Understanding ‘outstanding’: An urban-rural cultural landscape facing tourism development. Case study of Salento, Colombia
Understanding ‘outstanding’: An urban-rural cultural landscape facing tourism development. Case study of Salento, Colombia

Author(s): Sonia Uribe, Sylwia Kulczyk
Subject(s): Environmental Geography, Human Ecology, Environmental interactions
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: sustainable development; heritage tourism; gentrification; social-ecological system; Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia
Summary/Abstract: This paper is a case study of the town of Salento within the context of the listing of the CCLC [Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia] as a World Heritage Site. We explore both the benefits provided to the social-ecological system by the increasing levels of tourism but also the threats, especially in the form of gentrification. Salento in particular has seen a rapid transformation over the past three decades, changing from a centre of agriculture, to a focus on trade, and then to a tourist destination. Without proper understanding and management, the current phase in the development of the town may potentially damage the livelihoods and traditions of the local people and lead to replacement of locals by city-dwellers and foreigners, putting at risk or potentially eliminating the system lying at the foundations of the CCLC. We recommend a deeper quantitative and qualitative analysis to understand the perspectives of the different stakeholders to preserve the culture and nature which bring both long-term and new residents to Salento, as well as working in partnership to achieve this goal.

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