Marketing And Communication Strategy Action Plan And Benchmarking Analysis Lake

DESTINATION LAKE ATITLÁN Marketing and Communication Strategy, Action Plan, and Benchmarking Analysis for the Lake Atitlán Region of Guatemala

Table of Contents LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................4 LIST OF FIGURES .....................................................................................................................4 CONSULTANT TEAM ..................................................................................................................5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...............................................................................................................7 RESUMEN EJECUTIVO ...............................................................................................................9 ACRONYMS .......................................................................................................................... 12 INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE ...................................................................................................... 14 SCOPE OF WORK .......................................................................................................... 14 THE ROAD AHEAD ......................................................................................................... 14 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 14 PART 1: STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT ................................................................................. 16 1.1 SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS .............................................................................................. 16 1.2 ROLE OF SOLOLÁ SUB-COMMISSION & STRATEGIC PLAN ....................................................... 19 STRATEGIC TOURISM PLAN OF LAKE ATITLÁN ...........................................................20 1.3 OTHER IMPORTANT TOURISM STAKEHOLDERS ......................................................22 PUBLIC SECTOR ...............................................................................................23 PRIVATE SECTOR .............................................................................................23 CIVIL SOCIETY ................................................................................................23 COMMUNITIES ................................................................................................23 DONORS .......................................................................................................24 MEDIA ..........................................................................................................24 TOURISTS ......................................................................................................24 STAKEHOLDER GRID .........................................................................................25 1.4 GUATEMALA COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS .............................................................................. 25 GUATEMALA AND ITS REGIONAL COMPETITORS .........................................................27 GUATEMALA AND ITS COMPETITIVE POSITIONING .......................................................28 GUATEMALA AND ITS COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES .....................................................29 1.5 LAKE ATITLÁN HIGHLIGHTS ......................................................................................... 31 1.6 MARKET FOR GUATEMALA (INTERNATIONAL & NATIONAL).................................................... 33 CURRENTLY IDENTIFIED TOURIST PROFILE ...............................................................34 1.7 PERCEPTION ANALYSIS ............................................................................................... 35 EXPLORATORY SURVEY RESULTS ...........................................................................35 1.8 TOURIST SURVEYS .................................................................................................... 37 DEMOGRAPHICS OF SAMPLE.................................................................................37 SURVEY RESULTS .............................................................................................37

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1.9 SUMMARY OF PART 1 ................................................................................................. 39 PART 2: ANALYSIS & STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS: COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM...................... 41 2.1 WHAT IS CBT? ........................................................................................................ 41 COMPARISON WITH CONVENTIONAL TOURISM ..........................................................41 2.2 IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM IN LAKE ATILTÁN ............................................ 42 2.3 EXAMPLES OF CBT IN LAKE ATITLÁN .............................................................................. 43 2.4 ADVANCING CBT IN LAKE ATILTÁN................................................................................ 46 CBT – TOURISM MARKET SEGMENT OR A TOURISM MANAGEMENT PROCESS ......................46 INTRODUCING THE SAVE MARKET SEGMENT ............................................................46 2.5 CBT DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS ..................................................................................... 50 2.6 PROPOSED ACTIONS FOR DEVELOPING CBT IN LAKE ATILTÁN ................................................ 52 CBT BROCHURE & CAPACITY BUILDING TOOLKIT ......................................................52 DEVELOPMENT OF S.A.V.E. MARKETS....................................................................53 ATITLÁN BOAT MOBILE......................................................................................54 PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY PANAJACHEL ......................................................................54 STAY ANOTHER DAY CAMPAIGN ...........................................................................55 PROFESSIONAL TRAINING IN EVENT MANAGEMENT .....................................................56 CBT DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS ............................................................................56 2.7 GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................... 57 2.8 SUMMARY OF PART 2 ................................................................................................. 58 PART 3: ANALYSIS & STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS: MARKETING & POSITIONING OF LAKE ATITLÁN60 3.1 BRANDING AND POSITIONING ....................................................................................... 60 IMPORTANCE OF BRANDING AND POSITIONING ..........................................................60 BRAND RESPONSE TO “SOUL OF THE EARTH”: GUATEMALA ............................................60 BRANDING & POSITIONING LAKE ATITLÁN ...............................................................60 3.2 PROPOSED ACTIONS FOR EFFECTIVE MARKETING & POSITIONING OF LAKE ATILTÁN ...................... 62 BRANDING COMPETITION ...................................................................................63 MARKETING DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY AND MARKETING DISTRIBUTION SCORECARD .............63 KEEP LAKE ATITLÁN BEAUTIFUL CAMPAIGN ..............................................................64 3.3 GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................... 65 3.4 SUMMARY OF PART 3 ................................................................................................. 65 PART 4: ANALYSIS & STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS: CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN LAKE ATITLÁN ...... 67 4.1 TOURISM AND CRISES MANAGEMENT ......................................................................... 67 THE CONTEXT OF CRISIS ....................................................................................67 RISK IN GUATEMALA .........................................................................................67 CURRENT CRISIS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN GUATEMALA..............................................68 4.2 CRISIS MANAGEMENT: NATURAL DISASTER AND CRIME - PREVENTION, MITIGATION AND RECOVERY69 DISASTER PREVENTION ......................................................................................70 CRISIS MITIGATION ...........................................................................................71 DESTINATION RECOVERY ...................................................................................73 4.3 PROPOSED ACTIONS FOR EFFECTIVE CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN LAKE ATILTÁN ............................... 76 CRISIS MANAGEMENT TOOLKIT FOR STAKEHOLDERS ...................................................76

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CRISIS COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN ......................................................................77 4.4 GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................... 78 4.5 SUMMARY OF PART 4 ................................................................................................. 80 PART 5: ANALYSIS & STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS: DEVELOPING A REGIONAL DESTINATION MANAGEMENT STRATEGY ........................................................................................................................ 81 5.1 CREATING A REGIONAL DESTINATION MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION ....................................... 81 WHAT IS DESTINATION MANAGEMENT?...................................................................81 WHAT IS A DMO? ............................................................................................81 STEPS TO CREATION OF A DMO ...........................................................................85 5.2 SYSTEM FOR MEASURING EXCELLENCE IN DESTINATIONS (SMED) ............................................ 86 ADOPTING SMED FOR LAKE ATITLÁN ....................................................................86 TESTING SMED IN LAKE ATITLÁN .........................................................................86 RESULTS AND FINDINGS......................................................................................87 5.3 PROPOSED ACTION FOR ESTABLISHING LAKE ATILTÁN AS A DESTINATION ................................... 93 LAKE ATITLÁN DESTINATION WEBSITE PORTAL .........................................................93 ADOPTING SMED FOR LAKE ATITLÁN ....................................................................95 5.4 GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................... 95 5.5 SUMMARY OF PART 5 ................................................................................................. 95 PART 6: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION & NEXT STEPS ......................................................... 97 6.1 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................................. 97 PROMOTING CBT: ...........................................................................................97 MARKETING AND POSITIONING .............................................................................97 CRISIS MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................97 DESTINATION MANAGEMENT ...............................................................................97 6.2 NEXT STEPS ............................................................................................................ 97 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................... 99

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List of Tables Table 1: Economic Analysis - Guatemala's Central American Neighbors ............................................17 Table 2: Guatemala Rankings ................................................................................................................18 Table 3: Ranking Among Latin American and Caribbean Regions.......................................................18 Table 4: Analysis of competing destinations’ attractions ......................................................................26 Table 5: Economic Impact from tourism among Central American countries ......................................26 Table 6: Comparing Guatemala and the Region ....................................................................................28 Table 7: Sample Survey Responses........................................................................................................36 Table 8: Tourism Markets ......................................................................................................................46 Table 9: SAVE Categories and Benefits ................................................................................................47 Table 10: Lake Atitlán CBT Product Matrix..........................................................................................49 Table 11: Potential Online CBT Distribution Outlets ............................................................................51 Table 12: DMO Roles ............................................................................................................................84 Table 13: Strengths and weakness of types of governance ....................................................................85 Table 14: Importance and Performance Ratings for SMED Guiding Principles ...................................87 Table 15: The Mean Scores by Stakeholder Groups ..............................................................................91 Table 16: The Mean Scores by the Municipalities of Residence ...........................................................91 Table 17: ANOVA Test Results by Municipalities of Residence..........................................................92

List of Figures Figure 1: Stakeholder Grid .....................................................................................................................25 Figure 2: Guatemala’s Ranking in TTCI................................................................................................29 Figure 3: Resplendent Quetzal,Scarlet Macaw and Toucansome of the most attractive bird species found in Guatemala ................................................................................................................................30 Figure 4: Travel Demand Within Guatemala .........................................................................................33 Figure 5: Guatemala’s International Arrivals.........................................................................................33 Figure 6: Tourism Growth and Development ........................................................................................34 Figure 7: Distribution of surveyed visitors to Lake Atitlán ...................................................................37 Figure 8: Factors Impacting Decision of Tourists to Visit Lake Atitlan................................................38 Figure 9: Importance of Factors Impacting Tourist’s Decision to Visit Atitlan ....................................38 Figure 10: Experience of Tourists with Service Products while Visiting Lake Atitlán .........................39 Figure 11: Participation Types ...............................................................................................................43 Figure 12: Lake Atitlán tourism market segments .................................................................................48 Figure 13: Distribution System for Lake Atitlán CBT Products............................................................52 Figure 14: Pedestrian Friendly Panajachel Map.....................................................................................55 Figure 15: Building a Strong Brand Based on Keller’s (2002) CBBE Model .......................................61 Figure 16: Local structure for mitigation strategy..................................................................................73 Figure 17: Proposed Crisis Communication System..............................................................................77 Figure 19: Respondents' Affiliates .........................................................................................................88 Figure 21: Importance-Performance Grid with Principle Ratings for the Lake Atitlán.........................90 Figure 22: Proposed Structure of DMO Intranet....................................................................................93

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Consultant Team The George Washington University School of Business Team Master of Tourism Administration Students You Hyun Jang Anton Jurgens Shawndra Herry Ming-Yi Lin Eneida Fernandes Gergana Nikolova Devon Radosevich David Rothschild Kanae Tsutsumi Paige Williams Master of Business Administration Students Sara Bokhari Monita Sun Inna Rotenberg Cecily Stewart Master of International Affairs Students Pei Cheng Jessica Elisberg Universidad del Valle de Guatemala Students Alessia Kossmehl Bolten Annabella Marroquin Martinez Karin Paola Mancia Donado Luisa Fernanda Paniagua Arreola Marlen Brisseth Bautista Castillo Marlen Noemi Garcia Ortiz Jose Pedro Merino Rodas Teresa Maria Aguilar Academic Advisory Team Donald E. Hawkins, Ed.D., Eisenhower Professor of Tourism Policy; Professor of Tourism Studies; Research Professor of Medicine. Dr. Hawkins is the founder of the Tourism and Hospitality Management Program at The George Washington University, which began in 1971. He is the author or editor of more than 95 articles and books including: Tourism in Contemporary Society, Ecotourism Planning and Management, and Turismo

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Venezuela. He is also the founding Editor of the Journal of Leisure Research, serves on the editorial boards for the Journal of Travel Research and Tourism Management, and is a joint Editor-in-Chief of the World Travel and Tourism Review. Dr. Hawkins is internationally recognized for his leadership role and research in tourism development and planning, particularly in recent years in Honduras, Morocco, Bulgaria, Egypt, Jamaica, Venezuela, Argentina, Bermuda, Panama, Philippines and Miami-Dade County, Florida. In 2003, he received the first World Tourism Organization (WTO) Ulysses Prize for individual accomplishment in research and dissemination of knowledge in the area of tourism policy and management. Milena Nikolova is a Researcher at The George Washington University’s (GW) International Institute of Tourism Studies (IITS) and a Supporting Instructor in three courses in the GW Master of Tourism Administration program: Tourism Development, Tourism Planning and the International Consulting Practicum. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Marketing and Tourism, specifically focusing on an experiential perspective to the branding, marketing and management of tourism destinations. Rony Meija is an experienced ecotourism and social marketing specialist with more than 5 years experience in communications / public relations / social marketing projects, and more than 10 years experience in tourism and development projects in general. Since November 2006 he serves as Tourism Program Manager for Counterpart International in Guatemala. Mr. Mejía has been a professor for the Education, Ecotourism, and Biology faculties of Del Valle University since 1996.

Special Thanks The consultants on this project would like to extend their sincere gratitude for the efforts and resources that USAID, Counterpart International and the Solola Commission for Tourism extended in support of this project. The technical, logistical, and knowledge support provides assisted greatly in the success of this program.

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Executive Summary This executive summary details the research, findings, and recommended actions of a team of 24 consultants from The George Washington University and Universidad del Valle de Guatemala who were commissioned by Counterpart International and funded by USAID to develop a Marketing and Communications Strategy and Action and Benchmarking Analysis of Community Based Tourism for the Lake Atitlán region of Guatemala for the Sololá Tourism Commission and INGUAT. This document was developed in June and July 2008 using a multi-step approach involving a preliminary research period, field-work, analysis, and actionable steps to strengthen Lake Atitlán as a competitive travel destination. Through the preliminary research period the team negotiated terms of reference for its work with Counterpart International, formulated its methodology, identified important stakeholders, and conducted background studies for the project. Market research included an analysis of industry trends; an examination of world, regional, and in-country competitors; consumer and product research; and identification of Guatemala and Lake Atitlán’s unique offerings. In addition, the team conducted an in-depth analysis of over 30 destination websites for locations within Guatemala as well as competing destinations. From this research the team was able to ascertain specific techniques the tourism industry in Lake Atitlán can use to gain a competitive edge in the region and on a global level. Additionally, the team researched public perceptions of Guatemala by conducting a survey using a convenience sample of over 200 potential tourists and scrutinizing references of Guatemala in major English newspapers from the past few years. Fact-finding during this period involved development of a risk analysis for Guatemala and studying tourism trends in Central America and Guatemala. The preliminary research period was followed by an intensive field-work phase from June 14-29. Throughout the process the consulting team focused on identifying actionable steps toward enhanced economic and social impacts of tourism. Further, the team focused on propositions for improved product offerings with a focus on community-led development and management of products. Emphasis was placed on practices that ensure the preservation of the rich natural environment and cultural heritage found around Lake Atitlán. Over the course of the project a concerted effort was made by the team to reach out to all stakeholders including the public and private sector, civil society, local communities, international cooperation agencies, and media. Based upon the negotiated scope of work, the team focused upon delivering actions around the following four key components: 1. A strategic positioning strategy outlining actionable steps toward improving the image and brand of lake Atitlán as a competitive tourism destination; 2. A marketing plan for Atitlán as a sustainable tourism destination targeting national and select priority international markets; 3. Development of a crisis communications strategy and basic support materials outlining responsibilities and actions to be undertaken by the tourism-related stakeholders in the Lake Atitlán region; 4. Analysis of the potential for developing community-based tourism in Lake Atitlán.

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These key components are each aligned with specific strategies identified in the Tourism Strategic Plan for Lake Atitlán funded by INGUAT and IDB and presented by Grupo GDT on behalf of the Sololá Tourism Commission. Overall findings and recommendations can be found in the full report along with detailed information, estimated budgets, sources of funding and resources for the each of the listed actions plans: COMMUNITY BASED TOURISM •

CBT Distribution Channel

• •

Community Based Tourism Brochure CBT Capacity Building Toolkit

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Development of S.A.V.E Approach

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Low Impact Water Sports

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Professional Training in Event Management

• •

Pedestrian Friendly Panajachel Boat Excursion

CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN LAKE ATITLÁN • •

Crisis Commnication Toolkit Campaign: “Promoting Piece of Mind”

•

Crisis Management Toolkit for Stakeholders

DEVELOPING A REGIONAL DESTINATION MANAGEMENT (DM) STRATEGY • •

Creating a Regional DM Strategy Website as a Marketing and Information Tool

• •

Webstie Optimization Importance/Performance Analysis

MARKETING & POSITIONING OF LAKE ATITLÁN •

Branding Competition

•

Media PR Toolkit

• •

Stay Another Day Campaign Keep Lake Atitlán Beautiful Campaign

Key next steps, as identified by the team include: funding and resource development, clarifying initial actions for the new manager of the Strategic Plan, a community based tourism roundtable follow-up session, a S.A.V.E. Pilot Project, and translation of the final report for distribution to key stakeholders in the Atitlán region.

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Resumen Ejecutivo Este documento de síntesis detalla la investigación, los resultados y las acciones de un equipo de 24 consultores provenientes de la Universidad de Washington y de la Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, quienes fueron comisionados por Counterpart International, financiado por USAID, para desarrollar una Estrategia de Marketing y de Comunicaciones y el Análisis de Acción y Benchmarking Basado en Turismo Comunitario para la Región del Lago Atitlán en Guatemala para la Comisión de Turismo en Sololá e INGUAT. Este plan de acción fue desarrollado en junio de 2008, utilizando un enfoque de varias fases que implicaba un período preliminar de la investigación, trabajo de campo, el análisis y pasos procesables para fortalecer el Lago Atitlán como un destino. En el período preliminar de la investigación el equipo negoció los términos de referencia para su trabajo con Counterpart International, formularon su metodología, identificaron los actores de turismo importantes y los estudios de base para el proyecto. El estudio de mercadeo incluyó un análisis de las tendencias de la industria, una evaluación internacional, regional y local de los competidores, consumidores e investigación del producto, y lo único que ofrece Guatemala y el Lago de Atitlán. Además, el equipo realizó un profundo análisis a más de 30 sitios web de las localidades dentro de Guatemala así como destinos competitivos. De esta investigación el equipo pudo comprobar que las técnicas en la industria del turismo en el Lago Atitlán se pueden utilizar para ganar una posición competitiva en la región y a nivel global. También, el equipo investigó las percepciones públicas de Guatemala por medio de encuestas a una muestra conveniente de 200 turistas potenciales e indagando referencias a Guatemala en periódicos ingleses importantes durante los últimos años. El estudio, durante este período, implicó el desarrollo de un análisis de riesgo para Guatemala y el estudio de las tendencias del turismo en Centroamérica y Guatemala. El período preliminar de la investigación fue seguido por una fase intensiva de trabajo de campo del 14 al 29 de junio. A través del proceso, el equipo consultor se enfocó en la identificación de pasos procesables hacia impactos económicos y sociales de turismo. De la misma forma, el equipo se centró en proposiciones para mejorar la oferta de los productos con una perspectiva en el desarrollo de la participación comunitaria y manejo de productos. El énfasis fue puesto en las prácticas que aseguran la conservación del medio ambiente natural rico y del patrimonio cultural encontrado alrededor del Lago Atitlán. Sobre el curso del proyecto, un esfuerzo concertado fue hecho por el equipo para llegar a todos los actores del turismo incluyendo el sector público y privado, sociedad civil, comunidades locales, agencias de la cooperación internacional y medios. Basado sobre el alcance negociado del trabajo, el equipo se enfocó a entregar las acciones alrededor de cuatro componentes clave: 1. Estrategia de Posicionamiento que resume los pasos procesables hacia la mejora de la imagen y la marca del Lago Atitlán como un destino competitivo en el turismo. 2. Plan de Mercadeo para Atitlán como un Destino Sostenible de Turismo que se concentra en los mercados nacionales e internacionales como prioritarios. 3. Estrategia para el Desarrollo de las Comunicaciones de Crisis y Materias Básicas de Apoyo que resumen las responsabilidades y acciones de los actores relacionados al turismo en la región del Lago Atitlán. 4. Análisis del Potencial para el Desarrollo del Turismo Basado en la Comunidad en el Lago Atitlán.

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Cada uno de estos componentes claves se alinea con estrategias específicas que han sido identificadas en el Plan Estratégico del Turismo para el Lago Atitlán financiado por INGUAT y el BID y presentado por el Grupo GDT a nombre de la Comisión de Turismo de Sololá. Las investigaciones y recomendaciones que encontramos a lo largo del reporte contienen información detallada, presupuestos detallados, fuentes de investigación y recursos para cada una de las acciones listadas en el plan:

DESARROLLO DEL MANEJO ESTRATÉGICO PARA EL DESTINO REGIONAL

MERCADEO Y POSICIONAMIENTO DEL LAGO ATITLÁN

•

Creación de un destino regional

• Competencia para crear una marca

•

Manejo estratégico del destino

• Caja de herramientas para mediaPR

•

Página web como herramienta de mercadeo e información

• •

Optimización de la página web Importancia de análisis

• Media PR Toolkit • Campaña “Quedate un día más” • Campaña “ Manten el Lago de Atitlán bello”

MANEJO DE CRISIS EN EL LAGO DE ATITLÁN •

Caja de herramientas para la comunicación de crisis

•

Campaña “ Promover la paz mental”

•

Caja de herramientas para los actores para el manejo de crisis

TURISMO BASADO EN LA COMUNIDAD •

•

Canal de distribución para el turismo basado en la comunidad (TBC) Folleto para el turismo basado en la comunidad Capacidad para la elaboración de herramientas para el turismo basado en la comunidad Acercamiento en el desarrollo del turismo científico, académico, voluntario y educativo Excursiones en bote

•

Bajo impacto en los deportes acuáticos

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Entrenamiento profesional para el manejo de eventos

•

Peatonal Panajachel

• •

•

Los pasos clave a seguir, identificados por el equipo de trabajo son los siguientes: Desarrollo de investigación y recursos, aclarar las acciones iniciales para el nuevo administrador del Plan Estratégico, la mesa de turismo comunitario, turismo cientiífico, académico, voluntario y educativo (S.A.V.E. por su significado en inglés). Es un

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proyecto piloto y traducido del reporte final para tribuirlo a los actores interesados en la actividad turística de la región de Atitlán.

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Acronyms ACE

Adventure, Community, and Ecotourism Program

A.I.D.A.

