Communication and public participation processes in the sustainable tourism planning of the first capital of the Californias

Abstract

The successful management of coastal zones and the activities that occur in them, especially in the case of Protected Natural Areas (NPAs), requires the integration of thecommunities that live in those areas and their participation in those activities. It is important to incorporate environmental education, schemes for information diffusion and good communication in the management plans. In the Gulf of California region, environmental information diffusion directed towards the community is merely informative, it does not consider the surroundings and necessities of the local population, and is not structured from an interdisciplinary approach. In this context, the main objective of this study was to develop a public participation strategy, involving good communication and the input of local people. This strategy could be incorporated into sustainable tourism management plans. With this approach, the processes of environmental communication and Ecological Ordering in the region of Loreto were evaluated. The results of meetings summoned by the tourist planning groups of the region were analyzed, as were the results of surveys and interviews aimed at the local inhabitants. A strategy, incorporating effective communication and community involvement, was devised which could be used in future tourism planning processes.