indicated that 85% of the area's tourists visit the Arenal Volcano.

4. Between 1980 and 2008, La Fortuna's population grew from 4221 to 13,236 individuals (Observatorio del Desarrollo, 2008).

5. La Fortuna is a district within the Cantón of San Carlos. The local government or municipalidad of which La Fortuna is a part is located in Cuidad Quesada, head of the Cantón of San Carlos, approximately 40 kms away.

6. Micro- and small-scale enterprises have been defined by the researchers as those with one to four and five to 20 employees respectively. Medium- and large-scale enterprises consist of 21 to 100 and 100 and above employees respectively (Damazio et al., 2007).

7. The information provided by these informants, while used as a validation mechanism, is not reported in the finding's section.

8. Self-reliance here does not equate to being completely auto-sufficient but means having the economic capacity for local actors to produce and trade without being completely limited by extra-local constraints.

9. A small portion of respondents argued that environmental attitudes in La Fortuna were more driven by economic desires rather than by a true shift in attitudes. Despite this assessment, the number of local organizations seeking to protect natural resources in the area has dramatically increased over the past 10 years.

10. As previously indicated, reduced barriers do not equate to reduced conflict. Interactional theory considers conflict as part of the process of negotiating the goals by the different community stakeholders. The end result is what is relevant here, which is defined by increased local input in decision-making.