Attention, Interest, Desire, Action

AMSCLAE

Lake Atitlán Basin Sustainable Management Authority

ANACAFE

National Coffee Association

ANOVA

An Analysis of Variance

APOCS

Sololá Association of Organic Coffee Producers

ASISTUR

Tourism Assistance Office

ASLAT

Lightermen of San Pedro Association

CAMTUR

Chamber of Tourism

CAT

Local Tourism Community

CBT

Community Based Tourism

CDM

Comprehensive Disaster Management

CED

World Center of Excellence for Destinations

CEDA

Disaster Emergency Response Agency

COE

Commission for Operation in Emergencies

CONAP

Council for Protected Areas

CONRED

The National Organization for Reducing Emergencies

CRED

Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters

DMO

Destination Management Organization

ECC

Emergency Coordinating Committee

ECLAC

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

GDP

Gross Domestic Product

GEF

Global Environment Facility

GTB

Ghana Tourist Board

GW

The George Washington University

HIV

Human Immunodeficiency Virus

HR

Human Resources

IDB

Inter-American Development Bank

INGUAT

Instituto Guatemalteco de Turismo (National Tourism Administration)

IPA

Importance-Performance Analysis

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ISDR

International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

LARA

The Lake Atitlán Resort Association

MARN

Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources

NATR

North Andaman Tsunami Relief

NDMO

National Disaster Management Organization

NTA

National Tourism Authority

NTO

National Tourism Organization

OFDA

Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance

PR

Public Relations

PROLAGO

Association for the Environmental Protection of Lake Atitlán

RTO

Regional Tourism Organization

S.A.V.E.

Scientific, Academic, Volunteer, Education

SMED

System for Measuring Excellence in Destinations

TAG

Tourism Action Group

T&T

Travel and Tourism

TEOC

Tourism Emergency Operating Center

UNDP

United Nations Development Program

UNEP

United Nations Environment Program

UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

UNWTO

United Nations World Tourism Organization

USAID

United States Agency for International Development

UVG

University Del Valle Altiplano

WEF

World Economic Forum

WHO

World Health Organization

WTTC

World Travel & Tourism Council

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Introduction/Purpose Scope of Work The scope of work that was negotiated between The George Washington University (GW) and Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG) Consulting Team and the Alianza para el Turismo Communitario Project led by Counterpart International (CPI) and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) identified four main areas of work to be addressed during the consulting engagement. The consulting project was envisioned by the clients as an opportunity to further elaborate upon and create implementation strategies for the Strategic Development Plan for Lake Atitlán embraced by the Sololá Tourism Sub-commission. The tasks initially identified and negotiated between the GW/UVG consultant team and the client were as follows: • •

Identify a positioning strategy to improve the image and brand of Lake Atitlán as a tourism destination Develop implementation actions for the strategic plan developed by the Sololá Sub-commission

•

Raise awareness and provide training tools for local agents regarding Community-based Tourism, and

•

Establish a crisis communication strategy and supporting materials.

This final report reflects the tasks identified in the scope of work and tackled by the consultants before, during, and after conducting field work at the destination. During the two weeks of field work however, it became evident that, in addition to the need to adequately position and improve the image of Lake Atitlán, there is a significant need for coordination of individual efforts of organizations involved in the promotion and marketing of the destination. This need lead to the development of a recommendation to establish a regional Destination Management Organization (DMO). The inclusion of actions towards the establishment of a regional DMO for Lake Atitlán was discussed with the client and included as an additional area of work to be addressed during this assignment.

The Road Ahead Based on preliminary research and extensive discussions with active stakeholders the consultant team identified realistic opportunities to enhance local sustainable tourism by strengthening destination management efforts and maximizing benefits of community-based tourism. The proposed actions will help realize these opportunities by improving market accessibility, building on security and crisis management, and molding the image of Lake Atitlán as a safe, prepared, and vibrant destination with an intimate relationship to nature, cultural heritage, and a sense of adventure culminating in an unforgettable experience for the tourist.

Methodology The consulting project for the Lake Atitlán region of Guatemala followed a strategic and well-planned, multi-step process: ƒ Team Formation The consulting team, led by Dr. Donald Hawkins, Mr. Rony Mejia and Ms. Milena Nikolova comprises of 16 consultants from The George Washington University, concentrating in the fields of Tourism Administration, Business Administration, and International Affairs, alongside 8 consultants from Universidad del Valle de

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Guatemala, majoring in Ecotourism. The consultants comprise a total of 220 years of professional training and experience. ƒ Background Research The consultants conducted more than 1,000 hours of background research on Lake Atitlán, sustainable tourism best practices, marketing strategies, and administered an online survey with 209 respondents to gather information about perceptions of Guatemala. ƒ Field Surveys With the purpose of understanding stakeholder positions better, a field survey was carried out in the Lake Atitlán region. 180 surveys of tour operators, hotels, other businesses and tourists were conducted in the communities around the lake to comprehend current issues in the region. ƒ Field Interviews During the consulting process, the GW/UVG team organized 30 interviews with stakeholders to understand current actions and potential opportunities for advancing community-based tourism in the Lake Atitlán region. ƒ Strategic Formulation and Planning To consolidate the relevant research, surveys, interviews, recommendations and action plans into a sustainable management strategy, the consultant team engaged in an in-depth strategic planning process. ƒ Strategic Presentation The presentation of the sustainable management strategy was delivered to the leaders and stakeholders of the Lake Atitlán region as well as to stakeholder in the tourism industry in Guatemala City. The presentation will also be shared with stakeholders in the United States in September 2008 in order to strengthen the awareness and recognition of community-based tourism. ƒ Implementation and Evaluation An ongoing implementation and evaluation of the sustainable management strategy is currently underway, in order to monitor the effects and outcomes of the consulting project.

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PART 1: STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT 1.1 Situational Analysis Tourism can play an important role in advancing the economic status of a country going through social and economic transition. The sector crosscuts multiple industries and involves numerous stakeholders. In formulating this project’s recommended strategy, the consulting team considered the region’s history, as well as current challenges facing tourism and development in general. The team worked towards a strategy based on the competitive advantage of the Lake Atitlán region.

Key Indicators:  (Source: CIA Factbook)  •

Population 12.9 million

•

Surface Area 108.9 (1000) sq km.

•

GDP (purchasing power parity): $64.45 billion (2007) (1)

•

GDP: $31.35 billion

•

GDP real growth rate: 5.6% (2007 est)

•

GDP per capita (PPP) $5,400

•

Population below the poverty line: 56.2% (2004 est.)

• Inflation Rate (consumer prices): 6.6% (2007 est) About Guatemala • Investment (gross fixed): 15.9% of GDP (2007 est) Bordered by Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador, Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America and a place of dramatic contrasts. The political system is a Presidential Representative Democracy with a multi-party system (CIA World Factbook, 2008). Executive power is exercised by the government, legislative power lies in the government and the Congress of the Republic (158 seats) and the judiciary is independent (CIA World Factbook, 2008). The country boasts an abundance of natural resources and a relatively young population (CIA World Factbook, 2008).

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Historical Legacy During the first millennium A.D. the Mayan civilization flourished in Guatemala and the surrounding regions (CIA World Factbook, 2008). The Colonial Period (1524 – 1821) left Guatemala with a legacy of a rigidly stratified society, with European-born Spaniards at the top, and the Mayan indigenous population at the bottom (Lonely Planet, 2007). Guatemala won its independence from Spain in 1821. In the second half of the 20th century, the country went through turmoil, with a variety of military and civilian governments, and a painful 36year guerrilla war, which left more than 100,000 dead and created an estimated 1 million refugees (Lonely Planet, 2007). Culture: Living Maya Stretching from modern Honduras, through Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico, the Mayan civilization is often noted as the most brilliant in prehistoric American (Lonely Planet, 2007). Development of independent city-states and heavy city buildings characterize the Classic Period of Mesoamerican civilization. The history of a civilization that built the centers of Chichen-Itza, Palenque, Tulum, and Tikal are more evident in Guatemala than in any other Central American country. Mayan history is especially evident in rural areas. Traditional dress and local markets distinguish various destinations (Aventouras, n.d.). The patterns and embroidered motifs in clothing indicate in which village the weaver lives (Aventouras, n.d.). Guatemala boasts an indigenous population of 65%, the highest percentage of all its regional neighbors. While the official language of Guatemala is Spanish, in rural areas people speak one or more of the 23 recognized indigenous languages, including Quiche and Kekchi. Economic Situation Guatemala is among the ten poorest countries in Latin America. The main agricultural products are coffee, sugar, and bananas, accounting for about one-tenth of GDP, two fifth of exports, and half of the labor force (CIA World Factbook, 2008). The GDP per capita is $5,000. The service sector is the largest component of the GDP at 58.7%, followed by agriculture (CIA World Factbook, 2008). Tourism is repeatedly referred to as a continuously increasing source of revenues. On July 1, 2006, Guatemala joined the Central American Free Trade Agreement between the US and other Central American countries. This has helped spur investment, especially in the export sector (Amnesty International, 2006). The below chart is an economic analysis of how Guatemala measures up against its Central American Neighbors. T ABLE 1: E CONOMIC A NALYSIS - G UATEMALA ' S C ENTRAL A MERICAN N EIGHBORS

Total Area

Coastline

(km sq.)

(km)

Guatemala

108,890

400

Belize

22,966

Costa Rica El Salvador

17

Population

GDP (PPP) $ Billion

GDP Growth Rate

Inflation % Increase

Unemp.

13,002,20 6

$67.45

5.6%

6.6%

3.2%

386

301,270

$2.34

3.0%

2.8%

9.4%

51,100

1,290

4,195,914

$55.95

6.1%

9.3%

5.5%

21,040

307

7,066,403

$35.97

4.7%

4.9%

6.6%

%

Honduras

112,090

820

7,639,327

$24.69

6.0%

6.4%

27.8%

Nicaragua

129,494

910

5,785,846

$18.17

2.9%

9.8%

5.6%

Panama

78,200

2,490

3,292,693

$29.14

7.8%

5.1%

7.2%

S OURCE : CIA F ACTBOOK

Every year the World Bank ranks the ease of doing business in world economies. The index averages countries’ percentile rankings on 10 topics, made up of a variety of indicators, giving equal weight to each topic (Doing Business Report, 2008). Topics include issues such as the ease of starting a business, dealing with licenses, employing workers, registering property, paying taxes, enforcing contracts, and a number of others. A high ranking on the doing business index means the regulatory environment is conducive to the operations of business. In 2007, Guatemala was ranked 114 out of 178 countries. It ranked especially low in dealing with licenses, scoring 167 out of 178, right next to Tajikistan and Albania. Table 2 illustrates how Guatemala stacks up against its Central American neighbors. Belize ranks the highest out of all the countries, while Honduras ranks the lowest. Out of seven countries, Guatemala is 5th. T ABLE 2: G UATEMALA R ANKINGS

Ease of Doing Business Rank

Starting a Business

Dealing with Licenses

114

128

167

Employing Registering Getting Workers Property Credit 105

23

Protecting Investors

Paying Taxes

Trading Across Borders

Enforcing Contracts

Closing a Business

122

116

116

98

86

68

S OURCE : 2007 W ORLD B ANK D OING B USINESS R EPORT T ABLE 3: R ANKING A MONG L ATIN A MERICAN AND C ARIBBEAN R EGIONS

Country

Overall Ranking (1-178)

Guatemala

114

Ranking Among Latin American and Caribbean Region (1-31) 23

Belize

59

8

Costa Rica

115

24

El Salvador

69

14

Honduras

121

25

Nicaragua

93

17

Panama

65

11

S OURCE : 2007 W ORLD B ANK D OING B USINESS R EPORT

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Economic and Development Challenges The distribution of income remains unequal with about 56% of the population below the poverty line (CIA World Factbook, 2008). The unemployment rate is at 3.2%. The ranking for Doing Business (2008) reveals the challenges that a tourism entity may face in Guatemala. Tourism is an intensive human resource business with high capital investments but the country currently ranks low in employing workers and protecting investors. As the government moves forward with reforms, it needs to consider establishing a regulatory framework that would encourage business development. Like many developing countries, Guatemala faces a number of development challenges. The UN Development Index 2007/2008 (2007) ranks Guatemala 118th pointing to challenges that include poverty, illiteracy, lack of education and medical facilities in rural areas (Lonely Planet, 2007). The government strives to provide better services for their citizens, especially curtailing crime. Poverty as well as unequal distribution of income, resources, and opportunities are road blocks to an improved business climate to attract more private investment (WEF, 2008). Securing revenues to finance public expenditure for health, rural infrastructure, and education is the focus of the new government (WEF, 2008). Tourism is seen as one of the major factors that will accelerate broad-based economic growth and poverty reduction (WEF, 2008). The government of Guatemala is focusing on increasing legitimacy, transparency, and efficiency of public institutions, investing in human capital, and promoting more inclusive trade and private sector-led growth (WEF, 2008). Diaspora Guatemala is the top recipient of remittances in Central America, with an estimated 1 million of its population living abroad, mostly in the United States. Remittances account for a primary source of foreign income, equivalent to nearly two-thirds of exports - more than the combined value of exports and tourism (CIA World Factbook, 2008). The Guatemalan diaspora is an important segment of the market worth paying attention to in developing tourism marketing plans.

1.2 Role of Sololá Sub-Commission & Strategic Plan Tourism Sub-commission of Sololá (Subcomisión de Turismo de Sololá) The mission of the Tourism Sub-commission of Sololá’s is to manage, coordinate and support the activities and efforts of the private and public sectors, as well as international cooperation organizations, geared at developing tourism in the Department of Sololá. The Sub-commission is composed of volunteer members who have been appointed to help redirect current tourism development in the region. Additionally, it is directly in charge of the implementation of the Plan Strategic Plan for Lake Atitlán. The Sub-commission, with the financial support of INGUAT, has hired a manager who will be responsible for implementing the Tourism Plan. The newly-hired manager is expected to begin with the appointment in July 2008. Fieldwork interviews and consultations conducted as part of this project established some gaps in the perceptions for the role and impact of the sub-commission among local stakeholders. These are discussed and addressed in the recommendations section of this report

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Strategic Tourism Plan of Lake Atitlán The Strategic Tourism Plan for Lake Atitlán was created as a result of a project supported by Instituto Guatemalteco de Turismo (INGUAT) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). The project, which contemplates the creation of a strategic tourism plan to promote a viable sustainable development and quality model for stimulating the tourism sector of Lake Atitlán, was completed in September 2007. The plan has established two missions for Lake Atitlán.

Mission 1: The tourism associations of Lake Atitlán with the participation of INGUAT as the governing institution for tourism in Guatemala commit to coordinate activity between public-private action and the participation of the civil society in the tourism, to consolidate and to fortify sustainable tourist development and to position this region as a first class tourism destination. Mission 2: To become a first class tourism destination management of tourism space (land use), suitable regulations, protection of the cultural and natural resources, the promotion and development of new products and markets, the improvement of the quality of services, promotion of tourism and the qualification and information of the resident communities must be pursued.

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Additionally the Plan has established three visions as follows:

Vision 1: In 2010, tourism will represent the essential element of the economic development of Lake Atitlán and its surroundings, will have become the main drive for improvement in the quality of life of its citizens, will have contributed in a significant manner to accomplish development of the area, while preserving the region’s natural and cultural resources. Vision 2: The businesses located in the region will develop an appropriate infrastructure, strengthened by managerial productive processes and quality services offered, available human resources with the qualifications and necessary technical capacity and will have a greater degree of conscience regarding conservation and protection of the environment. Vision 3: Lake Atitlán will be recognized as a competitive destination nationally, regionally and internationally and will have managed to transmit an appropriate image to the specialized segments that make up the tourism demand through suitable promotion and commercialization of Atitlán’s tourism products leading to its consolidation as a first class destination.

As suggested in the document itself, the total cost for implementation of the Strategic Tourism Plan of Lake Atitlán was estimated at three million US dollars. At the inset of this consulting project a limited amount of initiatives had been undertaken in accordance with the strategies stipulated by the plan. Among the specific actions taken towards the implementation was only an Image workshop organized by the Sub-commission and held in Panajachel in September 2007. The results of the image workshop were incorporated in the ideas for creating a brand for Destination Atitlán. The Plan also created 17 focus strategies listed below: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

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Management and Development of regions with tourism aptitudes. Prevention and Management of Natural Disasters. Improvement of the Ease of Access to the Destination. Creating added value to tourism attractions and resources. Create a supply of activities aimed at specialized tourism segments. Provide recreational equipments integrated to the surroundings Beautification of landscape surrounding urban areas. Cooperation between of natural and cultural resources management and conservation and the interest of tourism. Creation of the tourism brand for Lake Atitlán linked to the Guatemalan National Tourism Brand. Aid in the commercialization of tourism products

11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

Promotion of Lake Atitlán as a tourism Destination. Creation and adaptation of tourism information infrastructure. Build awareness of local communities concerning the importance of tourism. Build awareness and train the local agents in regards to tourism. Training of human resources linked to the rendering of tourism services Institutional strengthening of Tourism. Monitoring and evaluation of the Plan

As illustrated below, the scope of work of this consulting project is directly linked to seven of the seventeen established strategies. Strategy 10: Aid in the commercialization of tourism products Develop implementation actions for the strategic plan developed by the Solola Sub-Commission

Strategy 11: Promotion of Lake Atitlán as a tourism Destination Strategy 12: Creation and adaptation of tourism information infrastructure.

Raise awareness and provide training tools for local agents about CBT

Strategy 13: Build awareness of local communities regarding the importance of tourism. Strategy 14: Make aware and train the local agents in regards to tourism.

Establish crisis communication strategies and support materials

Strategy 2: Prevention and management of natural disasters

1.3 Other Important Tourism Stakeholders There are six major categories of stakeholders including the public sector, private sector, communities, civil society, donors and media. Each sector is comprised of entities that play key roles in the image and positioning of tourism in the region. In order to avoid the risks of not involving any of the sectors in the consultative process and the promotion of tourism in Lake Atitlán, the GW/UVG consulting team carefully analyzed the current stakeholder networks. The sectors have differing degrees of power within their respective categories. Influence,

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power and interest play a role in the development of social networks. Detailed descriptions of stakeholders within the 6 major groups can be found in Appendix 1. Public Sector The public sector has an important role in growing Guatemala’s tourism sector and particularly tourism in Lake Atitlán. It is the governing force that determines and enforces policy thus guiding the actions of its constituents. It represents Guatemala on a global scale and helps project the image of the country to potential tourists around the world. Private Sector The private sector consists of large and small businesses whose main motivation is profit. Since tourism is a private-sector-led industry the success of businesses could extend beyond themselves to the broad community. Small and large tourism businesses play a key role in the creation of Guatemala’s image and enhancement of its tourism product portfolio. The businesses that are part of the distribution channel of the tourism industry within the region include hotels, restaurants, transportation, travel agencies, tour operators, merchants, handicraft artisans, and others. Hotels, restaurants and transportation operators provide services that meet the basic needs of tourists. Without accommodation, food and a means of getting to a destination, the location is not a viable option for a tourist to stay for a long period of time. It is important to engage these stakeholders in strategic planning and destination management processes as their functions support the image projected by the entire tourism sectors. Travel agencies provide access and information to tourists. They are intermediaries that enhance the image of the destination and can steer the tourist to make decisions throughout their trip. Tour operators may not be used by every tourist, but are important contributors to the experience and memories that travelers collect at the destination. Tour operators can be from within the Lake Atitlán area or from the greater region as many destinations within Guatemala are combined together in various packages. Merchants and their suppliers such as the local artisans provide tangible symbolic objects to represent the image of the area that a tourist takes home and shares with other potential travelers. Finally, associations such as Friends of the Lake, The Lake Atitlán Resort Association and Cojolyá, Mayan Women Weavers provide standardization and advocacy for the differing areas of the private sector. Collectively associations strive to provide a positive image for the region as a whole and promote tourism through their membership. Civil Society Civil society organizations give communities a voice in their future by serving community needs, promoting partnership and investment in community development, fostering civic engagement and advocacy for policy reform. Civil society includes NGO’s and academic institutions. Among the many important for tourism NGO’s and academic institutions in Guatemala are the Guatemala Community Tourism Alliance, Guatemala Sustainable Forestry Alliance, PROLAGO and the University del Valle Altiplano. Communities The community stakeholders include the local residents and expatriates. The local residents of Lake Atitlán are comprised of three major ethnic groups - T'zutujil, K'iche, and Caqchikel. The T’zutujul are agrarian, growing corn, beans, and squash and also known for keeping a few domestic animals such as sheep, pigs, and chickens. The

23

K'iche' are one of the largest surviving Maya groups and their language is the widely used in the Indian population. Conquered by the K'iche' Maya in the fifteenth century, the Caqchikel allied themselves with the Spanish in the 1520s to retaliate against them. The Caqchikel lost much of their lands, and many became agricultural laborers. Political repression caused many to leave Guatemala for Mexico and the United States in the 1970s and 1980s. (Every Culture, 2007). Expatriates residing in the Lake Atitlán region have a viable presence. They come from different countries including the US, Holland, Germany and France and have set up residence in Guatemala for various reasons. They serve as business owners, teachers, volunteers and retirees and whose age range is from their twenties to eighties (Finewood, 2002). Expatriates with their diverse backgrounds can provide resources to the elevation of the regions image. They are also important stakeholders to consider because their incentives for being a part of the community may differ from the native residents. Donors Donors provide the financial support to sustain and develop tourism in developing areas such as Lake Atitlán and the country as a whole. Examples of donors in Guatemala are USAID, IADB, Foundation for Conservation in Guatemala and American Electric Power Foundation. Their interests may be on a grander scale than for tourism alone, but their contributions to economic development and the betterment of communities both directly and indirectly impacts tourism. In many cases donor resources are managed by local or international organizations, which commit to implementing specific projects. A good example is the client that initiated the current consulting program - the Guatemalan office of Counterpart International implementing the USAID-funded Alianza para el Turismo Communitario Project. Media The media is a key player in communicating and portraying the image of Guatemala and Lake Atitlán on national and international level. Through TV, radio, print and the Internet the projection of a destination can be negatively and positively impacted by what is communicated to the general public. It is important for the media to be included in stakeholder engagements in order to ensure dissemination of proper and correct information. Negative news of the destination can take away potential tourism dollars and thus pose a risk for the tourism community. Tourists Tourists are obvious stakeholders since they are the customers a destination is trying to attract and serve. They provide economic growth by spending their money at the destination and perpetuate the perception of tourism offered in the region through their experience via conversation, blogs and reviews.

