Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA
COLLEGE OF FORESTRY AND CONSERVATION
MISSOULA,MT 59812
Performing Department
College of Forestry and Conservation
Non Technical Summary
The Aysen region of Chile is actively promoting the development of responsible eco-adventure tourism products with the aims of providing a sustainable livelihood option for residents of the rural areas in which tourists would travel and to promote conservation of the local natural resources. The problem is that the Aysen region does not have a tourism icon (such as Torres Del Paine) with which to identify itself, nor has the region been promoted effectively to an international audience and thus it has not attracted tourists in large numbers. Compounding this issue is the lack of infrastructure for tourists. This includes 1) a lack of information on tourism opportunities in the region on the internet 2) poor infrastructure for travel within the region 3) a lack of services for tourists and 4) a lack of connections with tourism destinations in the adjacent areas of Argentina. A previous study has already identified that there is a market for this type of alternative tourism in Aysen and another study has determined a suitable model of technology transfer (The Grand Traversee des Alpes (GTA) - www.grande-traversee-alpes.com) for the type of development and promotion of products appropriate to the region.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
This project proposes assist in the development of an integrated touring circuit for regional travel in Patagonia to strengthen the integration of existing tourism services and activities in Aysen through the transfer and application of a public-private partnership model of management and coordination, based on the GTA model developed in Europe. In order to achieve this goal, the project will undertake the following research objectives: Understand what actions are needed for developing a network of services and tourist activities, integrated with the Argentina Patagonia circuits; Systematically gather information about possible circuits for inclusion in a regional tourism offer oriented toward multimodal itinerancy tourism; To connect the various actors (tourists and hosts) through creation of an integrated platform of management and product design; To understand what is needed to strengthen the local offerings along the circuit so they better meet the needs of itinerant tourists for information, quality, and safety.
Project Methods
The following activities will be undertaken in order to meet our research objectives. Students will assist with these activities: Recruit a small group of students to collectively plan and execute a bike/multi-sport trip through the circuit proposed by CIEP as an independent study project; Systematically document the planning process; Develop a spatial data collection method that will account for locations, services, and available resources and also allow for integration of personal observations; Collect spatial data while moving through the circuit as tourists, using the method previously developed; Summarize and graphically represent the data collected; Develop a method for presenting the data to local stakeholders for feedback and integration of their perspectives, particularly entrepreneurs and local governments interested in promoting these types of circuits; Assist with community meetings where the abovementioned method will be employed; Disseminate the findings of the research in multiple modes including; peer-reviewed journal articles, an online resource center/guide, and through locally available materials on the circuit that was developed.