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Stakeholder Grid The stakeholder grid below shows the strategic positioning of the identified categories of stakeholders. Depending on where the stakeholder falls within the grid, future efforts advancing tourism in the lake Atitlan region should take into account the level of power and interest each stakeholder has. With that assessment specific actions in the future could be taken to keep the stakeholder satisfied, manage closely, monitor or keep informed. F IGURE 1: S TAKEHOLDER G RID

High Public Sector Donors Keep Satisfied

Manage Closely

Civil Society Power Private Sector Media Monitor

Keep Informed

Communities Low Low

Interest

High

1.4 Guatemala Competitive Analysis Guatemala is surrounded by countries committed to developing tourism with offerings similar to its own. Despite this competition Guatemala has done well attracting tourists and is well-positioned to be the regional

25

leader in the future. Currently, only Costa Rica attracts more international tourists. In terms of economic impacts of tourism however, some of the countries in the region have reached much higher employment and GDP rates. T ABLE 4: A NALYSIS OF COMPETING DESTINATIONS ’ ATTRACTIONS

Country

Archeology and Culture

Guatemala

Yes

Sea and Sun

Ecotourism and Adventure

Shopping

Business

Yes

Belize

Yes

Yes

Costa Rica

Yes

Yes

El Salvador Honduras

Yes

Yes

Nicaragua

Yes

Yes

Panama

Yes Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

T ABLE 5: E CONOMIC I MPACT FROM TOURISM AMONG C ENTRAL A MERICAN COUNTRIES

Country

% of Gross Domestic Product (2007)

% of Employment from tourism (2007)

International Tourist Arrivals

Guatemala

6.8

5.9

1,360,000

Belize

26.4

26.6

237,000

Costa Rica

13.5

13.1

1.453,000

El Salvador

9.1

Honduras

9.3

7.65

Nicaragua

6

5.1

Panama

12.1

11.6

(2005)

1,154,000 754,000

754,000

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Guatemala and its Regional Competitors Tourists are attracted to Guatemala for its ancient and living Mayan culture, historical colonial cities, and diverse natural landscapes that include volcanoes, jungles, mountains, and lakes. It is a very popular destination for budget travelers and is considered an excellent location for learning Spanish. The most visited destinations within the country are the colonial city of Antigua, the Lake Atitlán region, Guatemala City, the famous market town of Chichicastenango and the ancient ruins of Tikal. According to the UNWTO (2006) in 2005 Guatemala ranks 76th in the world for international tourist arrivals with 1.36 million. Only Costa Rica ranked higher in the region. The contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in 2007 was 6.8% and is expected to rise to 7.1% in 2008 (WTTC, 2008). At the present time the contribution from the tourism economy comprises to overall employment rates of just 5.9% (WTTC, 2008). Some of the political challenges that the country has experienced in the past have also stunted the growth of tourism industry and its economic importance. Belize is a very successful tourism destination with attractions to satisfy all types of tourist. Belize offers pristine beaches, world renowned scuba diving, rainforests, Mayan ruins, African influence and an incredibly diverse population. Belize has been free of both political strife and natural disasters, which adds perceptions for safety to its attractiveness. Surprisingly, 2005 statistics showed that Belize only saw 237,000 tourists giving it a ranking of 131 in the world for international tourist arrivals (UNWTO, 2006). Belize is expected to derive 26.4% of its GDP from the travel and tourism economy in 2008, which will account for 26.6% of overall employment (WTTC, 2008). All of these factors make Belize one of the most successful tourism destinations in the Central American region. Costa Rica is one of the worldwide tourism leaders and is considered a model for ecotourism development. The country’s primary draw is its wealth of natural attractions, including tropical rain and cloud forests, active volcanoes, pristine beaches, national parks, mountain ranges. The country boasts twenty natural parks and 8 biological reserves; Costa Rica’s tropical forests are home to 1,500 species of trees and 850 species of birds. Like Belize and unlike the rest of Central America, the country has experienced long-lasting political stability. In 2005 Costa Rica saw the arrival of 1,453 million (UNWTO, 2005) tourists ranking them 72nd in the world for international tourist arrivals (UNWTO, 2006). In 2008 the travel and tourism industry in Costa Rika is expected to account for 13.5 % of the country’s GDP and for 13.1% of overall employment (WTTC, 2008). El Salvador like Guatemala, has beautiful mountains and volcanoes while sporting a pristine coastline. Unfortunately this small and densely populated country has been home to several dictatorships and weak governments resulting in an unstable economic environment and poverty. Tourism is beginning to emerge as an important economic sector though, compared to other countries in the region, it is still in its infancy. According to UNWTO (UNWTO, 2006) in 2005 El Salvador ranked 81st in the world for international tourist arrivals with 1.154 million tourists. According to WTTC (2008) its contribution in 2008 is expected to be 9.1% of the country’s GDP but is expected to decrease over the coming decade. Honduras, despite its turbulent political history, has been increasingly successful in attracting tourists. Honduras offers rich culture, the archeological ruins of Coban, world-renowned diving in the Bay Islands, beautiful beaches and stunning natural landscapes. Honduras has for the most part improved its once tarnished image but still struggles with high crime rates, particularly in the major cities of Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula as

27

well as La Ceiba, the coastal port town delivering travelers to the Bay Islands. Honduras lags behind Guatemala in regard to international tourist arrivals. According to the UNWTO (2006) in 2005 the country saw 754,000 tourists. Tourism is expected to contribute 9.3% to the Gross Domestic Product and account for 7.65 of total employment in 2008 (WTTC, 2008). Nicaragua, the largest of the Central American countries, has had a very tumultuous recent history, much like its neighbors Guatemala and El Salvador. Similar to these two countries, Nicaragua offers beautiful natural landscapes, volcanoes, islands, premier scuba diving, a rich history and vibrant culture. Though it has recovered from political instability, its economy is still troubled and tourism remains underdeveloped. Tourism contributes only 6% of the country’s GDP and accounts for just 5.1% of employment (WTTC, 2008). Panama offers one thing that none of the other countries in the region can: a cosmopolitan city with great shopping and a world-renowned water canal. The country’s most well known attraction is the Panama Canal although its tourism assets include much more: beautiful beaches, dazzling coral reefs, stunning variety of bird species and other natural wonders. In 2005 Panama ranked 99th in the world based on international tourist arrivals (UNWTO, 2006). According to the UNWTO (2006) in 2005 the country had 754,000 visitors. Panama gets a healthy contribution from the tourism sector accounting for approximately 12.1% of the GDP and 11.6% of total employment (WTTC, 2008). T ABLE 6: C OMPARING G UATEMALA AND THE R EGION

Total Visitor Arrivals (in thousands) for 2006

Air Arrivals as % of Total Arrivals

Leisure % of Visitors 2006

Business % of Visitors 2006

Other % of Visitors 2006

2006

Expected% of Employment from Tourism as of 2008

Travel &Tourism Growth Expected for 2008

Tourism as % of Total GDP Expected for 2008

Guatemala 1,502

33

44

21

35

5.9

2.8

6.8

Belize

247

73

95

5

0

26.6

1.0

20.8

Costa Rica

1,725

71

N/A

N/A

N/A

13.1

1.2

13.5

El Salvador

1,138

30

29

26

45

7.9

0.1

9.1

Honduras

739

48

54

18

28

7.65

2.4

9.3

Nicaragua

773

34

74

17

9

5.1

5.4

6.5

Panama

843

80

44

29

27

11.6

1.4

12.1

S OURCE : UNWTO, WTTC

Guatemala and its Competitive Positioning Guatemala, like all other Central American countries, is basking in the benefits of tourism. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2006 the population of Guatemala was 12.9 million, earning a GDP of 30.3 with an overall GDP growth of 4.9%. Based on numerous factors such as performance, natural resources and

28

economy, competitively Guatemala is ranked 64th out of 130 countries, which means that it has ample opportunity for growth and development. Three areas in which Guatemala ranks high are natural resources, ranked 19th; price competitiveness of the travel and tourism (T&T) industry, ranked 23rd; and T&T government expenditure, ranked 38th. All areas that Guatemala has succeeded in are important in increasing tourism demand within the country. In the recently published Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) WEF identified three key areas related to tourism in which Guatemala should try to improve its performance: safety and security, quality of road infrastructure, and environmental sustainability (WEF, 2008). There are other key attributes that rank lower than the three mentioned above, however, these three are extremely important to the growth of tourism and interest of international travelers. Road infrastructure is important for improving access throughout the country. Given that Guatemala’s main tourist market is the independent backpacker, transportation and easy access are vital to allow free exploration of all areas of the country. Safety and security are a concern for all international tourists and if improved, can directly lead to a significant increase in arrival numbers. It is important to note that as Guatemala is growing as an economy and tourism destination, it needs to follow the principles of sustainable development and ensure that the currently available sites and attractions will remain the same in the future. F IGURE 2: G UATEMALA ’ S R ANKING IN TTCI

Guatemala and its Comparative Advantages Despite some of the mentioned earlier development challenges, Guatemala exhibits a number of comparative advantages. The country is well-positioned to grow its tourism based on the rich Mayan culture and history, stunning natural landscapes, abundant flora and fauna, and variety of adventure and sporting activities.

Natural Landscape Guatemala offers nature enthusiasts a variety of unspoiled natural environments. In total, the country has 92 protected areas, 19 unique ecosystems and boasts over 30 volcanoes, many of which can be climbed.

29

The Western Highlands consist of a chain of volcanoes, which reach up to 12,500 ft. This region is the most fertile in the country and produces much of the nation’s agriculture. The jewel of the region is Lake Atitlán, which exudes a timeless beauty. The lake has been described by many as the most beautiful in the world. The lake, volcanic in origin, is the deepest in Central America, surrounded by three volcanoes, and inhabited by local indigenous communities. The Central Highlands is an ecotourism paradise rich in flora and fauna, incredible cave systems, and large dense cloud forests of unparalleled beauty. The Mario Dary Biotope Preserve, in particular, is impressive both as a tourist destination and conservation area. It was created to protect the Quetzal, a strikingly colored bird found in the tropical regions of the Americas, which is the national symbol for the country. In addition, tourists can experience a dense cloud forest and enjoy hiking trails. Semuc Champey, in Coban, is the site of limestone pools fed by waterfalls and surrounded by lush jungles. Besides Atitlán, Guatemala boasts other spectacular water systems. Lago de Izabal - Guatemala’s largest lake, hosts the Refugio Bocas del Polochic - the country’s largest freshwater wetlands and home to an array of wildlife. Emptying out from Lago Izabel is the Rio Dulce that travels east through jungle environment and empties into the Caribbean Sea. Monterrico on the Pacific Coast is home to the stunning wetland area called the Biotopo Monterrico- Hawaii. This large and intricate waterway is home to a vast array of wildlife and flora. The vast Peten region, known specifically for its abundance of archeological sites invites the intrepid traveler into the thick jungle which is a shelter to over 300 species of birds and exotic animals including jaguars and pumas.

Flora and Fauna Guatemala has 7,754 (USAID, 2002) species of plants ranging from coastal mangrove forests and wetlands to the tropical rainforests located in Peten as well as pristine pine forests, grasslands and cloudforests. There are over 250 species of mammals, 700 species of birds and 300 species of reptiles and amphibians (USAID, 2002). Guatemala is home to many exotic birds including Quetzal, Parrot, Toucan and Macaw. The country’s vast array of animal species includes the ocelot, jaguar, and puma. Though the country has environmental issues that need to be addressed, it has carved out 92 protected areas accounting for 29% (USAID, 2002) of the national territory acting as a safe haven for its abundance of flora and fauna. F IGURE 3: R ESPLENDENT Q UETZAL ,S CARLET M ACAW AND T OUCANSOME OF THE MOST ATTRACTIVE BIRD SPECIES FOUND IN G UATEMALA

30

Adventure and Sports Activities Guatemala offers the adventure-seeker a variety of activities. Three main destinations in the country, Xela, Antigua, and Atitlán offer guided treks up active volcanoes. The Western Highlands is a great location for trekking and visiting with local communities. The Peten and Carribean regions offer Jungle treks leading to remote Mayan sites. Extreme sport enthusiasts will delight at the opportunity to paraglide from a mountain peak onto the shores of Lake Atitlán. White water rafting, of varying degrees of difficulty, is possible throughout the country.

Indigenous Community/ Mayan Culture While all countries in Central America are still represented by the indigenous population, Guatemala’s population is at 65% indigenous, the highest of all its neighbors. Mayan culture is most evident throughout the Western Highlands and specifically in Lake Atitlán, with a number of communities maintaining traditional lifestyles around the lake. The mixing of Catholicism and indigenous Mayan beliefs is embodied in Santiago Atitlan (Aventouras, n.d.). While the official language of Guatemala is Spanish, in rural areas people speak one or more of the 23 recognized indigenous languages, including Quiche and Kekchi. Tourists, specifically interested in scientific, academic, volunteer and educational (SAVE) tourism products are keen to experience life and customs of local communities This segment is not very developed as of yet but has the capacity to draw interest to and develop tourism. With proper product development and marketing it could develop into a successful niche market. Suggestions on how to realize this potential are described in the recommendation section of this report.

Colonial Cities and Ancient Ruins Guatemala has more Archeological sites than any other country in Central America. Tikal, the most famous of all ruins sites in the region is an awe-inspiring ancient Mayan site. Its towering pyramids rise high above the thick jungle canopy. The ruins of Tikal include more than 3,000 structures, including palaces and temples (UNESCO, 1979). This archeological wonder is well preserved and because of its cultural significance has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

1.5 Lake Atitlán Highlights Lake Atitlán is one of the three most visited destinations in Guatemala. The lake is surrounded by three volcanoes, steep hillsides, and traditional Mayan village communities. The lake offers the discerning tourist a variety of activities including adventure, culture, nature, voluntourism and educational activities.

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Nature Lake Atitlán is considered to be one of the most beautiful scenic landscapes in the world. It offers breathtaking views and is surrounded by three awesome volcanoes. There are nature reserve parks where one can see a variety of birds, monkeys and other wildlife among groves of banana trees, coffee plantations and pristine forests.

Adventure Lake Atitlán offers an abundance of outdoor activities for the brave of heart. Among its many activities are paragliding, scuba diving, horseback riding, kayaking, canopy ziplines as well as volcano treks. Panajachel has many tour operators able to organize activities and provide guides if needed.

Cultural Lake Atitlán is rich in Mayan culture and is home to three different ethnic groups maintaining their traditions and customs through dress, ceremonies and festivals. Visitors can experience this unique environment in any of the thirteen villages surrounding the lake. Village communities have preserved traditional handicrafts and textiles and can demonstrate to visitors traditional ways of dying and weaving cloth into beautiful handmade garments. Certain villages such as San Juan La Laguna have incorporated traditional Mayan ceremonies in their tourism offerings.

Education Atitlan attracts tourists interested in educational opportunities. There are many opportunities to enroll in Spanish classes, especially in San Pedro. These schools are spread out throughout the villages around the lake and offer home-stays as part of the cross-cultural educational experience. They are often combined with opportunities for volunteer work, for example teaching local children or contributing to reforestation efforts in the area.

Voluntourism The lake is a hotspot for volunteer organizations, including church groups searching for opportunities to do charitable works in the various lakeside communities. An example is found in San Lucas Toliman where a volunteer project run by San Lucas Mission, provides the opportunity to work in schools, build houses and work on agricultural projects. For more details on the characteristics and travel preferences of these and other relevant tourist segments see Appendix 2.

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1.6 Market for Guatemala (International & National) F IGURE 4: T RAVEL D EMAND W ITHIN G UATEMALA

Travel Demand

Regional Tourism 54%

International Tourim 46%

SOURCE: C ENTRAL A MERICA T OURISM C OUNCIL , 2006

Demand for travel within Guatemala is divided into two markets, international and regional, with international tourism earning 46% (Central America Tourism Council, 2006) of inbound tourists and the additional 54% (Central America Tourism Council, 2006) coming from regional tourism. Of the international tourism market the two highest markets are the North American market, comprising 30% and the European market comprising 12% of all international tourism arrivals (Central America Tourism Council, 2006). The remaining 4% is a combination of several other regions (Central America Tourism Council, 2006). The main regional source destination is El Salvador (Central America Tourism Council, 2006). Because the majority of international visitors come from North America, this region provides the most accessibility to and from the country. Daily, there are 18 flights from the United States to Guatemala (Central America Tourism Council, 2006), as well as 11 additional flights three times a week (Central America Tourism Council, 2006). From Europe there are only 4 daily direct flights into Guatemala departing from London, Madrid and Milan (Central America Tourism Council, 2006). F IGURE 5: G UATEMALA ’ S I NTERNATIONAL A RRIVALS 0.05% 1.48% 9.42%

0.99%

3.55%

54.23% 29.99%

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Arri va l s  from Centra l  Ameri ca Arri va l s  from North Ameri ca Arri va l s  from South Ameri ca Arri va l s  from Europe Arri va l s  from As i a Arri va l s  from Ca ri bbea n Arri va l s  from Other

In 2006, according to information posted by the Central America Tourism Council, Guatemala preformed second overall in inbound international tourism arrivals with 1,454,600,000 visitors (Central America Tourism Council, 2006), behind Costa Rica which had 1,725,300,000 (Central America Tourism Council, 2006). In 2006 Costa Rica received only 19% more inbound tourists than Guatemala (Central America Tourism Council, 2006), however this produced annual revenue that was 61% higher than that of Guatemala (Central America Tourism Council, 2006). Costa Rica also outshined Guatemala in terms of average trip duration, with an average duration of 11.1 days (Central America Tourism Council, 2006) compared to the average of 7.6 days (Central America Tourism Council, 2006) for Guatemala, which is 46% shorter than that of Costa Rica. In terms of daily expenditure, Panama produced the highest with $496 (Central America Tourism Council, 2006), which is more than four times the next closest country, Costa Rica. As displayed by information published in the October 2007 edition of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer Central America has continued to shine in tourism growth and development outperforming the rest of the Americas (seeFigure 6). Based on forecasted information (WTO Barometer, October 2007), Central America is predicted to continue on the current development path, increasing international tourist arrivals and country revenues. F IGURE 6: T OURISM G ROWTH AND D EVELOPMENT

Currently Identified Tourist Profile During the months of August through September 2006, Opinion Research and Casabel joined forces to conduct tourism research within the Guatemala region. The objective of the joint effort was to collect information to understand and identify the tourism profile of inbound and outbound visitors. INGUAT and other interested parties and entities were seeking the data for guidance of future efforts to promote tourism development within Guatemala. Research focused on defining characteristics of tourists, understanding their behavior within Guatemala, identifying destinations and activities, as well as creating a structure of the expenses for outbound and inbound travelers. The data was collected through face-to-face interviews based on a quantitative, simple random sample. Inbound interviews were conducted upon arrival into the country and outbound interviews were conducted upon departure. The sample size of inbound tourists was 19,200 with a 99% confidence level and the outbound sample size was 16,800, also with a confidence level of 99%. Research was collected at 18 of the 22 entry points into the country, at both airports, at 2 of the 4 ports, as well as at 14 of the 16 land immigration stations. From the following research study mentioned above, Opinion Research and Casabel identified the following tourist profile: •

Traveling adult between 25-44 years old

•

4 out of 10 have a Bachelor degree or higher level of education

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•

Traveling alone or in families ranging from 2-4 people (most are married)

•

Half traveling for leisure

Of outbound tourists, 82% were headed to four main destinations, in descending order, El Salvador, United States, Mexico, and Honduras. The research study also established that 20% of expenditures are spent on lodging and food and that the top activities are visiting villages, cities, beaches and islands, and visiting archeological sites and churches.

1.7 Perception Analysis A consumer’s perception of a country will impact his or her decision it. Media and branding both help shape consumer’s perceptions; together they develop a schema – the knowledge and experiences that connect to form one’s understanding of the world. While schemata change as a person consumes new information, deeply ingrained schemata are difficult to change (Anderson, et. al., 1984). Tourism marketing initiatives promoting Guatemala as a tourism destination should make a successful effort to create positive schemata among potential travelers. Guatemala’s brand image as “The Soul of the Earth” was developed by the well established branding agency Interbrand after a comparison with regional competitors and an analysis of the country’s unique offerings (Interbrand, n.d.). Interbrand consulted a variety of stakeholders across Guatemala and worked to incorporate the rich and large indigenous perspective into the final brand proposition. However, despite the rigor of the effort to investigate, design, and finally launch Guatemala’s brand in 2005, it does not yet seem to have achieved significant recognition amongst the mainstream population in the United States. Exploratory Survey Results In order to understand how Guatemala’s brand and image fit into one’s schema, it is important to first understand current perceptions. An online exploratory survey was administered in which respondents were asked to comment on their perception of Guatemala as well as the likelihood that they would travel to Guatemala. Of the 209 respondents, 63.16% identified as female and the average age in this group was 31.23. Of the group of respondents, 83.25% are currently living in the United States. The majority of respondents have taken a trip outside of their home country in the past 12 months and more than 85% plan to take at least one trip out of their home country in the coming 12 months. It was important to discover how many people were planning to take a trip outside of their home country in the next 12 months in order to ascertain if this group of respondents could be considered as a potential market for Guatemala. Each respondent was asked what his or her opinion about safety in Guatemala for tourists was. Only 1.44% perceived Guatemala to be “very dangerous.” These respondents cited Guatemala’s long civil war, political unrest, and news reports as being the reason why they believed Guatemala to be very dangerous for tourists. On the opposite end of the spectrum, 9.09% of respondents perceived Guatemala to be “very safe” for tourists. Perhaps most telling, however, was the fact that nearly a quarter of the respondents simply had “no opinion” about safety in Guatemala. Over 60% of respondents stated it was “highly unlikely” they would visit Guatemala as a tourist in the next three years. The stated reasons for not wanting to visit the region as a tourist included such statements as:

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“I have never thought of visiting Guatemala... you don't really hear about it much, not sure what to expect if I were to visit” “I have not heard of Guatemala in terms of tourism, if I were to choose Latin American country for tourism it would either be Mexico or perhaps a place I know someone lives, ex. Venezuela”  “I have entertained the idea of going to Guatemala before, but there are so many other places that I am interested in going to first. It's possible if I read something about Guatemala that piques my interest but for now it's not even in my top 10.” The statements respondents made explaining their reason for not having a desire to travel to Guatemala in the near future can be categorized under 5 subheadings, shown below with sample respondent statements: T ABLE 7: S AMPLE S URVEY R ESPONSES Category for given reason not to visit Guatemala as a tourist

Example responses from survey

1. Lack of knowledge/awareness about the area “Never thought about it…Guatemala does not as a tourism destination have a strong market presence” 2. Have not encountered positive information “news and poverty” about the region 3. More interested in visiting other countries in “I’d rather visit Belize, next door, since they the region (e.g.: Costa Rica, Mexico) speak English” 4. Finances

“Becuase my budget does not allow me to go at the moment”

5. Distance/accessibility

“Proximity and interest”

While the statements from respondents can be grouped into these five categories, numbers two through four relate back to the first point: lack of knowledge/awareness about the area as a tourism destination. For instance, those who stated finances to be a hindrance to traveling in the region are likely not aware of the value one is able to achieve while traveling in Guatemala, or the low budget options easily available to tourists. One respondent, a 25 year old male from the United States, stated, “I know little to nothing about the country, and have a much clearer sense of other countries I’d like to visit.” When prompted to use three adjectives to describe Guatemala, the respondent stated he had no opinion about Guatemala. This type of response was not isolated, rather, it came up time and again amongst respondents who stated they would likely not plan a trip to Guatemala within the next three years. Even those who have traveled to Central America in the past mentioned not being aware of any distinguishing factors that would set Guatemala apart from other destinations to visit. One respondent, a 28 year old female from the United States stated, “Although I would love to visit, it’s just not one of my priorities at the moment. One really doesn’t hear anything positive or negative, ex: I want to go to Costa Rica because I have heard and

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seen how beautiful it is. Guatemala, there’s not much to it.” An excel file with respondents’ answers can be found in Appendix 3.

1.8 Tourist Surveys In addition to identifying the various market segments of tourists to Lake Atitlán, the GW/UVG team used a convenient sample approach to interview 116 tourists in order to ascertain their perception of Lake Atitlán as a tourism destination. The survey [see Appendix 4] queried tourists about what factors were important in their decision to visit Lake Atitlán, their opinion about different services or products they experienced during their visit, and what types of products or services would interest them in staying longer. The collected data was tabulated and compared to the results of a workshop conducted in September 2007 with more than 50 stakeholders from the Atitlán tourism sector. A detailed table included in Appendix 5 compares the responses from the workshop with those of the tourists. Finally, in addition to surveying tourists, 24 hotel and tour operators were interviewed about the services and products they offer, the market segment they predominantly serve, and their opinion about what types of services and products they believe would entice tourists to extend their vacations in the area. A complete data set of the sample is available in Appendix 6. Demographics of Sample Of the 116 tourist interviews conducted, the median age was 30.03 years old and 43.18% were male and 56.82% were female. The majority of tourist indicated their permanent country of residence to be in North America while 38% were from a European country. The remaining 17% were from Asia, the Middle East, or Latin America. The average length of stay for this segment of tourists was 16.38 days, a length of stay that can be attributed to the number of students and volunteers interviewed who tend to spend between two weeks to three months on their education and/or projects. Detailed tourist demographics are provided in Appendix 7. F IGURE 7: D ISTRIBUTION OF SURVEYED VISITORS TO L AKE A TITLÁN

Survey Results Tourists were asked to rate 10 factors that impacted their decision to visit Lake Atitlán on a scale of one to four, with one being not important at all and four being very important. The results for all respondents were averaged both as a whole as well as for a smaller segment of tourists who stayed in the area for less than one week. For the full sample of 116 respondents, tourists indicated they were most influenced by the “quality of natural scenery & landscapes/environment” in deciding to visit the area. Second on the list of factors most influencing the decision of a tourist to visit the area was “a desire to learn about other cultures, their way of life and heritage”.

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Figure 8 below breaks down the results of this section of the survey. In contrast, Figure 9: Importance of Factors Impacting Tourist’s Decision to Visit Atitlan shows the results from tourists who spent 7 or less days in the area. For the segment of tourists who spent less time in the area, “good price for quality received” was the second more important factor in deciding to visit Lake Atitlán, while “quality of natural scenery & landscapes/environment” was still the most important factor. F IGURE 8: F ACTORS I MPACTING D ECISION OF T OURISTS TO V ISIT L AKE A TITLAN

*4 = very important; 3 = important; 2 = not very important; 1 = not important at all F IGURE 9: I MPORTANCE OF F ACTORS I MPACTING T OURIST ’ S D ECISION TO V ISIT A TITLAN ( SAMPLE 7 OR LESS DAYS )

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While tourists tended not to rank the opportunity for adventure/sports activities as a high priority in visiting the region, when asked to rate their experience with a variety of products and services in the area on a scale of one to five, with five being excellent, the average ranking for adventure activities was 3.91, a rating between “good” and “fair” (See Figure 10: Experience of Tourists with Service Products while Visiting Lake Atitlán). Additionally, tourists stated they would be enticed to extend their stay in Lake Atitlán if they had access to more water activities and sports, a point that served as the impetus for a recommended action detailed in full later in this document. F IGURE 10: E XPERIENCE OF T OURISTS WITH S ERVICE P RODUCTS WHILE V ISITING L AKE A TITLÁN

Average Tourist Rating Average Tourist Rating Friendliness of the people Personal safety Convenience/access to local transport Explanation of customs/culture Ecotourism activities Knowledge of foreign languages Helpful police services

4.5 4.28 4.24 4.16 4.16 3.98 3.91 3.91 3.67 3.95 3.66 3.37 3.26

*5 = excellent; 4 = good; 3 = fair; 2 = bad; 1 = very bad In addition to an analysis of data to determine gaps between products/services offered and the experiences with those products/services of tourists, the results of the tourist survey were compared with the responses of stakeholders collected during a branding workshop in 2007, the results of which can be found in Appendix 5.

1.9 Summary of Part 1 Guatemala has a creative and colorful brand image as “The Soul of the Earth.” Despite all the efforts and rigors with current brand launched in 2005, Guatemala does not yet seem to be recognizable amongst high-yield markets. There is a need to establish connections with major media outlets to make Guatemala distinguishable an attractive brand and tourism destination. It is important for this brand to be embraced by all stakeholders and collectively used to market the country. Regarding the regional level, while Lake Atitlán is one of the most visited destinations in the country and has competitive advantages, such as natural beauty and rich Mayan culture, the destination does not seem to make the most of its attraction for marketing and positioning. In the interviews with over 20 hotel owners and tour operators, the vast majority of them stated that they use the internet, travel agencies and pamphlets as their primary method of advertisement. These are all strong promotional tools that could help bring more tourists to Lake Atitlan if used properly. However, the individual

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marketing efforts of the business owners are not efficient. 83% of the business owners interviewed stated that they maintained their own website. However, if they worked together, they would avoid competing each other and would be able to reach their target population more effectively. In other words, there is a strong need for a unified marketing effort to promote Lake Atitlan as a whole. It was also found that 55% of the hotel owners and tour operators interviewed did not know anything about the Sololá Sub-Commission and its strategic plan. Thus, there has been limited community buy-in and support for the Commission. In order for the organization to be effective in Lake Atitlan, ways must be identified to raise awareness of the Commission and to obtain more community involvement.

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PART 2: Analysis & Strategic Solutions: COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM 2.1 What is CBT? Comparison with Conventional Tourism While no single definition exists for community-based tourism (CBT), the major elements required for ‘true’ CBT entail a host community that has a primary role in tourism activities and that is actively engaged and participates in the development and implementation of sustainable tourism. In addition to the high-level of local control and ownership, CBT ventures bring social and economic benefits first and foremost to the host community. The GW/UVG team defined CBT as a process for developing and managing tourism that engages and benefits the local community as well as tourists. It is not, as many would describe, a product, service or market segment. Many tourism products and services can be developed in a way that maximizes the benefits and minimize negative impacts for the local community, thus making them community-based tourism products and services. The direct involvement and ownership of the host community is the main point of difference between CBT and other types of tourism. Benefits from CBT should be felt by everyone in the host community regardless of their status, location and size, level of wealth, involvement, or ownership. Additional points of differentiation between CBT and other forms of tourism include: •

Retention of a significant share of tourism revenue in the community

•

Sustainable utilization of local resources and capacities

• •

Engagement of local stakeholders with a ‘real’ voice in the process Utilization of tourism operations to achieve broader community goals, for example, environmental protection, cultural preservation, or poverty alleviation

• •

Addressing of community needs, which are balanced with the expectations of tourists, and Minimization of the negative impact of tourism, including less friction between local communities and visitors.

Regardless of the positive characteristics of CBT, the support and direct involvement of the community is of key importance. Therefore, each community must assess whether or not it would like to initiate CBT development and whether it is an appropriate process for achieving community goals. A one-size fits all approach cannot be used to apply CBT models to multiple destinations. Each community should determine their specific objectives and goals before engaging in CBT. CBT is used to support a range of objectives for sustainability: economic, socio-cultural, and environmental objectives. This balance entails that CBT not only be focused on potential economic development opportunities for a community, but addresses other objectives that will help maintain long-term sustainability.

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2.2 Importance of Community-based Tourism in Lake Atiltán Even though Lake Atitlán is the second most visited destination in Guatemala, the Department of Sololá is the fourth poorest department in the country (Calderón-Barrios, 2007). This shows that economic benefits from tourism in Lake Atitlán are not reaching the host communities of the region. Given the uniqueness and beauty of Atitlán’s people, their cultures, and natural environments, CBT has been identified as a possible ‘missing link’ for local people to realize the benefits of sustainable community-based tourism offerings. The main economic objectives of CBT in Lake Atitlán should include poverty alleviation through the creation of jobs, services and supplementary income activities. The beauty of Lake Atitlán is the main attraction for tourists to the destination and therefore, the protected areas and ecosystems in and around the lake become critical to the success of sustainable tourism in the area. The environmental objectives for CBT would include decreasing dependence on subsistence activities, reducing illegal activities such as poaching, developing greater environmental appreciation and awareness of the importance for conservation activities, and enhancing stewardship and management of natural resources. The bottom line is that the communities around Lake Atitlán must appreciate the environment and other resources upon which tourism in the area relies. Enhancing social structures and the conservation of culture are also important CBT objectives for the communities in the area. CBT might seek to stimulate infrastructure development such as the development of roads, communications, healthcare, and education. Such initiatives not only improve the overall experience of visitors in the area but improve the quality of live of local residents. In addition, CBT can also help to enhance and preserve local cultures. The traditional ways of life are an important attractor for visitors in the area and this can become a valuable motivator for indigenous communities to retain customs and continue passing them on to future generations. Community-led tourism offerings that raise awareness on local traditions are great ways to facilitate cultural understanding through mutual learning between the hosts and guests. Active participation and empowerment of the communities involved in CBT is essential in achieving the aforementioned objectives. Figure 6 present the different types of participation that are possible in engaging various stakeholders. Building capacity through the development of skills empowers communities to take an active stake in the outcome of CBT. This in turn promotes healthy interactions between tourism, ecosystems, and communities, which are essential conditions for the long-term sustainability and success of CBT in Lake Atitlán.

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F IGURE 11: P ARTICIPATION T YPES

Passive Participation

Participation in Information Giving

Participation by Consultation

Participation for Material and Incentives

Functional Participation

Interactive Participation

Self-Mobilization

Responses of participants are not really considered in the decision-making because the outcome is predetermined. This is essentially going through the motions only. Participants answer rigidly set questions without any opportunity to influence the context. Participants give their opinion and those views are taken into account when decisions are made, but they do not take an active role in decision-making. Participants receive incentives such as cash for their involvement, which can lead to a lack of motivation when the incentives are removed.

Participants are put into groups with predetermined objectives, but major decisions have usually already been made. Participants generate and analyze information, which leads to plans for action and implementation. They are involved in the decision-making about how to use the information gathered. Participants are independent of external intervention and take the initiative to make changes. They retain control over resources even if they seek external input.

2.3 Examples of CBT in Lake Atitlán Several examples of CBT currently exist in the Lake Atitlán area. The following examples highlight an array of CBT products and associations that can be evaluated by others wishing to develop CBT in their community.

Ijat’z Cooperative, San Lucas Toliman Ijat’z is a cooperative farm that produces, processes, and sells organic coffee and functions as an agro-ecological center providing educational recycling programs, and supporting women’s initiatives. The cooperative also offers training programs for women and micro-finance for entrepreneurs. By purchasing their products, tourists support and encourage organic coffee production, which helps to maintain biodiversity by improving habitat conditions, protects the basin from toxic chemicals often used in traditional coffee-farming processes, and benefits local farmers and community projects. By joining the Sololá Association of Organic Coffee Producers Ijat’z has developed a stronger network providing them with greater resources and access to technical and financial support that is vital for their continued sustainability.

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Jovenes Mayas Association, San Marcos El Corazon del Bosque, El Novillero Jovenes Mayas Kaq’chikel is a community-based local guide association The village of El Novillero, Santa Lucía Utatlán, which is primarily comprised of located in San Marcos la Laguna.significant The association was degradation implemented Maya K’iché farmers, has experienced environmental fromas a deforestation, illegal poaching, andformed inducedby forest A CBT venture El community-based initiative 14 fires. Mayan youth. Its inmain Novillero led to the development of an ecotourism tourist center aimed at priorities include the conservation of local flora and fauna and the promoting the coexistence of the indigenous population with their natural preservation of Mayan culture in San Marcos. environment. This center, named Corazón del Bosque, has benefited the K’iché, their and the principal surroundingCBT ecosystems. Theare project conserves hectares The culture, association’s products guided tours40 that explore of forest and has produced new income generation opportunities, supported the cultural and natural wealth along local trails, such as the Old conservation efforts in adjacent protected areas, and led to the promotion and Mayan Trail to Santa Lucia Utatlan, and the walk to Santa Cruz la conservation of culture and environment. Furthermore, an association was Laguna.which Additionally, Jovenes Mayas offers tours, which created, has been instrumental in strengthening the social fabrichighlight of the the community, increasing the standard of living, capacity, maguey plant and teach tourists about developing its historical role bringing and awareness to issues affecting their livelihood, and protecting culture. importance in the production of bags, ropes and construction material

that aredel made with thetourists pants numerous fibers. Another is a Corazón Bosque offers diversionslocal suchattraction as hiking trails, handicraft sanctuary and Mayan plant nursery, birdwith watching, medicinalshop, plant tour which putsshrine, the tourist in touch the native restaurant and bar, Mayan sauna, and overnight accommodation in cabins. The plants of the region and their use for spiritual and medicinal cures.

Copikaj Association, Santa Clara Copikaj is a cooperative based in San Juan la Laguna that works with artisans who weave baskets from natural fibers. Their primary functions are to buy and sell weavings, offer technical assistance to artisans, and provide micro-loans to artisans and women who want to start micro-enterprises. The cooperative is made up of around 125 members who grow their own cañaveral (the plant that provides the fibers for weaving) and sell 40 different kinds of baskets, 19 styles of woven decorations, and 3 types of lamps. Cañaveral is native to the area and the organization has researched ways to ensure that using Cañaveral will not damage the ecosystem. An integral component of the Copikaj cooperative is its respect for and promotion of the indigenous culture that is native to the area, K’iché Mayan. The K’iché community in Santa Clara has a long tradition of textile production, especially baskets. Furthermore, the cooperative focuses on social issues in Santa Clara. Its stated vision is to improve the welfare of the artisans, represent the daily work of the local culture, and encourage social transformation and development.

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La Cooperativa Spanish School, San Pedro The Cooperative School of San Pedro is a Spanish School that strives to incorporate local initiatives into the school’s mission by encouraging teachers and students to give back to the host community. The school is directly involved in two local programs. The first initiative is an outreach program, which currently helps 16 families in severe economic hardship with the supply of basic goods such as beans, rice, eggs and hygienic goods. Additionally, the school is involved in helping an under-funded local elementary school by subsidizing education in arts, music and physical education. The initiative of the Cooperative helps pay the salary of two professors of this local elementary school. In addition to these two programs, students in the Spanish school have opportunities to volunteer in the community whether by teaching a foreign language at the local school or volunteering at a local hospital. Students may also enhance their experience by electing to stay with a local family during their study, in which case they pay a predetermined fee to the host family. Similar models of Spanish schools incorporating community-based service activities exist, especially in the community of San Pedro where there is a high concentration of schools. These initiatives have been identified as a potential pilot program for the S.A.V.E. market in the Lake Atitlán Region.

Association of Ecotourism Guides Rupalaj K’istalin, San Juan la Laguna The Association of Ecotourism Guides Rupalaj K’istalin consists of 18 members/partners. Formed in 2003, the association offers several different tours to visitors of the community. These include a cultural circuit that incorporates several of the local artisan cooperatives, medicinal plant education, and local colonial architecture; a natural circuit that involves several popular and scenic area hikes; and an adventure circuit that includes camping, and several longer hikes to waterfalls. The association also connects tourists with other tourism products in the area, such as painter and weaver associations, which offer lessons and demonstrations. The association also partners with the Chajil Ch’upup Association of Fisherman, which offers tours to teach tourists about traditional fishing techniques in their traditional canoes.

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While most of the economic benefits assist the families of the guides, the Association of Ecotourism Guides Rupalaj K’istalin benefits the greater community through their reforestation efforts, environmental education outreach, and increased visitation to the community.

2.4 Advancing CBT in Lake Atiltán CBT – Tourism Market Segment or a Tourism Management Process The Strategic development plan for Lake Atiltán identifies four potential tourism market segments, which have the potential to realize the greatest competitive potential of Lake Atitlán. Table 8 lists the four high-yield market segments. T ABLE 8: T OURISM M ARKETS

Tourism Market

Development Stage

Main Market

Product Development

International

Nature Based Tourism/Eco Tourism Adventure Tourism/Sport Tourism Cultural Tourism

Product Development

International

Product Development

International and regional

Community Tourism

Product Development

International

Following the two weeks of fieldwork conducted in Lake Atitlán the market segments identified in the plan were revisited. As a result, the GW/UVG team suggested a couple of adjustments to the proposed market structure. First, Community Tourism was removed as one of the proposed market segments for Lake Atitlán. The recommendation of the team to discontinue viewing CBT as a market segment derives directly from the stated earlier definition of Community-based Tourism as a process for developing and managing tourism and not a specific type of tourism product or segment. Community-based tourism should therefore be integrated to all proposed market segments as a process for developing sustainable and responsible tourism for Destination Atitlán. Introducing the SAVE Market Segment Additionally, the GW/UVG team suggested the incorporation of the S.A.V.E (Scientific, Academic, Volunteer and Educational) tourism market segment as a substitute for the community tourism market. S.A.V.E. stands for Scientific, Academic, Volunteer and Educational market segment. The development of this fast growing market segment in the area has the potential to enhance conservation and promote sustainability of the destination’s geographic, environmental and cultural character. According to the SAVE Travel Alliance (2008), non-profit network facilitating linkage between S.A.V.E. destinations and markets, the S.A.V.E. concept of tourism is “a strategy that integrates the market demand and untapped supply of four specific niche markets: Scientific, Academic, Volunteer, and Education. The key to the strategy is geotourism, a philosophy that works to sustain and enhance, rather than hinder the local destination.” Tourists who fall within the S.A.V.E. segment are characterized as those willing to learn and help local people, the environment, and the society visited. Additionally, S.A.V.E. tourists seek more than just a recreational and relaxing vacation, but wish to interact with local residents in remote destinations preferring to stay longer and in less sophisticated accommodation than the average tourist. A destination wishing to develop for the mainstream

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mass tourism segment would need heavy infrastructure development, enormous investment, and long-term project management. Conversely, the development of the S.A.V.E. market would require significantly less investment and infrastructure. By developing the S.A.V.E. market segment in Lake Atitlán, communities could develop the destination niche tourism opportunities and attract responsible travelers in a way which would be both sustainable and economically-viable. S.A.V.E. tourism activities would facilitate healthy partnerships and collaborations between local communities, academic institutions, development organizations and tourists. Moreover, the activities of S.A.V.E. tourists could add value to existing tourism products and uncover new tourism opportunities. Table 9: SAVE Categories and Benefits describes the four categories of SAVE travelers and their activities in details. A concept brief on SAVE travel is provided in Appendix 8. The rationale behind this proposition is that the available resources and already existing products in the Lake Atitlán region are a very appropriate fit for this relatively new segment. In addition, compared to most other tourism market segments, SAVE tourism has higher potential to generate socio-economic benefits for the local community. S.A.V.E. tourist are international tourists, thus the proposed change would not affect the inbound tourism market mix envisioned for the destination. T ABLE 9: SAVE C ATEGORIES AND B ENEFITS

Profile & Activities

Benefits for Destination

Scientific

Scientists interested in conducting scientific research within fields such as biology, archaeology, or anthropology with the purpose of contributing to general human knowledge

Scientific research requires extended stays with longer economic impact. Scientific expeditions hire local workers, live in the communities, eat local food, utilize local transportation and buy local goods. Scientists have the capacity to gather data on valuable destination assets, which destinations do not have.

Academic

Individuals or groups participating in experiential learning activities leading to credit for formal degree programs or courses offered by higher education institutions such as field studies in anthropology, archaeology, languages, conservation biology and others.

Academic groups have a tendency to visit more remote places and are more willing to interact with local communities. They often do not require sophisticated facilities and services

Volunteer

Individuals or groups that travel with the intention to participate in activities that contribute to the betterment of society. They could be individual travelers or travelers associated with the growing number of organizations supporting volunteer programs.

Voluntourists specifically search for places with socio-economic challenges with the intention to contribute to the development of their communities. Volunteers often spend a long period of time at the destination, contribute with knowledge and other resources, and do not require sophisticated facilities and services.

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Educational

Individuals or groups that travel to obtain knowledge for personal gratification rather than academic credit. Examples include learning a language, craft or acquiring another skill. Programs leading to some credential or certificate of completion involve longer trips and higher expenditures directly benefiting local people.

Educational travelers usually look for extended stays at the destination as well as increased interaction with local communities. In the cases when the focus of the educational experience is associated with the local culture or traditions this contributes to the strengthened pride of communities.

With the proposed adjustments, the main market segments in the Lake Atitlán region remain nature, adventure, culture (including religion and history) and S.A.V.E. The tourism products will be produced on the basis of the four market segments in accordance with the image the lake and the objective to grow community-based products and services. The connection between the communities, products and markets are illustrated in Figure 12. F IGURE 12: L AKE A TITLÁN TOURISM MARKET SEGMENTS

Most of the tourism products associated with the outlined above segments are niche-driven. With the incorporation of community-based tourism as a management process Lake Atitlán products and services will connect tourists with local organizations and associations thus benefiting residents, conserving local culture and heritage, and minimizing the negative environmental impacts of tourism. With over 14 communities in bordering or in close proximity to Lake Atitlán, CBT should be the basis for tourism development in the region. The Lake Atitlán area is currently in the initial stages of CBT development. As revealed by the brief cases presented earlier,

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several local associations having integrated local communities and resources in an effort to strengthen various CBT products. Based on the current resources in each community the product matrix can be illustrated as follows. T ABLE 10: L AKE A TITLÁN CBT P RODUCT M ATRIX Category Ecotourism

Adventure

Culture

S.A.V.E.

Destination San Juan

9

9

9

San Pedro

9

9

9

Panajachel

9

9

9

Santiago

9

San Marcos

9

9

9 9

9

9

9

Santa Cruz Santa Clara

9

9

9

9

San Lucas

9

9

9

9

This matrix should help both the communities and the local destination management entities understand the potential tourism resources and develop the feasible products and tourism plans. Some examples of specific components found in each of the four areas are as follows. •

•

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Nature: Aims to preserve and protect the nature and wildlife in each community. • •

Coffee tour Natural reserve

•

Ecological park

• •

Bird watching Beaches and lakeside activities

Adventure: Focuses on the sport activities by effectively incorporating natural resources and community assets. • Paragliding •

Kayaking

• •

Diving Zip-lining and rappelling

•

Hiking

• •

•

Adventure trail

Culture: To enhance traditional and indigenous culture and religion, and promote the local handicraft skills and quality, thus benefiting the local communities. •

Colonial church

• •

Village tourism Woven handicrafts with natural dyes

•

Wood furniture

• •

Soaps and candles Basket weaving

•

Festivals

• Religious ceremonies S.A.V.E.: To encourage tourists to participate in CBT through volunteering and educational programs. • •

Cooperative Spanish schools Environmental education

•

Agro-ecological center

• Reforestation program The product and market matrices with CBT highlights will help to develop a strategic plan to strengthen the awareness of CBT tourism and minimize the level of tourism leakage from the communities. Moreover, it will help the stakeholders in the Lake Atitlán area differentiate their tourism products and market segments.

2.5 CBT Distribution Channels It is necessary to note that while CBT operations may not follow a traditional business model, in certain senses they still need to operate like a business. The importance of marketing CBT products is generally undervalued, leading to insufficient allocation of marketing funds. Building capacity for marketing as well as developing partnerships with tour operators (local and foreign) is vital for the success of CBT projects. The long-term sustainability of a CBT product portfolio depends on the ability of the destination to connect to the marketplace just like any other tourism destination, and that require connections to external distribution channels. Given the frequency with which travelers utilize the internet to plan their journeys, having a website or a fullyupdated page on a regional online travel portal is a crucial first step for community-based tourism operations. Making the details of the product and contact information readily available on the Internet will increase the CBT operation’s ability to reach a wider audience. However, building a website is not enough to ensure heightened awareness and more visitors. The website must be connected to other channels, and marketing materials must be distributed through them. Responsible travel, sustainable tourism, and community-based tourism are all buzz phrases that are becoming increasingly popular in the tourism industry. There are already a number of travel websites and tour operators around the world that promote the principles of responsible and sustainable travel, and make travelers aware how CBT products in Lake Atitlán could be highly beneficial. Websites such as www.responsibletravel.com offer a free

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platform for registering and promoting CBT products, and tour companies such as Intrepid Travel (www.intrepidtravel.com) prefer to incorporate community-based products into their travel itineraries in order to promote sustainable tourism. A table of potential CBT distribution channels is presented below. More details, specific contact information and outlined steps are included in a specific action plan included in the action plan introduces later in this section. T ABLE 11: P OTENTIAL O NLINE CBT D ISTRIBUTION O UTLETS Title

Homepage

Intrepidtravel

www.Intrepidtravel.com

Responsibletravel

www.responsibletravel.com

Volunteer tourism

www.bravenewtraveler.com

Ecotravel

www.ecotravel.com

Ethicalescape

www.ethicalescape.co.uk

Earthfoot

www.earthfoot.org

Peopleandplaces

www.travel-peopleandplaces.co.uk

Slowtravel

www.slowtrav.com

Redturs

www.redturs.org

Friendsofworldheritage

www.friendsofworldheritage.com

Green Seniors

http://greenseniors.typepad.com

Intelligent Travel

www.intelligenttravel.typepad.com

CBT products in the Lake Atitlán area can benefit from marketing through booking agents, tour operators, and other travel-oriented businesses in the major regional destinations, starting with Panajachel. Within Guatemala, creating a partnership with travel agents in Antigua, Guatemala City, and Quetzeltenango is a recommended step towards linkages between CBT products around the lake and other already established tourism products in the country. In the long term, community-based tourism products in Lake Atitlán can help establish a unique image and advantageous position for tourism in the region which can be marketed through a variety of distribution channels internationally. One way to facilitate this is by planning familiarization tours of the lake area to mainstream travel agencies, travel writers, and the media.

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F IGURE 13: D ISTRIBUTION S YSTEM FOR L AKE A TITLÁN CBT P RODUCTS

2.6 Proposed Actions for Developing CBT in Lake Atiltán In order to advance the development of CBT in the Lake Atiltán region, the GW/UVG consulting team proposes a set of specific actions leading to increased awareness and improved capacity of local stakeholders. The following section provides brief descriptions of actions; complete action plans with budgets and timelines for each are presented in the appendix section of this report. CBT Brochure & Capacity Building Toolkit

In response to the need for improved awareness of CBT principles among many stakeholders in the area, a brochure was developed to address what CBT is, explain its advantages over mainstream tourism, and illustrate

52

the types of CBT products present in the area. The availability of these tools is expected to make communities more likely to pursue active roles in the development of tourism in their communities. A Toolkit designed for a brief workshop was developed to further develop capacity in developing and managing CBT. The CBT brochure is provided in Appendix 9 and the Toolkit found in Appendix 10. Development of S.A.V.E. Markets One way to begin unfolding the potential of the SAVE market segment is to launch a pilot project for the improvement of relevant products and capacities.

Pilot Project While there are several S.A.V.E. activities in the area, they are operated individually from one another. For example, the community of San Pedro has a high concentration of Spanish schools known for their reasonable tuition rates and good quality of teaching. Some of the schools support the local community by linking students with volunteer opportunities, such as teaching English at local schools, reforestation activities, working in a health clinic, etc. While each school actively promotes their own S.A.V.E. products, there is limited coordination and linkage between the schools and other organizations. The launch of the “Voluntelingual” Project aims to officially link Spanish schools and volunteer organizations and is the first step towards the development of an integrated S.A.V.E. tourism product portfolio in Lake Atitlán. The collaboration will promote and encourage students to participate in volunteer programs and target volunteers to study Spanish in the communities, further enriching their experience and providing greater benefits to the local communities. In addition, the project will help enhance volunteer opportunities available in the area. Currently volunteers lack the resources and contacts desired to effectively contribute during their volunteer experience many volunteers feel their expertise is not utilized. Supply Side Development As a long-term development goal, it is recommended that a S.A.V.E. Center be created at a location near the lake designed to coordinate all S.A.V.E. tourism activities in the area. In an effort to minimize costs, it would be ideal to utilize an existing facility, such as the Universidad del Valle Guatemala (UVG) Altiplano campus in Sololá with classroom and laboratory space, as well as facilities for scientific researchers. The Center could also offer a number of activities and courses, such as field study in the Lake Atitlán, or environmental and cultural education programs for tourists and the local community.

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Demand Side Development During the development of the S.A.V.E. Center it is imperative that marketing activities commence, actively targeting the niche segments. Due to the S.A.V.E. market’s unique composition, dispersion and motivation, the destination may need to use a variety of less conventional marketing tools. Most likely promotion tools will include a regularly updated website with tools and elements that highlight specific programs and activities, as well as brochures and up-to-date documents describing current projects and opportunities. The complete action plan for the development of SAVE markets with budget and timeline are included in Appendix 19.1. Atitlán Boat Mobile

The consulting team conducted a survey of tour operators to determine the range of tourist products and corresponding challenges associated with them. The surveys reveal the “Lake Tour” as one of the most popular products being promoted by tour operators. Surveys of tourists in the area revealed a gap between expectations and existing offers. The team identified significant interest in better-organized trips, flexible packages, and more visits to lake communities. Currently, all tour operators promoting a boat tours offer an identical itinerary. Five members of the GW/UVG consulting team took a tour on June 21, 2008 in an effort to assess the current service and the potential for enhanced boat offerings. Gaps were identified in the organization of ticket sale and boat access, information provided before and during the trip, opportunities for lunch and shopping, etc. Based on these observations and analysis of the potential for improvement, the GW/UVG team proposes to enhance the “Lake Tour” experience through pre-recorded narration of information about the lake and its communities; expanded itineraries to include more villages, traditional meals and refreshments on board; expanded product portfolio including sunset cruises, private parties, etc. The complete action plan for making Pedestrian more pedestrian-friendly with budget and timeline are included in Appendix 19.2. Pedestrian Friendly Panajachel Special weekly events have the potential to encourage tourists to extend their stay in Lake Atitlán. Some tourists who were interviewed indicated that tuk tuks, motorcycles and other traffic on Calle Santander created a dangerous and uncomfortable environment for pedestrians. In fact, in describing the environment one tourist strongly stated that the tuk tuks were “aggressive” and “ruined the shopping experience.” In order to improve the experience of both tourists and shoppers, and in a similar vain to Chichicastenago’s twice weekly market days in which streets are shut down, Panajachel could shut down a portion of the main street once a week. It could then

54

offer tourists a pedestrian-friendly shopping experience prompting tourists to plan their trips in the Lake Atitlán area and in Panajachel to coincide with this day. The complete action plan for making Pedestrian more pedestrian-friendly with budget and timeline are included in Appendix 19.3. F IGURE 14: P EDESTRIAN F RIENDLY P ANAJACHEL M AP

Actividades & Experiencias

Stay Another Day Campaign One of the most realistic ways of increasing the economic benefits of tourism in Lake Atitlán is to extend the length of stay of visitors who are already in the destination. Currently, tourists stay in the area only 1.5 days, which is very short. The GW/UVG consulting team suggests to launch a “Stay Another Day” Campaign based on the adopted from Stay-anotherday.org idea applied in the Mekong region of Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam. The idea behind the program is linking together attractions and activities that benefit the local community and that have the potential to convince visitors to spend an extra day in the destination. The main purpose of a “Stay Another Day” Campaign for Lake Atitlán is to highlight more of the attractions and experiences that the destination can offer. The conducted assessments of currently available tourist products around the lake revealed that a number of competitive attractions and experiences were underutilized. The proposed campaign can highlight these and thus enhance the experience of visitors while deepening and expanding

55

the economic benefits of tourism. The GW/UVG team developed a prototype brochure for a “Stay Another Day” Campaign for Lake Atitlán. The brochure is illustrated below and included in Appendix 11. The complete action plan for the launch of a “Stay Another Day” Campaign with budget and timeline is included in Appendix19.4. Professional Training in Event Management During the fieldwork the consulting team established that there are very few special events that are organized in the communities around Lake Atitlán. At the same time, the rich culture of the area and the preserved traditional lifestyle of local communities are a great opportunity to use special events to diversify the tourism product portfolio. One of the main challenges, however, seems to be the limited local capacity and experience in organizing special events in a way that will be attractive to current and potential visitors. In order to address this gap, the GW/UVG proposes the launch of a specialized professional training in event design and coordination. The training program can be organized and managed by an already existing educational institution such as the Altiplano campus of the Universidad del Valle Guatemala in Sololá. The successful launch of professional courses in event management will not only help increase the attractive cultural products in the area but can become a profitable initiative generating income by training event professionals from all over Guatemala. The complete action plan for professional training in event management with budget and timeline are included in Appendix 19.5. CBT Distribution Channels Community-based tourism is among the buzz phrases gaining popularity in the tourism industry, and especially in areas where tourism is seen as vehicle for economic development. There are already a number of travel websites and tour operators around the world that promote the principles of sustainable travel, and educate travelers what are CBT products and how they benefit communities. Such websites, as well as specialized tour operators can help Lake Atitlán build a set of appropriate distribution channels that will especially benefit CBT offerings. The GW/UVG consulting team has identified and listed a number of already existing channels that can easily be used. They are included in the action plan mentioned below. The complete action plan for development of CBT distribution channels with budget and timeline are included in Appendix 19.6.

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2.7 General Recommendations In addition to the specific actions proposed and outlined above and in the appendix of this report, the GW/UVG team identified several long-term opportunities for maximized benefits through development of CBT in the region: Establishing an Entrepreneur Grant Competition Program A small grant competition program should be established to encourage the development of community-based tourism entrepreneurship initiatives. This program would provide small grants to innovative ideas proposed by local entrepreneurs that not only put forward the creation of quality tourism products, but incorporate community involvement and benefits. The entrepreneur grant competition can provide local entrepreneurs with opportunities to realize tourism business ideas that can otherwise be killed by the lack of available capital. In the long term, an initiative like this can stimulate the increase of small and medium sized community-based tourism enterprises. Launch a “This month’s leading attraction…” Program A “Leading attraction” program can be instituted to recognize the diversity and richness of attractions available in the area of Lake Atitlán. The program will promote a different attraction every month by posting photos and details on the destination website, partner websites and other promotional and media outlets. It will identify not only the most visited attractions but the newer or lesser-known places in the area. In addition to promoting the richness of tourist experiences available around Lake Atitlán the This month’s leading attraction…” can highlight more community-owned or managed services or such that are truly dedicated to responsible operations. The leading attraction selection criteria will include the analysis of the linkages created by the attractions as well as the community participation and benefits. Launch a Sponsorship Program for Local Cultural and Community Events A small sponsorship program can be launched as an alternative source of resources for community events in the area. Local cultural and community events can encourage cultural exchange among local communities and visitors, and increase the attractiveness of the region. Currently due to limited resources existing events are with very limited promotion and visibility. A program that encourages small sponsorships from local or regional businesses can be mutually beneficial – it can help local community events gain visibility and popularity, and at the same time can provide an attractive venue for the promotion of sponsoring entities. In the long run, this initiative can help enrich the cultural calendar of Destination Atitlán and can help attract broader circle of domestic and foreign visitors. Establish Stronger Linkages between Destination Lake Atitlán and Leading National and Regional Attractions It is essential that Destination Lake Atitlán establish stronger linkages with the leading national and regional attraction. A special focus shall be given to creating linkages between national attractions and existing CBT initiatives in the destination. Packaging Lake Atitlán attractions with other popular offerings around Guatemala or the region can increase the popularity of the area as well as the flow of international visitors.

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Develop Low-Impact Water Sports around Lake Atitlán Among Lake Atitlán tourists interviewed by the consulting team, access to adventure/sports activities in Lake Atitlán ranked an average of 3.91 (between fair and good) in importance. Those who ranked Lake Atitlán’s currently available adventure/sports products and services low, expressed desire for more water sports. Further, these respondents indicated that the availability of more water-related activities can motivate them to extend their stay in the area. Expanding the portfolio of water activities around Lake Atitlán to meet the demonstrated tourist demand would provide another source of revenue further contributing to the local economy. However, appropriate planning and care should be taken if the communities decide to introduce water sports. The development of low-impact water sports should only occur if it does not detract from the natural beauty of the area, increase noise pollution, or contribute negatively to other tourist’s experiences, the natural environment, and desires of the community.

2.8 Summary of Part 2 In this section, community-based tourism (CBT) was discussed as a process for developing and managing tourism that engages and benefits the local community as well as tourists. Although the Strategic Development Plan for Lake Atitlán defines Community Tourism as one of the four potential market segments, CBT indicates the principles of developing and managing tourism products. CBT is not a specific market segment but a process, and tourism products in each of the four outlined segments can be developed in a way that maximizes benefits to the local community. Therefore the GW/UVG consulting team suggests a wide-scale adoption of CBT principles as a way of increasing local benefits from tourism. At the same time, it is proposed that another segment is added to the local market segment mix - S.A.V.E. (Scientific, Academic, Volunteer and Educational) tourism. This segment will substitute the Community Tourism segment originally proposed in the Plan. S.A.V.E. tourism will help the destination utilize available resources and products effectively to enrich the current product portfolio. Definition, objectives and downsides of CBT are also discussed with emphasis on the importance of stakeholder participation. Existing examples of CBT around the lake were identified so that they can serve as a good guide to the future CBT development in the destination. Additionally, a product/market matrix with CBT highlights was introduced with the hope that it will help the destination understand its potential tourism resources and develop feasible plans. As it is often the case with CBT products, marketing of products tend to be dismissed and funds for marketing are insufficiently allocated. Thus, this report also incorporates practical suggestions on how to strengthen the distribution system for CBT products. In addition to general guidance and recommendation, this section included six specific actions that will help enhance CBT capacities and offerings around Lake Atiltán. These include a CBT toolkit and brochure, S.A.V.E. market development, introduction of low-impact water

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sports, introduction of pedestrian-friendly areas in Panajachel, improvement of boat tours, and launch of professional event management courses. These actions and a set of long-term recommendations are expected to further encourage sustainable tourism development in the area.

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PART 3: Analysis & Strategic Solutions: MARKETING & POSITIONING OF LAKE ATITLÁN 3.1 Branding and Positioning Importance of Branding and Positioning The availability of a good and attractive tourism product portfolio is not sufficient for the success of a tourism destination. In today’s competitive and dynamic world, attracting visitors is a great challenge. It requires establishing high level of awareness of the destination and establishing a memorable and emotional image that differs from that of other destinations. One of the most effective ways of achieving both is creating a strong destination brand. According to one of the leading contemporary experts in the area Simon Anholt (2002) destination branding is becoming a “crucial component of foreign and domestic policy, international relations, economic and cultural development, trade and tourism”. Brand Response to “Soul of the Earth”: Guatemala As part of its effort to promote and increase its tourism industry, Guatemala formulated a brand under the slogan: “Soul of the Earth.” It tries to build on the existing appeal for international backpackers and independent travelers, and develop a credible image that is attractive to the high-end cultural tourist. The brand development initiative led by Guatemala involved one of the most prominent global branding consulting companies – Interbrand. It conducted a series of focus groups to understand the perspective of a broad range of stakeholders, including tourism businesses, artists and authors, indigenous communities, and others. Findings and recommendations generated from this effort were analyzed and incorporated into the current brand of the country. This participatory approach is considered a complex but most appropriate for developing a successful destination brand. The main objective of establishing a strong country brand is strengthening the brand identity associated with a desired destination image derived from the comparative advantages of Guatemala. The challenge comes from the fact that elements such as Mayan culture, colonial architecture, volcanoes and rainforest are characteristic to Guatemala’s neighboring countries Mexico, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador and others. In order to address this challenge and still achieve a distinct brand, Guatemala needs to continue using participatory and creative ways towards distinct and memorable positioning. Based on the already existing country brand, destinations within Guatemala should word towards strengthening their own positioning. The following steps reveal some of the principles that can help Lake Atitlán establish an attractive image that is in harmony with the already existing national brand. Branding & Positioning Lake Atitlán Lake Atitlán was once called “the most beautiful lake in the world” by Aldous Huxley and the Mayan word “atitlan” means “the place where the rainbow gets its colors”. Atitlan has potential for a rich variety of water sports: fishing, swimming, diving, water skiing and boating. This, in combination with the well-preserved Mayan culture creates a unique environment that can turn into a globally competitive tourism destination. Building a

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strong regional brand can create significant opportunities for Lake Atitlán in the competitive marketplace leading to greater market share and increased profits. There are two main aspects that are of interest to entities engaged in a destination brand: (1) What makes a brand strong? and (2) How do you build a strong brand? One of the most appropriate models that provide solid guidance towards the answers of both questions is Kevin Keller’s Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) model (2002). According to the CBBE model, building a strong brand can be regarded as a sequence of steps, which are brand identity, brand meaning, brand responses and brand relationships. (Keller, 2001) F IGURE 15: B UILDING A S TRONG B RAND B ASED ON K ELLER ’ S (2002) CBBE M ODEL

4. Relationships What about you and me?

Resonance

Judgment Performance

3. Response What about you?

Feelings Imagery

2. Meaning What are you?

1. Identity Who are you?

(1) Brand Identity = Who are you? When branding a product, service a place the most fundamental step is creating brand salience. Brand salience is connected to customer awareness of the brand and represents the strength of the brand’s presence in the mind of the potential customer. The purpose is not to achieve general awareness, but to be remembered for specific reasons. In branding Lake Atitlán, the richness of the natural beauty of the water surrounded by volcanoes and combined with preserved Mayan culture could become a distinct combination of elements that make the destination brand stand out in the mind of people around the world. (2) Brand Meaning = What are you? Brand meaning involves establishing a brand image, i.e. the characteristics of the brand and what the brand stands for in the mind of customers. This is associated with the building of strong, favorable and unique brand associations. These are formed directly from a customer’s own experiences or indirectly through the representation in advertising or word-of-mouth. In order to build appropriate brand associations, the image/brand of Lake Atitlán should be associated not only with Panajachel, the main tourist center around Lake

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Atitlán, but also other attractions, such as Santa Catarina Palopo, San Antonio Palopo and Santiago Atitlan. In order to ensure consistency of brand associations local destination brand managers should work in cooperation with local and national-level travel agencies, transportation companies, airlines, hotels, and others. (3) Brand Responses = What about you? Brand responses refer to how customers respond to the brand, that is, what customers think or feel about the brand. In other words, the brand responses can be seen as the brand attitude and choice of customers. These could be rational or emotional. The rational brand judgments are strongly related to the brand quality and credibility; the emotional brand judgements are related to customers’ feelings towards the brand, such as warmth, fun, excitement, security, social approval and self-respect. In order to build evoke positive rational judgments the tourism sector in Lake Atitlán should try to achieve service standards that reduce the risk of an unsatisfactory experience/service. This could be achieved through regulations, certifications and human resource trainings that help meet customers’ needs and expectations. In addition to securing positive rational judgments, the destination can engage current and potential visitors emotionally by building an image of Lake Atitlán as a warmhearted, cheerful and exciting place. (4) Brand Relationships = What about you and me? Brand relationships focus on the ultimate relationship between the product/place and the customer. This is associated with the extend to which the customer identifies themselves with the brand. This is referred to as the “brand resonance”, which can be considered as a willingness to engage with the product/destination. The very critical part of brand resonance is behavioral loyalty or the willingness of customers to purchase a product or visit a place repeatedly. In Lake Atitlán, it is essential to create intensive and active relationships with visitors. This is possible through regular events and festivals, ensuring that the visitors would have the opportunities to visit their favorite places around the lake while experiencing new aspects of the destination. Various sports events, such as hang gliding competitions, could be held on a regular basis. Beside the biggest festival in Sololá, Nim Jij Sololá (Grand Day of Sololá) celebrated on August 15th, other indigenous festivals or ceremonies could also be designed and promoted according to the different characteristics of each lake towns.

3.2 Proposed Actions for Effective Marketing & Positioning of Lake Atiltán In order to advance the effective marketing and positioning of Lake Atiltán region, the GW/UVG consulting team proposes a set of specific actions utilizing contemporary approaches and techniques. The following section provides brief descriptions of actions; complete action plans with budgets and timelines for each are presented in the appendix section of this report.

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Branding Competition Lake Atitlán is a world class lake destination located in the highlands of Guatemala. Lake Atitlán offers many spectacular tourism products and activities, but has limited market exposure due to the limited marketing and lack of an official brand and image. Currently, the key tourism stakeholders in the area do not have unified marketing materials; the local communities have not been very actively engaged in the design or management of a destination brand. One way to involve the local community in creating a brand for the region is to launch a branding competition for the youth of the region. This will not only generate interesting and creative ideas, but will engage the families of young residents reaching out to the larger community. In order to achieve successful results of the competition and have a recognizable symbol and brand, the competition must be set-up in a competitive and transparent manner. The complete action plan for the organization and launch of a branding competition with budget and timeline are included in Appendix 19.7. Marketing Distribution Strategy and Marketing Distribution Scorecard The background research and interview with key stakeholders revealed that there is no centralized marketing committee for the region and general marketing efforts are not unified. In addition to the limited coordination among stakeholders, the lack of integrated marketing leads to limited exposure to major sources of information for tourists such as international guidebooks and magazines. The fact that the current marketing initiatives are not connected makes it impossible to assess their overall effectiveness and establish a realistic cost-benefit ration. In order to address this gap, the GW/UVG consulting team proposes the establishment of a destination-level marketing committee within the Sololá Commission. The existence of a unified body responsible for the conceptualizing and management of promotional efforts will lead to the development of unified pamphlets, posters and other materials that promote Lake Atitlán as a destination. In addition, the new marketing body can facilitate the process of reaching out to major media outlets such as Lonely Planet, Frommers, etc. and thus enhance the visibility of the destination on global level. As part of its efforts the marketing committee can benefit from developing a set of marketing materials like promotional posters, itinerary brochures, etc. The GW/UVG consulting team designed and developed a sample itinerary brochure and sample posters included respectively in Appendix 12 and Appendix 13. In addition to integrating marketing distribution, the success of destination promotion depends on careful tracking of invested resources and success. It is recommended that the proposed marketing unit adopts a marketing

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distribution strategy scorecard as a means of tracking and measuring the cost versus the benefit of the marketing efforts put forth by the Sololá Tourism Commission. This scorecard will enable the transaction leader of this effort to measure on a quarterly or semi-annual basis. This tool will help track where funds are coming from, what they are used for and keep track of other financial components such as an income statement and a balance sheet. The scorecard is also to be used to keep track of key monitoring and evaluation (M&E) indicators, milestones reached in the marketing efforts, any sort of supervision issues that may arise and what next steps will be undertaken for the next time period. This scorecard provides a visual snapshot and helps to focus the marketing efforts in the right area. Such a tool helps track and measure the progression of a given project, create transparency, and present hard data. If utilized efficiently and effectively, the marketing distribution strategy will present an accurate picture of cost versus the benefits of the marketing efforts put forth by the Sololá Tourism Commissions. An example scorecard is proposed in the action plan introduced below. The complete action plan for a marketing distribution strategy with budget and timeline are included in Appendix 19.7. Keep Lake Atitlán Beautiful Campaign The survey conducted by the GW/UVG consulting team revealed some concern among tourists and local stakeholders about the cleanliness of the lake. Respondents in the tourist survey indicated that pollution around the lakefront as a significant turnoff. 96% of respondents stated that natural beauty of the area is a primary reason to visit and recommend Lake Atitlán as a tourism destination to friends or family. This leads to the conclusion that it is imperative that the beauty of the area be preserved and protected. There is currently no publicly-visible initiative to maintain the natural beauty and cleanliness of Lake Atitlán that is targeted at all tourists and groups who frequent the waterfront. At the same time, there are multiple groups who have an interest in cleanup and litter prevention programs but their individual projects are not connected under an all-encompassing theme that also includes tourists.

LAKE ATITLAN CLEAN

Based on background research, the GW/UVG consulting team established that studies of litter prevention programs have shown that simple reminders such as signs promoting a litter-free environment can lead to lasting change in behavior and thus to a cleaner environment. Therefore, it is recommended to establish an ongoing beautification campaign that encourages stakeholders to take part in keeping Lake Atitlán beautiful. The complete action plan for “Keep Lake Atitlán Beautiful” Campaign with budget and timeline are included in Appendix 19.9.

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3.3 General Recommendations In addition to the specific actions proposed and outlined above and in the appendix of this report, the GW/UVG team identified several long-term opportunities for maximized benefits through improved marketing and positioning of Lake Atitlán: Development of a Set of Online Podcasts for Self-Guided Tours Online podcasts are a new way to disseminate information to internet users. Millions of people download podcasts each day over a variety of topics including travel. Launching an online interactive podcast program for Lake Atitlán will help to enhance tourists’ experience. The podcasts should include information about fun things to do in Lake Atitlán, testimonials from visitors of the region and upcoming events. Creation of a Virtual Media Corner The destination website for Lake Atitlán should include a virtual media corner that will allow media to obtain useful information and attractive visual materials that will be used in publications. By strategically placing this information on the website and utilizing search engine optimization, the media corner will be easily accessible. Press releases about Lake Atitlán should also be written and posted regularly. Organization of a Series of Familiarization Trips Very few tourism related articles about Guatemala appear in major North American publications and most of them focus on crime, kidnapping, illegal immigration, weather, and political struggles. The Sololá SubCommission should consider sponsoring media invitations for journalists and producers to Lake Atitlán. In creating experiences for the media, the Commission will be able to influence the type of perception of journalists and, thereby, impact future coverage of Lake Atitlán. It will also create a shorter link between the Commission and the public when disasters hit the area, allowing a quicker flow of information when tourism destinations are not affected, or have been made accessible once again to travelers.

3.4 Summary of Part 3 The brand identity of lake Atitlán should be consistent with the brand image of this lake destination. Atitlán has the image of a place with exclusive natural beauty and cultural heritage. To strengthen it, it is essential to establish an active and profitable customer relationship that can be achieved through successful branding and diversified publicity. However, currently each community has different projects that are not connected under one theme. In marketing the image of Lake Atitlán and creating a recognizable brand, it is vital that there be cooperation between all tourism stakeholders. One way to involve the local community in creating a brand for the region is in establishing a branding competition for the youth of the region. A collaborative marketing committee should be established within the Sololá Sub-Commission to help coordinate marketing efforts of different stakeholder groups. By organizing this group, the Commission will have more control over unified marketing approaches such as “Stay another Day” and “Keep Lake Atitlán Beautiful” campaign.

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Under this unified marketing committee, the Sololá Sub-Commission can undertake various marketing efforts through on and off line channels. Online Podcast and virtual Media center are examples of contemporary marketing tools that could be used.

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PART 4: Analysis & Strategic Solutions: CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN LAKE ATITLÁN 4.1

Tourism and Crises Management

The Context of Crisis In today’s world, many tourism destinations are under some level of risk associated with natural disasters, crime or terrorism. In most of the cases, destination managers choose to adopt crisis management strategies that help them deal with unusual circumstances instead of sacrificing their tourism industries. Tourists are particularly vulnerable during crises as they are often unaware of existing recourses and protocol to cope with an unexpected situation. In addition, the tourism industry is particularly vulnerable to sudden crisesrelated changes in market perception. Knowledge of a crisis can result in immediate cancellations and tourists’ loss of confidence in the destination. The uncertainty regarding the likelihood of a crisis may also discourage future investment decisions. In addition, the need to replace lost assets may take precedence over projects previously designed to overcome social shortcomings (ECLAC, 2003). Particularly in a developing country such as Guatemala, where local investment capital may be low, expenditures on tourism-related enterprises may only cover immediate needs for operation, without keeping disaster reduction or recovery in mind. Risk in Guatemala Guatemala is under a relatively high risk from natural disasters including hurricanes, volcanoes, landslides, earthquakes, and floods. The Lake Atitlán region is especially susceptible to these natural hazards due to hurricanes, subsequent flooding and land slides. According to EM-DAT, the OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database, Guatemala’s most recent hurricane Stan killed 1,513 people in 2005, affected close to half a million people and caused billions of dollars in damage. The landslide caused by the rains from hurricane Stan alone buried 1,400 residents and left 5,000 homeless from Atitlán’s lakeside village of Panabaj. Floods within the past twenty years have claimed 110 lives. The Lake Atitlán region is potentially under other types of risk too. It is situated on the same continental fault line as North and South America causing occasional earthquakes. In addition, crime in the area has been at lower levels than in other parts of the country but is still a significant concern for international travelers. In light of these potential risks from natural disasters and crime, it is important for the Lake Atitlán region to adopt a crisis management strategy that includes provisions that are specifically designed for tourism. Although many crises are hard to predict, careful planning and implementation of sound disaster management strategies can reduce the potential threats and impacts. The following sections details best practice for tourism destination crisis management, action steps, and recommendations for the Lake Atitlan region based on preliminary research and fieldwork conducted on site.

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Images of disaster area and hurricane Stan

Current Crisis Management Systems in Guatemala Guatemala has an existing disaster response system with five participating institutions. A national agency known as CONRED heads the effort with a secretariat, regional department, municipality department, and local department. The decision-making group is made up of four sectors: planning, emergency services, infrastructure, and social services. For the Lake Atitlán region the four sectors are locally integrated by the Department Development Advisory Board of Sololá. In recent years, the Guatemalan Government has also taken steps to address the issue of crime by expanding the Tourism Police and establishing a specialized agency for tourist safety called ASISTUR. Despite these steps, there is still potential for more integrated actions addressing the safety of visitors and residents in the area. While the Department of Sololá currently has an intricate crisis communication and management strategy in place, there seems to be a need to expand it through the incorporation of integrated steps specifically targeted for the tourism sector. Through interviews with various tourism stakeholders such as tour operators, representatives of the Sololá Tourism Sub-Commission and government organizations such as CONRED and ASISTUR, the GW/UVG consulting team discovered several isolated efforts for communication and management strategies during crisis situations developed based on the specific needs within each community. Among tourism service providers, interviews and research found little to no planning associated with crisis management. Some stakeholders stated that one of the main reasons the devastation from Hurricane Stan was so severe was because there was no emergency plan in place and the local population was not prepared for such a disaster. Crisis management for tourists was undertaken by external organizations and the majority of tourists were evacuated by their respective embassies. Several gaps in tourism crisis management strategies have been identified: •

Tourists are unaware of what to do in case of an Emergency Even in areas where crisis response procedures exist, there are challenges in communicating these directly to tourists. Tourism service providers indicated that tourists do not have information regarding what to do in case of crisis situations. According to various travel blogs and tourist surveys,

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tourists are more aware of crime threats than natural hazards. Currently, many tourism stakeholders do not have a strategy for communicating crisis response protocol to their guests. •

Crisis Strategies exist in various communities, but they are not shared or integrated In researching existing crisis management approaches in the Lake Atitlán area, the consulting team came across several localized strategies and one proposed comprehensive plan developed by ASISTUR. Many communities have created site-specific crisis response mechanisms, particularly targeted for crime. However, fieldwork observations and interviews revealed that many industry stakeholders had limited awareness of the existence of such plans and that there is no integration among the various documents developed by different communities or institutions.

•

Stakeholders are not actively involved in tourism crisis management planning Many tourism stakeholders, such as hotel and tour operators, can benefit from increased participation in a comprehensive crisis management strategy. Currently, the majority of stakeholders do not have crisis management plans for their operations and lack communication protocols for their guests. Most of those interviewed suggested a variety of different approaches on how they would respond to a crisis. In addition to the lack of crisis planning at the individual service provider level, there are very limited efforts to engage the local industry in an integrated effort to design and adopt destinationlevel disaster management procedures.

•

There is a need to strengthen the institutional mechanisms for addressing tourist crime Interviews with local residents and industry stakeholders revealed that the majority of tourists who become victims of crime in the area report the cases to Guatemala City police due to the difficult nature of reporting to the local police. Reports indicate that local police departments are slow and unhelpful in cases of crime against tourists. In many cases crime cases seem to remain unregistered. As a result, the reported crime rates in the Lake Atitlán area are misrepresentative of the reality. This underreporting of crime committed against tourists affects the overall crime management of the destination, especially with the subsequent reduction of police force and capacity building.

4.2 Crisis Management: Natural Disaster and Crime - Prevention, Mitigation and Recovery Many of the leading tourism destinations around the world have experienced or are likely to experience natural disasters, crime waves or terrorist threats. They have found ways to adapt to situations of elevated risk without sacrificing their tourism industries. In many cases, this has been achieved through the adoption of crisis management strategies based on careful planning and full-scale involvement of industry stakeholders. The following section reviews some best practices extracted from the experience of other crisis-prone tourism destinations around the world, including Maldives, Indonesia, Fiji, Turkey, the US state of Florida and others. Analysis of successful crisis management processes revealed that they are usually divided in four groups: prevention, mitigation and recovery.

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Disaster Prevention Preventing the devastating effects of disasters whenever possible should be the first step to ensuring the safety of tourists and protection of the industry as a whole. Prevention strategies depend on the nature of the expected risks. In dealing with earthquakes and hurricanes particular attention is given to sound construction based on appropriate building guidelines and zoning regimes. Although no building is completely secure against the most violent storms and tectonic movements, structural engineering and designs have evolved and continue to improve, offering increased security in the face of such risks. Floods can be avoided by building away from lowlying areas and researching soil type, density and vegetation, which provides vital information on the likelihood of landslides. In addition to the purely technical techniques soft measures can be taken as part Additionally, awareness programs for tourists and preparedness planning such as training of personnel, dissemination of warnings, response to warnings and testing of plans can all be used to decrease vulnerability to such hazards. Vigilantly monitoring for political strife and potential upheaval in the area and surrounding countries as well as the spread of infectious disease in the local and surrounding population can prevent a hazard becoming more than a threat. The processes of designing and adopting disaster prevention strategies varies across destinations but is always based on active participation of all industry stakeholders. The following two case studies reveal the experience of Barbados and the Maldives. BARBADOS

THE COMPREHENSIVE DISASTER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY OF BARBADOS The hurricane season of 2005 produced 23 named storms, 13 of which grew into hurricanes. Seven of these developed into major hurricanes and three eventually reached the most destructive category 5. According to a team of forecasters from Colorado State University this trend is set to continue with temperature increases in the Atlantic Ocean. The Caribbean has the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CEDA) in place to strategically tackle the effects of devastating hurricanes in the region. In 2006 the government of Barbados teamed up with the CDEA, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Barbados Tourism Association to develop contingency plans for the tourism sector in lieu of future threats. Through a collaborative effort a Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Strategy was put into action. Recognizing the significance of engaging all sectors and stakeholders in the industry to work together and the importance tourism has to the economy was a driving force in the creation of the strategy. The multi-hazard plan was far reaching and touched on many sectors and delivered three critical outputs to the tourism industry: • A Draft Tourism Sector Annex to the National Hurricane Plan of Barbados • A Multi-Hazard Disaster Planning Framework for the Tourism Sector • A Draft Framework for Consequence Management with a Focus on the ever present Threat of Terrorism The main goal of the project was to contribute to the reduction of the vulnerability of the tourism sector in the Caribbean to natural hazards through the development of standards for risk mapping, vulnerability assessment, and capacity building within the beneficiary institutions.

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THE EMERGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEEE OF THE MALDIVES The Maldives, a small group of islands in the Indian Ocean, is a country heavily reliant on tourism. The industry is reported to contribute 30% directly and 70% indirectly to GDP providing 25,000 jobs. The devastating impact of the Tsunami in January 2004 caused damage for more than US$350 million and illustrated the vulnerability of the islands to a natural disaster. Since the disaster the government has invested heavily in creating a tourism sector strategy and disaster management plan, which considers a risk-reduction approach and involves building the capacity to reduce vulnerability and loss while enhancing sustainable development. Vulnerability and Risk Assessment, and an effective Early Warning System are both of extreme importance to risk reduction, and both of these activities are currently being undertaken for the Maldives under the guidance of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Understanding the need for a collaborative approach, the Ministry of Tourism assembled all necessary stakeholders: government, resorts, private entities, communities, citizens, civil society and developed a plan from which to move forward. The Ministry established an Emergency Coordinating Committee (ECC) and Tourism Emergency Operations Center (TEOC) to serve as a focal point for the industry in the event of a crisis. The committee was designed to be tourism-specific and to work closely with the National Disaster Management Organization (NDMO). The goal was the growth of sustainable tourism in the Maldives with a specific strategic objective of creating a disaster-resilient tourism sector. This was achieved through a framework with six intermediate results culminating in the development of: • Crisis Communication Procedures • Environment and Safety Procedures • Vulnerability Assessment • Fiscal and Interagency measures established • Capacity Building Programs • Recovery guidelines The ECC then appointed a leader to steer and coordinate with key stakeholders and agencies and located an operations center with all necessary equipment. The function of the committee was to command, coordinate, communicate and control all efforts to prepare, mitigate and recover from any potential disaster. Crisis Mitigation

THE MALDIVES

Even with sound prevention, crises occur and when they do, a destination needs solid mitigation that limits the loss of life, natural resources, infrastructure and superstructure. The foundation of effective mitigation strategy is in participatory planning that includes local and state governments, the private sector, stakeholders, as well as local communities. This is essential in identifying specific mitigation needs and addressing resource availability to ensure swift action in times of crisis. Mitigation strategy includes two steps –short-term and long-term – which, therefore, leads to post-recovery phase. The short-term strategy encompasses actions that need to be taken immediately after a disaster has occurred. The long-term strategy includes the steps that should be taken the first days after a disaster has occurred and what steps will lead to recovery phase.

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If a mitigation strategy is proactive and based on a coordinated prepared plan, damages and loss of life can be prevented. By assessing the potential crisis and impact, natural disaster can be predicted and steps can therefore be taken to mitigate those damages. In preparing a relevant mitigation strategy for the Lake Atitlán area, there are several goals identified through research and fieldwork of crisis mitigation strategies. There are five important steps that should be included in mitigation planning. 1) Increase Awareness One of the most important steps for developing mitigation strategies in the Lake Atitlán region is to increase the level of awareness in communities about the potential for crisis situations. The use of a public education campaigns is a great way to raise awareness in local communities. Furthermore, the use of trainings and workshops can be used to develop specific capacity and skills among industry stakeholders. 2) Reduce impacts The reduction of impacts from disaster and crisis situations can be achieved through the planning of appropriate infrastructure, which withstands disasters and prevents loss of superstructure. This is possible through programs for zoning and building guidelines in the Atitlán area. It is also very important to provide for training of construction companies and workers to make sure they use special materials and techniques that would be resistant to such disasters. 3) Improve emergency communication Sound communication during a crisis is paramount to effective mitigation. It also ensures that reliable information is shared with all stakeholders and the media. There are some strategic steps that can be taken to improve the emergency communication. One possibility is to develop a public alert system that ensures fast dissemination of information in disaster-hit communities. 4) Grow and Develop Partnerships A very important element of a future mitigation strategy for Lake Atitlán is ensuring good partnerships on local, national and international level. Establishing and growing strong cooperation with important institutions and organizations with capacity to help in a case of crisis enhances the effectiveness of the tourism industry. Examples of such partnership organizations include first-response teams such as fire department, police, army; international relief organizations; and volunteer non-governmental organizations.

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F IGURE 16: L OCAL STRUCTURE FOR MITIGATION STRATEGY

Destination Recovery Whether a disaster will damage the tourist industry for a long or short period of time, depends on the processes of recovery. Disaster recovery strategies incorporate actions ensuring sustainable redevelopment of damaged facilities and infrastructure accompanies by consistent and open communication that rebuilds the image of the place. Sustainable Redevelopment Sustainable redevelopment best practices incorporate many processes and the following section summarizes some of the ones that seem of great importance for the Lake Atitlán area. Assessment of Losses After a crisis, particularly natural disaster or civil unrest, it is necessary to estimate the direct damage to assets as well as indirect losses experienced by the tourism industry. This is a crucial starting point for rebuilding a destination, particularly in projecting a timeframe and setting goals for recovery and restoring pre-crisis conditions. More specifically, assessment could include damage from assets and infrastructure such as hotels, guesthouses, historical attractions, transportation vehicles, or docks (Beirman, 2003). The data can be used for comparison with pre-crisis conditions and determining what the needs are for recovery, as well as when the goals have been reached. Aside from physical assets, environmental specialists can have an important role in assessing the disaster impact on natural resources. Indirect Losses Indirect losses can also have significant impact on the tourism industry, as they often come about as a consequence of the direct impact and can also be incorporated in loss assessment. These secondary effects could include potential cancellations of reservations from abroad and the costs of launching promotional campaign to attract more tourists during destination recovery. With decreased arrivals support services such as taxis, restaurants, service providers and other local businesses also incur losses.

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Reconstruction Repair of infrastructure, rebuilding, and financing are all key elements of recovery. However, rebuilding must be strategic in planning, particularly in avoiding affected or potential vulnerable areas. Building techniques and construction materials must also have disaster impact reduction in mind along with planning of appropriate construction zones. One factor that led to increased deaths at Lake Atitlán was the fact that many indigenous communities built homes in susceptible areas without considering potential disasters. Vegetation, particularly trees and shrubbery with strong root systems—such as jatropha or bamboo—can reduce the impact of mudslides and erosion by keeping the soil intact (Ecopreneur Database, 2008). Therefore reforestation of deforested slopes in vulnerable regions can help shield communities and limit the impact of future disasters. Employment Although there is commonly loss of employment following a crisis, this loss can temporarily be compensated during the recovery period, by engaging tourism sector workers in cleaning and infrastructure recovery tasks. However, in small economies, the labor force in the construction sector may be insufficient in carrying out the level of reconstruction required by hotels and other tourism sites. To fill this gap, machinery and equipment may be imported from abroad, which might not relieve and could possibly aggravate pre-existing employment problems (Hall et al., 2003). Tourism Industry Recovery Training It seems that most crisis management strategies in tourism are geared towards large-scale hotels, airlines, and tour companies. However, it must be recognized that small-scale tourism businesses are faced with the same crisis and may need additional support to recover. They are often ignored due to the belief that they can simply close for bad times and return to farming, fishing, or other activities. However, business failure rates of this small scale, local businesses increase dramatically after natural disasters due to building damage, inventory, access, and general interruption of commerce that increase reliance upon these coping mechanisms. One strategy to support entrepreneurs in restarting their small businesses is providing operational and capacity needs in the destination recovery period. For example, tourist destination Arugam Bay in Sri Lanka was severely damaged by the tsunami in 2004. Large and small- scale hoteliers in particular were faced with destruction and an upcoming high season. Donors, NGOs, and other stakeholders in Arugam Bay’s tourism industry provided entrepreneurs with direct business relief - distribution of large camping tents, refrigerators, stoves, beds, to aid in the recovery efforts. As in the Lake Atitlán area tourism businesses are mostly small-scale, it could be efficient to consider specific actions for small business support. Post-Crisis Communication Post-crisis communication best practices incorporate a variety of processes and the following section summarizes some of the ones that seem most appropriate for the Lake Atitlán area. Maintaining Open Communication The instantaneous nature of global media can result in both opportunities and challenges for tourist authorities. Quick media response and outreach can mitigate adverse publicity from the beginning; ongoing communication through the recovery phase can become and important factor in restoring the confidence in a destination. The

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important condition for this is following carefully-planned steps, which can take the form of a series of press releases, briefings, or instituting other channels of communication such as special online crisis newsletters that help keep the media and the public updated. Although it is important to be honest and open with the media, in circumstances where national or tourist security could be compromised, it can be appropriate to share selective pieces of information. Therefore, having some of the information ready for the media would benefit reporters by facilitating their research and create an atmosphere of cooperation between the destination authorities and the media without compromising safety measures. This cooperation is crucial in that it would encourage the extension of media coverage into the restoration and recovery process. Recovery Marketing: Regaining “Peace of Mind” The perception of safety and security is often a major determinant in a traveler’s decision to visit a destination. Marketing is especially important in restoring confidence in a destination and repositioning its image to demonstrate its ability to once again receive tourists. Isolation Marketing In order to combat perceptions that the entire area has been devastated by a crisis and limit media exaggeration, destinations can highlight alternative sites and locations that are unaffected. This can be achieved by hosting large groups of reporters and travel industry professionals to the site to witness firsthand the devastation of the earthquake and discover that most tourist attractions are still intact. The significance of having tourism stakeholders present is that they could potentially serve as an additional marketing channel. More specifically, tour operators, travel retailers and wholesalers who are knowledgeable about a destination can alleviate consumer concerns and sell the destination. With direct experience at the site, they can provide more detailed information on the current situation and recovery efforts. Involving industry leaders and providing testimonies can serve as a valuable enhancement during briefings. Reintroduction and Repositioning of Destination After a crisis, the destination needs to be reintroduced to the public without denying the existence of the crisis itself. In crisis situations, partnerships and alliances are put to the test, as one or perhaps all involved stakeholders have to engage in intensive marketing programs to reintroduce the destination. Collaboration among tourism stakeholders—from tour operators to airlines-- is often needed in developing and offering discounts promotional packages, or unique experiences. The brief case from Fiji presented below demonstrates the effectiveness of centralized tourism industry cooperation and can serve as an example for steps that Lake Atitlán can take to build the tourism component of its crisis management team. FORMING PARTNERSHIP IN FIJI In Fiji, tourism industry recovery was essential after two political coups in 1987 and 2000. The tourism industry responded by forming an association known as the Tourism Action Group (TAG) to coordinate marketing and pricing policies for hotels, attractions, resorts, airlines, and car rental companies during the recovery phase. The efforts were highly centralized and coordinated by the government and the private sector of the tourism industry to stimulate a price-driven recovery (Beirman, 2003).

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Voluntourism Voluntourism provides tourists with a unique tourism opportunity while feeding necessary and direct assistance to the affected area. This form of alternative tourism reflects changes in preferences of international tourists from mass packaged forms of tourism to demanding more authentic forms of travel experience. The “new tourist” can be characterized by their “need to escape from everyday routines in a bid to achieve some form of fulfillment” (Stoddart and Rogerson, 2004). The percentage of travelers planning to volunteer on vacations in 2007 nearly doubled from the previous year, jumping from 6 to 11 percent according to the latest poll by website Travelocity. For Lake Atitlán in particular, volunteer tourism could be beneficial for recovery and reintroducing the destination by attracting a new segment of tourists that attempts to add value to the area. Promoting Existing Security Actions For destinations where crime and general tourist safety is sometimes a concern, marketing to overcome fears and negative perceptions becomes increasingly important. In alleviating misperceptions about the magnitude of the problem, the destination can promote activities within the country that combat the issue. ASISTUR could effectively appeal to tourists and overcome their fears of crime promoting awareness that the government acknowledges the issue and is taking action to put the safety of tourists first. A sample crisis awareness poster is available in Appendix 14.

4.3 Proposed Actions for Effective Crisis Management in Lake Atiltán In order to advance crisis management preparedness and capacity of the tourism industry in Lake Atiltán, the GW/UVG consulting team proposes a set of specific actions utilizing best practices from destinations in different parts of the world. The following section provides brief descriptions of actions; complete action plans with budgets and timelines for each are presented in the appendix section of this report. Crisis Management Toolkit for Stakeholders One of the clearly stated needs by the client and the stakeholders is preparedness for crises. Service providers such as hotels, restaurants, tour operators and others are the first point of contact for tourists in a case of emergency and need to have the capacity and resources to provide the needed support. In order to respond to that need the GW/UVG consulting team developed a Crisis Management Toolkit that can be used as material for general training of staff at all levels in crisis procedures. The Toolkit is meant to serve as a clear reference for long-term use by industry stakeholders, whose businesses may include many employees or experience high employee turn-over rates. The toolkits include various components that address the need for more far-reaching communication of tourism crisis management strategies around the Lake Atitlán area. The complete Crisis Management Toolkit for Stakeholders is included in Appendix 18.

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The complete action plan for the distribution of the stakeholder crisis management toolkit with budget and timeline are included in Appendix 19.11 Crisis Communication Campaign As stated earlier, one of the greatest potential gaps in cases or disaster are in communication. One of the clearly stated needs in this project was the establishment of clear channels for communication that would function in emergency situations. As discussed earlier, in crisis situations communication is important at two levels: first, among the stakeholders within the destinations; and second, between the destination and the media. To respond to that need, the GW/UVG consulting team developed a specialized Crisis Communication Toolkit, which a series of guidelines and templates for communication with the media. These include sample crisis announcement news release, guidelines for disaster news announcements and others. In addition to this, the consulting team developed a proposed system for communication flow in cases of crises (illustrated below). The complete Crisis Management Toolkit for Stakeholders is included in Appendix 17. The complete action plan for the distribution of the crisis communication toolkit with budget and timeline are included in Appendix 19.10.

F IGURE 17: P ROPOSED C RISIS C OMMUNICATION S YSTEM

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4.4 General Recommendations In addition to the specific actions proposed and outlined above and in the appendix of this report, the GW/UVG team identified several long-term opportunities for improved crisis management preparedness of the tourism industry in the Lake Atitlán area: Website development and emergency communication plan The team’s research revealed that there are no information outlets for tourists that provide updated guidance on current safety concerns or natural disasters. One of the opportunities for improved sense of safety for tourists is the development of a specialized security page linked to the main destination website. A link on the front page will lead to a page on security. The purpose will be two fold: The permanent page will detail the safety of the region in terms of crime and updated reports on what local authorities are doing to combat crime and the success they are having. The page will also detail areas to avoid, what to do, and who to contact in case of a crime. In the unlikely event of a natural disaster the second aspect of the webpage will be a flashing link on the front page indicating updated information is available. By clicking on the link, parties will be directed to a crisis assessment page offering reliable and up-to-date information on the crisis. This page will target tourists, media, touroperators, and anyone with interest or ties to the region. Subsequent updates, initially posted daily, will detail the progress, how to donate or provide assistance, and when it is safe for tourists to return. The website could be promoted through a poster campaign featuring posters as the one included in Appendix 14. Crisis Response Capabilities With the establishment of a cohesive crisis communication strategy, key individuals need to be identified in each municipality to coordinate an emergency evacuation of tourists in the event of a disaster. Other crucial players include the transportation sector, especially boat taxis transporting tourists from communities to Panajachel and the two hotels in Panajachel cited as collection points. To guarantee cohesion between municipalities and the crisis management team during an emergency evacuation it is essential to ensure that crisis coordinators have the necessary equipment to safeguard a smooth and orderly crisis management. These tools should include generators to assure a reliable power source, and radios and satellite phones to maintain open communication channels with the crisis communication team. Emergency Crisis Fund The creation of a disaster fund can assist with recovery and offsetting expenses incurred by stakeholders during a crisis. Hotels, for example, have been identified to house and feed tourists in case of an emergency and boat taxis to assist by transporting tourists from lakeside communities to Panajachel. These key players need to have assurances that they will be reimbursed for their efforts to ensure their role and swift action in case of evacuation. The fund is also designed to secure resources for immediate crisis response needs and will assist in the marketing and image recovery effort for the region. The fund will initially gain investment from donors and future funding could be adopted through a percentage tax on tourism-related purchases. “Report a Crime” Hotline To ensure prompt response to tourism crime a direct hotline to ASISTUR and DESISTUR will offer tourists a reliable source of assistance in reporting crimes to the police to ensure accurate records, help with transportation and housing in the event the victim cannot afford to pay for these services, aid with contacting a foreign embassy

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(if needed), and support through often stressful situations. Contact information will be included on posters widely distributed to stakeholders in the region and visible to tourists in hotels, restaurants, and tour operator offices. Early Warning System The better-prepared communities are for natural disasters the less impact there will be on the populous, tourists, and tourist businesses. Education on fast, up-to-date information on storms or any other potential threat will better prepare communities for potential threats. Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CEDA), for example, provides updated information on Hurricane movements across the Atlantic . http://www.cdera.org/. It is also recommended to keep up with new detection techniques which are constantly being updated to forecast earthquakes and volcanic activity. Launch a Campaign “Promoting Peace of Mind” Observations and interviews conducted by the consulting team revealed the existence of different elements of crisis management in the Lake Atiltán. Fieldwork revealed the existence of several specialized institutions with some level of preparedness and specialized documents such as crisis plans or strategies. Most of these institutions or documents were operating on local level and were not collaborating with other industry entities. In addition, information on such institutions or plans is not available, which was proved by the fact that the GW/UVG team was unaware of their existence until it actually met in person with the responsible individuals. In order to improve the awareness of both industry stakeholders and tourists, the team recommends the launch of a specialized campaign that promotes peace of mind. A sound communication strategy can help all stakeholders stay informed of new ideas and best practiced around the lake, share forums on how communities are coping with specific problems (i.e. crime prevention and mitigation techniques) and offer periodic educational workshops to ensure basic preparedness of stakeholders. The proposed campaign is designed to continuously evolve with the changing needs of communities and stakeholders. The workshops offered as part of the campaign will fall under two categories prevention or mitigation.

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4.5 Summary of Part 4 This section details best practices for crisis management, action steps, and recommendations for the Lake Atitlán region. Crisis management strategies are mainly divided in three areas: prevention, mitigation and recovery. Preventing disasters is the first step to ensure the safety of the tourists and protection of the industry as a whole. Effective mitigation strategy means having a strategy for responding to a crisis in a way that involves all tourism stakeholders and limits the loss of life and resources. Destination recovery includes steps towards bringing the capacity and processes in the destinations to pre-disaster levels. Key action steps for crisis mitigation include strengthening local capacity for emergency, establishing tourism crisis team, adopting crisis communication practices and increasing the preparedness of employees in the sector. Effective and constant communications mitigate negative publicity. Extensive cooperation with media is key for the recovery of the destination image. Due to the isolated nature of existing strategies in Lake Atitlán, the consulting team recommended launching a campaign “Peace of Mind” which will be served as a tool for bringing stakeholder together. Crisis management toolkit for stakeholders is also proposed to effectively reach the tourists through the chain of communication. Furthermore, website development and building response capability are also recommended for the Atitlán region to cope with every possible disaster.

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PART 5: Analysis & Strategic Solutions: DEVELOPING A REGIONAL DESTINATION MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 5.1 Creating a Regional Destination Management Organization Numerous diverse stakeholders provide services to the tourism community in Lake Atitlán. However, often they do not communicate with each other. This has especially become evident in research on crisis communications, as well as CBT development. Currently, the Sololá Tourism Sub-Commission’s mandate is to manage, coordinate and support the activities and initiatives of the private, public, and international donor sectors to orientate and develop tourism in the region. In large, the role of this newly formed institution is to implement the Tourism Development Plan for Lake Atitlán. However, many stakeholders indicated that they are not aware of the existence of the Sub-Commission or its role in tourism development. In addition, there are some gaps between key stakeholders in linking their products as a result of a fragmented communications system. A manager to lead the Sub-Commission will begin the following months. As part of the implementation of the plan, we recommend the adoption of an integrated destination management and marketing approach to facilitate the implementation of the recommended actions in this report and to collaborate in the overall tourism development strategy. The creation of a Regional Destination Management Organization (DMO) aligns with Strategy 12 of the Tourism Development Plan for Lake Atital, the “creation and adaption of infrastructure for tourism information.” A destination management system will facilitate a collaborative, sustainable approach that will include all the key stakeholders. What is Destination Management? Destination management is a coordinated management system that includes every aspect of a destination. Some examples include but are not limited to pricing, marketing, advertising, amenities, access and attractions. Together all entities work for the common success of the entire destination. In order for the pieces of a destination to come together, cooperation and participation must be coordinated amongst all stakeholders. When all elements are working together it helps avoid duplication of efforts by various individuals in regards to training, visitor services, promotion, gap analysis and business support. Destination management systems create a common goal among all destination players. What is a DMO? The role of the destination management organization (DMO) is to guide and coordinate others’ ideas into a common rational strategy that can be implemented by all parties. The role of the DMO is not to control the stakeholders but be the leader gathering and connecting the ideas of others, bringing together resources and expertise and a degree of objectivity to move the destination forward. DMOs seek to manage and develop stakeholders, never control the destination. Destination management is not a system that can be applied the same everywhere; it is a complex system that varies from destination to destination. The Blackstone Valley Tourism Council in Rhode Island, USA is one example of a DMO.

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Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, Rhode Island, USA The Blackstone Valley is a river valley, historically significant as the birthplace of the American Industrial revolution. This distinct geographic and heritage area is a designated National Heritage Corridor which comprises of nine different communities. The Blackstone Valley Tourism Council is a non-profit organization, which is responsible for bringing together these communities to develop and co-ordinate sustainable tourism. Blackstone Valley Tourism Council has recently received UNWTO’s best Certification for Excellence in Tourism Governance. See www.blackstonevalleytourismcouncil.com S OURCE : T HE W ORLD T OURISM O RGANIZATION : A G UIDE TO D ESTINATION M ANAGEMENT , D ESTINATION M ANAGEMENT O RGANIZATION

F IGURE 18: DMO D IAGRAM Elements of the Destination:  Attractions, Amenities, Accessibility, 

Marketing:   Consistent branding and  promotion  

DMO  Leader/Coordinator

Delivery of Services: public,  private, civil sectors, i.e.  sustainable CBT products  

Creating a Suitable Environment:   policy, legislation, regulations, i.e. crisis  management   S OURCE : T HE W ORLD T OURISM O RGANIZATION : A G UIDE TO D ESTINATION M ANAGEMENT

Two of a DMO’s most important functions are facilitating partnerships within the industry and collaborating a unified vision of the destination and its success and as a strategic leader in developing and marketing the

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destination national and internationally. A DMO is in charge and control of the success of a destination, however, unlike most other industries, the DMO does not own the product it is promoting, nor does it have actual control over the destination. Its goals include achieving return on investment, market growth, brand distinction, shareholder benefits and quality products. According to the developed by the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Guide to Destination Management (2007), Destination Management Organizations generally fall into one of the following categories: • •

•

National Tourism Authorities (NTAs) or Organizations (NTOs), responsible for management and marketing of tourism at a national level. Regional, provincial or state DMOs (RTOs), responsible for the management and/or marketing of tourism in a geographic region defined for that purpose, sometimes but not always an administrative or local government region such as a county, state or province. Local DMOs, responsible for the management and/or marketing of tourism based on a smaller geographic area or city/town.

Based on the provided by UNWTO guidance and the analyzed characteristics of Lake Atitlán as a tourism destination, the GW/UVG consulting team recommends the establishment of a regional level DMO. The following illustration details the specific roles and functions that fall under the scope of a regional DMO.

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T ABLE 12: DMO R OLES

National Role

INGUAT

Destination promotion, including branding and image

Regional

Local

Lake Atitlán Regional DMO

Community/ Municipal Organization

3

3

Strategy, research and development

3

3

Campaigns to drive business, particularly to SMEs

3

3

Unbiased information services

3

3

3

Operation/facilitation of bookings

3

3

Destination coordination & management

3

3

Visitor information and reservations

3

3

Training and education

3

3

Business advice

3

Product “start-ups”

3

3

Events development and management

3

3

Attractions development and management

3

3

3

S OURCE : T HE W ORLD T OURISM O RGANIZATION : A G UIDE TO D ESTINATION M ANAGEMENT

Lake Atitlán is well positioned to start developing a governance structure for a DMO. In creating a governance structure, the destination should put emphasis on efficiency, return on investment, and the role of the market. It is for this reason that a public-private partnership may be the best fit. The role of the DMO is one that will provide assistance to develop and maintain the partnership. The UNWTO (2007) outlines a number of options for the structure of the destination management entity based on the appropriate level of responsibility and involvement distributed between the public and the private sector: •

Governance Structures for DMO

•

Department of single public authority

• •

Partnership of public authorities, services by partners Partnership of public authorities, serviced by a joint management unit

•

Public authority outsourcing delivery to private companies

•

Public-private partnership for certain functions, in the form of a non-profit company

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• Association or company funded purely by a private sector partnership. In choosing the most appropriate model Lake Atitlán should take into account the specifics of the public and the private sector, including their strengths and weaknesses revealed in the following table: T ABLE 13: S TRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS OF TYPES OF GOVERNANCE

Strengths Public sector

Private sector

• • • • •

• • • • • •

Long term strategic approach Destination awareness creation Public realm management SMME support Quality assurance

Short term tactical approach Sales focus Customer relationship management Focus on market opportunities Rapid decision making Entrepreneurial

Weaknesses Public sector

Private sector

•

• •

• • • • •

Lacks a sharp focus on delivering new business Poor at generating commercial income Risk averse Tolerates poor performance Slow to take decisions Distrusts private sector and the profit motive

• •

Lacks a concern for the wider public good Limited interest in planning for the longer term Has inadequate resources Frustrated by public sector

S OURCE : T HE W ORLD T OURISM O RGANIZATION : A G UIDE TO D ESTINATION M ANAGEMENT , D ESTINATION M ANAGEMENT O RGANIZATION

Steps to Creation of a DMO The first step is the creation of a DMO is a Destination Management Plan (DMP). The DMP outlines the strategy for building partnerships from key stakeholders that includes steps that:

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•

Integrate the actions of separate organizations;

•

Confirm and strengthen the link between strategy and action;

• •

Apply the DMO’s knowledge and expertise to the project planning of other organizations; Foster an evidence-based and learning approach to destination promotion and management.

5.2 System for Measuring Excellence in Destinations (SMED) With the constant growth of tourism around the globe one of the biggest challenges in the industry is balancing growth with sustainability. To provide leadership in addressing this challenge, UNWTO in partnership with the World Center for Excellence of Destinations designed a System for Measuring Excellence in Destinations (SMED). The main purpose of SMED is to provide destinations with a set of principles (Appendix 15) that ensure the sustaining or enhancing of the geographical character of places — their environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of their residents. In addition to the guiding principles, SMED allows destinations to measure their success and identify the areas they need to improve. Adopting SMED for Lake Atitlán One of the greatest advantages that Lake Atitlán has is that it is at the beginning of the process of establishing itself as a destination. This offers the unique opportunity to incorporate from the start the most contemporary standards for sustainable development as provided by the leading global organization in the industry – UNWTO. If Lake Atitlán decides to adopt SMED it will gain two fundamental advantages: 1) The guiding principles of SMED will guide the strategic steps that the Lake Atitlán will be making towards increasing its competitiveness as a destination while balancing the sustainable use of its valuable resources, and 2) The institutionalization of a sophisticated system for measurement of excellence will facilitate the constant monitoring of its success towards achieving the strategic goals. In addition to an opportunity to incorporate the most contemporary and widely accepted principles for destination excellence, Lake Atitlán will gain another advantage. It will be the first destination in Latin America to adopt and follow UNWTO’s SMED. This will help strengthen its image in the industry as a destination that is devoted to sustainable growth and preservation of geographical character. Testing SMED in Lake Atitlán One of the main activities that the GW/UVG consulting team conducted during the fieldwork was conduct a specialized stakeholder survey featuring the twelve Guiding Principles of the System for Measuring Excellence in Destinations (SMED). The survey measured the performance of the Lake Atitlán area as a tourist destination and rated the importance of each principle for the destination. Stakeholders in the Lake Atitlán area were invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire (Appendix 16), which asked them to rate the performance of the destination on each of the twelve principles and the importance that each principle has for the destination. In addition to the main set of questions a brief section collected demographic information and information about the organization, which the respondent represents. The questionnaire was translated into Spanish by representatives of the UVG consulting team. During the field research from June 17 to 25, a total of 62 questionnaires were collected. The mean performance and importance ratings for the twelve principles were calculated as shown in Table 14. The 24 mean values of performance and importance scores are used as the crossing point in conducting an importance-performance analysis (IPA) and constructing an IPA grid.

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T ABLE 14: I MPORTANCE AND P ERFORMANCE R ATINGS FOR SMED G UIDING P RINCIPLES

Principle Number

Principle Description

Mean Performance Rating 3.89

Mean Importance Rating 6.05

1

Cultural richness

2

Physical integrity of landscape

3.53

5.98

3

Biological diversity

3.47

5.84

4

Environmental purity and resource efficiency

2.81

5.78

5

Local quality of life and social prosperity

3.44

5.53

6

Local control and involvement

3.55

5.33

7

Employment quality

3.84

5.63

8

Visitor fulfillment

4.20

5.96

9

Appropriate market positioning

4.17

5.75

10

Economically viable tourism destinations and enterprise

3.88

5.71

11

Quality of governance

3.37

5.46

12

Evaluate outcomes

3.22

5.67

Results and Findings Among the 62 respondents, fifty-seven percent belonged to a private sector organization and twenty-one percent were from governmental organizations). As Figure 20 shows, 2 out of 5 lived in Panajachel and ten percent lived in San Pedro la Laguna.

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F IGURE 19: R ESPONDENTS ' A FFILIATES

F IGURE 19: R ESPONDENTS ' A FFILIATES

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F IGURE 20:R ESPONDENT ' S M UNICIPALITY OF R ESIDENCE

IPA provides a snapshot of how well the destination meets stakeholders’ concerns while offering insights and guidelines for the destination’s future resource allocation decisions. The combination of performance and importance scores of each principle are used for interpretations and extraction of recommendations. The IPA grid (Figure 21) generates four different suggestions based on importance-performance measures. For instance, the “Concentrate Here” box indicates which principles are important for stakeholders but can be improved in terms of performance. Concentrating constructive action in this area is a priority for the destination. The “Keep Up The Good Work” quadrant holds the principles that are considered important by stakeholders and where the destination performs well. Principles falling in the “Low Priority” box are those that have scored lower than the average both in terms of performance and importance. These items can be postponed for the future and do not require immediate resource allocation decisions. The “Possible Overkill” quadrant reveals which principles are considered as less important but where the destination performs well. This indicates that some of the resources invested on these principles can be rellocated to support more priority activities. As Figure 21 indicates three principles are classified into Quadrant A, namely “Physical integrity of landscape”, “Biological diversity” and “Environmental purity and resource efficiency”. Stakeholders consider environmental aesthetics to be very important for the Lake Atitlán region (in fact, the tourist perception survey conducted by the GWU/UVG consulting team also shows that quality of natural scenery and landscapes/environment was the most important factor in their decision to visit the destination) and express a sense of urgency about the environmental degradation around the lake. Three principles (“Cutural richness”, “Visitor fulfillment” and “Appropriate market positioning”) fall into Quadrant B. The destination should maintain the status quo in terms of its cultural products (e.g. festivals, handicrafts and language schools) and marketing, would can be further enhanced through the establishment of a regional DMO and the implementation of some of the other recommended actions. Quadrant C includes four principles, “Local quality of life and social prosperity”, “Local control and involvement”, “Quality of governance” and “Evaluate outcomes”. Stakeholders rated the performance of these principles low indicating that they do not perceive the principles to be very important. As “Employment quality” falls in

89

Quadrant D, the destination is judged to be doing well in creating and supporting tourism-related jobs, but the stakeholders put less importance to the principle. F IGURE 21: I MPORTANCE -P ERFORMANCE G RID WITH P RINCIPLE R ATINGS FOR THE L AKE A TITLÁN

A.Concentrate Here

C. Low Priority

B. Keep Up

D. Possible

In addition, the data was analyzed by cross tabulation in order to identify any perception gaps among sub-regions as well as stakeholder groups. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to examine number of means at a time. Stakeholder Groups The null hypothesis of this analysis is as follows: H0: All the performance and importance means of the stakeholder groups are equal to the overall mean As a result of ANOVA test (see Table 15), only performance of principle 7 (Employment quality) showed statistically significant difference between the stakeholder groups at the 0.05 confidence level. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected and it is concluded that there is a relationship between performance of employment quality and stakeholder groups.

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T ABLE 15: T HE M EAN S CORES BY S TAKEHOLDER G ROUPS

Performance 7 Sum of Squares

df

Mean Square

F

Sig.

Between Groups

32.911

4

8.228

2.693

.040

Within Groups

168.022

55

3.055

Total

200.933

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Municipality of Residence Additionally, a test was conducted to examine whether the mean performance and importance scores were related to respondents’ municipality of residence. The null hypothesis of this analysis is as follows: H0: All the performance and importance means of the municipalities of residence are equal to the overall mean As a result of ANOVA test (see Table 16) again, only performance of principle 7 (Employment quality) showed statistically significant difference between the minicipalities of residence at the 0.05 confidence level. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected and it is concluded that there is a relationship between performance of employment quality and the municipalities. T ABLE 16: T HE M EAN S CORES BY THE M UNICIPALITIES OF R ESIDENCE

95% Confidence Interval for Mean

Performance 7 (Employment quality)

N

Panajachel

Mean

Std. Deviation

Std. Error

25

3.84

1.573

San Pedro la Laguna

8

3.00

San Marcos la Laguna

3

Santiago Atitlán

Lower Bound

Upper Bound

.315

3.19

4.49

1

7

1.852

.655

1.45

4.55

1

7

6.67

.577

.333

5.23

8.10

6

7

2

2.50

.707

.500

-3.85

8.85

2

3

San Juan la Laguna

5

5.00

1.581

.707

3.04

6.96

3

7

San Antonio Palopo

2

6.50

.707

.500

.15

12.85

6

7

Others

16

3.25

1.770

.443

2.31

4.19

1

7

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Minimum Maximum

T ABLE 16: T HE M EAN S CORES BY THE M UNICIPALITIES OF R ESIDENCE

95% Confidence Interval for Mean

Performance 7 (Employment quality)

N

Panajachel

Mean

Std. Deviation

Std. Error

25

3.84

1.573

San Pedro la Laguna

8

3.00

San Marcos la Laguna

3

Santiago Atitlán

Lower Bound

Upper Bound

.315

3.19

4.49

1

7

1.852

.655

1.45

4.55

1

7

6.67

.577

.333

5.23

8.10

6

7

2

2.50

.707

.500

-3.85

8.85

2

3

San Juan la Laguna

5

5.00

1.581

.707

3.04

6.96

3

7

San Antonio Palopo

2

6.50

.707

.500

.15

12.85

6

7

Others

16

3.25

1.770

.443

2.31

4.19

1

7

Total

61

3.85

1.833

.235

3.38

4.32

1

7

Minimum Maximum

T ABLE 17: ANOVA T EST R ESULTS BY M UNICIPALITIES OF R ESIDENCE

Performance 7 Sum of Squares

df

Mean Square

F

Sig.

Between Groups

59.645

6

9.941

3.780

.003

Within Groups

142.027

54

2.630

Total

201.672

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Although the IPA grid shows relatively high performance of employment quality, the results for stakeholder groups and municipalities differ. While employment quality is classified as “Possible Overkill” on the grid, the situation may vary considerably by organization type and area of residence. Further research for employment environment should be conducted to determine whether employment quality needs to be improved.

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5.3 Proposed Action for Establishing Lake Atiltán as a Destination Lake Atitlán Destination Website Portal Fifty-eight percent of United States online leisure travelers use the internet to research places to visit (Forrester Research, 2008). As this percentage continues to steadily increase it becomes all the more crucial for destination organizations to have their own website. Furthermore, it is important that the destination website be embraced by all stakeholders. Currently, there are a few websites for Lake Atitlán, none of which is the official site for the Sololá Sub-Commission. An official website of Lake Atitlán will help bring together stakeholders to exchange and disseminate information, and is the first steps towards integrating efforts for organized destination management. The proposed Destination Atitlán website will serve two purposes: 1) the site will help promote Lake Atitlán to potential tourists, and 2) it will include an intranet portal (Figure 22) that the Sololá Sub-Commission can use to provide useful tools and resources to all stakeholders. The intranet may also serve as a platform for discussions of important issues for the region, and as a mechanism to educate stakeholders on different topics and projects. F IGURE 22: P ROPOSED S TRUCTURE OF DMO I NTRANET

The GW/UVG consulting team proposes a website structure based on an widely used model in marketing called AIDA. AIDA is an acronym for attracting Attention, creating Interest, developing Desire and prompting Action (Perreault & McCarthy, 2002). It is used in marketing to show the sequential steps that a consumer goes through from ignorance to purchase. The model can provide a great stricture for building the website for Lake Atitlán. In

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addition, the proposed website should include the following features providing potential tourists the contemporary features that can engage them and motivate them to travel to the region: •

Itinerary Generator

•

Trip Planner

•

Online Booking Capabilities

• •

Travel Blog Calendar of Events

The website should also utilize search engine optimization. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a website from search engines through natural search results for targeted key words. Optimizing the new Destination Atitlán website will help to capitalize on the growing popularity of the internet as a promotional strategy for destinations. By using SEO properly, the site will be ranked highly on search engine results and have a high ratio of online bookings to the number of site visits. The complete action plan for the development of an online destination portal with budget and timeline are included in Appendix 19.12.

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Adopting SMED for Lake Atitlán Lake Atitlán has is at the beginning of the process of establishing itself as a destination. This offers the unique opportunity to incorporate from the start the most contemporary standards for sustainable development as provided by the leading global organization in the industry – UNWTO. The adoption of SMED can bring two fundamental advantages: use the guiding principles of SMED as strategic steps that the Lake Atitlán will make towards increasing its competitiveness as a destination while balancing the sustainable use of its valuable resources, and institutionalize a sophisticated system for measurement of excellence that facilitates the constant monitoring of its success towards achieving the strategic goals. The complete action plan for the development of an online destination portal with budget and timeline are included in Appendix 19.13.

5.4 General Recommendations In addition to the specific action proposed above and in the appendix of this report, the GW/UVG team identified several long-term opportunities for maximized benefits through the establishment of a destination management entity in the region: Establishing Links from the National to Local Level A relationship should be established between INGUAT at the national level, the emerging regional DMO, and the local tourism organizations of the region. The creation of this relationship will ensure a cohesive marketing approach to attracting tourists not only to the Atitlán region, but to Guatemala in general. These organizations have the same goals and objectives of increasing tourism spending and extending the length of stay in the country, which is why partnership and collaboration is the most effective way to tourism development. Human Resource Development The idea of a DMO is relatively new for the Lake Atitlán region, and therefore the consulting team recommends that the process of growing the destination as a whole is accompanied by steps towards the building of the capacity of key stakeholders. A strategy for human resource development will assist the DMO and the destination as a whole in understanding the processes of planning, implementing, and managing the organization properly. An HR development strategy will also help the DMO evolve into a recognized and fully sustainable entity, and will increase the competitiveness of Lake Atitlán as a tourism destination. UNWTO and Best Practice Management The United Nations World Tourism Organization has many useful resources that could be used as guidelines for the DMO in determining best management practices, among other things. The formation of a DMO could be done as a public-private partnership between key stakeholders in the region or as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). The UNWTO resources can serve as helpful tools in guiding the discussions needed to plan and implement a DMO for the Lake Atitlán region.

5.5 Summary of Part 5 In this section, the strategy for integrated destination management was discussed. The Sololá Tourism Subcommission has been newly formed and there are significant differences in the level of enthusiasm, interest, commitment and readiness to embrace of the different industry stakeholders. Coordinated destination

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management is needed to engage all stakeholders, create a common vision and work towards sustainable growth. The GW/UVG team recommended the creation of a regional Destination Management Organization (DMO) as a leader bringing together and connecting stakeholders’ resources and ideas to move the destination forward. Taking into account the specifics of Lake Atitlán, a public-private partnership may be the best fit. To successfully create the regional DMO, destination management plan (DMP) needs to be developed based on the provided by UNWTO best practices. The newly formed regional DMO should work in partnership with national (INGUAT) and local level DMOs. As a preliminary suggestion, the GW/UVG consulting team identified the Sololá Tourism Sub-Commission as a potential institution that can lead the effort of establishing a DMO. One of the first steps in establishing the needed partnership towards the strengthening of a new DMO is the development of a destination website and portal. This project can engage all stakeholders of the local tourism industry. It will serve as an integrated marketing channel but also as a much-needed internal mechanism for cooperation and exchange of information. In addition, the consulting team recommends the adoption of the developed by UNWTO and the Center for Excellence of Destinations System for Measuring Excellence in Destinations (SMED). The result of the conducted stakeholder survey and the importance-performance analysis demonstrates that the destination can gain a lot of benefits from adopting SMED.

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PART 6: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION & NEXT STEPS 6.1 Summary of Recommendations Promoting CBT: The recommendations related to promoting CBT are comprised of five specific actions. The first recommendation entails the development of a new market segment, S.A.V.E., which is seen as a strong fit for the Lake Atitlán area. The next actions: Atitlán Boat Excursions and Pedestrian-Friendly Panajachel, are ideas extracted from responses and comments in the tourist surveys and derive from the need to increase the average length of stay from the present average of 1.5 days. Furthermore, the potential for an increased number of local cultural and community events has been identified in response to the need for sponsors and to increase event management capacity of the destination. Marketing and Positioning The Marketing and Positioning Recommendations include four actions. The first suggested action is relates to the need for an established image and brand for Lake Atitlán. The next two actions begin to address the need for a distributions strategy for the tourism market to the region, as well as the identification of specific distribution system for community-based tourism initiatives. A specific marketing campaign is also suggested as a way to promote and enhance the destination. Crisis Management The crisis management recommendations are focused around two actions which ensure the production of communications toolkits to insure cohesion of actions among key players as well as providing general crisis guidelines to local tourism stakeholders. Destination Management The recommendations for Destination Management are comprised of two comprehensive actions which include the application of the system for measuring Excellence in Destinations, and the creation of a comprehensive Destination website.

6.2 Next Steps After completing the background research and fieldwork, and laying out recommended actions for tourism development in Lake Atitlán, the GW/UVG consulting team and advisors identified priorities for follow-up to ensure that the recommended actions be implemented in the region. The first priority is funding resources development. This includes identifying potential sources of funding for the Strategic Plan for the Enhancement of Tourism in Lake Atitlán, with priority for the specific action items recommended by the consulting team. Counterpart International, along with one member of The George Washington University consulting team, will contact national and regional level stakeholders as well as any other parties who demonstrated interest based on the presentations given on June 25 and 26 in Panajachel and Guatemala City. Follow-up meetings to generate support for the implementation of the proposed actions will be conducted with these parties.

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The next priority is to clarify initial actions for the new manager of the Strategic Plan for the Enhancement of Tourism in Lake Atitlán. INGUAT has provided funding for a manager to implement the plan with an expected start date in July 2008. Utilizing the fieldwork findings and research of the consulting team, with inside knowledge provided by the Sololá Tourism Commission, Counterpart International will prioritize action items and identify key components from the Strategic Plan. Subsequent meetings with the new manager in Panajachel will help ensure that the resources developed by the consulting team are made available to all stakeholders involved in implementing the plan, as well as ensuring that the plan manager and the Sololá Tourism Commission optimize the resources at hand. The third priority is based on demonstrated interest from the CBT Roundtable (La Mesa de Turismo Comunitario) regarding CBT development in the Atitlán region. The materials created by the consulting team for CBT will be distributed to the Roundtable and other CBT-related organizations in the region. Follow-up discussions will be held to engage the Roundtable in CBT development and address concerns and needs of the communities around the lake. The fourth priority is to follow-up with research and recommendations on implementing a S.A.V.E. (Scientific, Academic, Volunteer, and Educational tourism) Pilot Project in the Lake Atitlán area. This includes identifying stakeholders in the communities around the lake who are involved in volunteer programs such as language schools. An inventory of existing projects and programs will be undertaken. From this, best practices will be identified and gaps in current programs discerned. Based on the identified potential for volunteer-study programs in the communities, recommendations and action items will be proposed for implementation. The final follow-up component to the research, field work, and presentations by the consulting team is the translation of this report into Spanish and distribution to key stakeholders. In addition to the final report, a case study description of the follow up process and lessons learned will be written using the guidelines outlined in the SWIF (Student-Written, Instructor-Facilitated) Learning Guide.

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APPENDICES Appendix 1 Stakeholders Appendix 2 Characteristics of Relevant Market Segments Appendix 3 Respondent Answers – Pre-trip Survey Appendix 4 Fieldwork Survey Appendix 5 Comparison of Workshop and Tourist Responses Appendix 6 Tourist Survey Data Set Appendix 7 Tourist Demographics Appendix 8 Global SAVE Travel Alliance Appendix 9 Community Based Tourism Brochure (in English and Spanish) Appendix 10 CBT Development Toolkit Appendix 11 “Stay Another Day” Brochure Appendix 12 Itinerary Brochure with sample itineraries Appendix 13 promotional Posters Appendix 14 crisis awareness Poster Appendix 15 SMED Guiding Principles Appendix 16 SMED Sample Questionnaire (english and spanish) Appendix 17 Crisis Communication Toolkit Appendix 18 Stakeholder Crisis Management Toolkit Appendix 19 Action Plans Appendix 19.1. Develop S.A.V.E. Market Segment Appendix 19.2. Atitlan Boat Mobile Appendix 19.3. Pedestrian-Friendly Panajachel

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Appendix 19.4. Stay Another Day Campaign Appendix 19.5. Professional Training in Event Management Appendix 19.6. CBT Distribution Channels Appendix 19.7. Branding Competition Appendix 19.8. Marketing Distribution Strategy Appendix 19.9. Keep Lake Atitlán Beautiful Campaign Appendix 19.10. Crisis Communication Toolkit Appendix 19.11. Tourists Crisis Management Toolkit Appendix 19.12. Lake Atitlán Destination Website Portal Appendix 19.13. Apply System for Measuring Excellence in Destinations (SMED) Appendix 20 Bibliography

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Appendix 1: Stakeholders

1.1. Descriptions Ministry of Tourism (INGUAT) The Ministry of Tourism (INGUAT) is committed to promoting tourism development and solidified its commitment by signing the “Geotourism Charter”. The Geotourism Charter covers the participation of local communities, and conservation of natural and cultural heritage. This initiative was promoted by Counterpart and the National Geographic Society with the support of the National Coffee Association (ANACAFE) and INGUAT. The initiative includes the development of a Geotourism MapGuide, a web site and a community training program. INGUAT has also started a branding and marketing initiative called “Soul of the Earth” which entails placing information kiosks at airports and cruise terminals throughout Guatemala. INGUAT therefore has a significant responsibility in not only promoting the image of Guatemala on its own but providing resources and serving as a role model for the country and other stakeholders. INGUAT has the task of engaging other stakeholders to take part in the promotion of tourism and provide self sufficient means to produce long term results. Lake Atitlán Basin Sustainable Management Authority (AMSCLAE) Lake Atitlán Basin Sustainable Management Authority is a seven-year-old interagency governmental body in which the municipalities of the lake basin, the governor of Solola, the military commander of the region, and the Chamber of Tourism are represented, along with a variety of NGOs working in the lake basin. AMSCLAE addresses wastewater pollution which threatens public health and tourism. The rapid growth of tourism in Lake Atitlán and influx of both tourists and other Mayan residents has prompted the need to manage the welfare of the community and also the tourism market it serves. (Ratner, 2004) Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) The Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) is a public institution charged with the formation and execution of the protection, sustainability and betterment of the environment and natural resources of Guatemala. They are responsible for preventing pollution and deterioration of the environment and natural heritage of the country. (MARN Website) The success of geotourism that attracts tourists to Guatemala hinges upon the success of MARN to maintain a healthy environment. They are crucial to the image of Guatemala and areas such as Lake Atitlán because they ensure preservation of natural resources which are tourist attractions. Council for Protected Areas (CONAP) The Council for Protected Areas (CONAP) was established in 1989 and is under the direction of the Guatemalan President. Their jurisdiction covers all national land, coastlines and air space. CONAP’s mission is to assure biological diversification through the protected areas and other mechanisms of conservation to maintain the environment for social and economic development of Guatemala. (CONAP Website) Mancomunidades – Manctzoloj’va and Municipality of Solola Mancomunidades are inter-municipal organizations in Guatemala. The Municipality of Sololá which encompasses Lake Atitlán is part of the mancomunidad of Manctzoloj’va. Both the municipality and the greater mancomunidad are important to incorporate in the promotion of Lake Atitlán. The key leaders and officials within these localities

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such as the Governor of Sololá represent the leadership and various ethnic groups that will drive the implementation and growth of tourism in the area. They also have the most vested interests in promoting tourism for their community because the local government is directly impacted economically and environmentally because of tourism. Lake Atitlán Communities There are eight communities actively involved in tourism around Lake Atitlán including Panajachel, Santiago, San Juan, Santa Clara, San Marcos, San Lucas, Santa Cruz, and San Pedro. The mayors of these towns are an integral part of the support needed to implement and effectively promote tourism development within his or her respective towns. Mayors, representatives of local communities, must be involved in the decision making process as well as the implementation and enforcement of recommendations and policies agreed upon by leadership in the region. They are the voice of the town and must support and promote actions needed to ensure their community is benefiting from and also contributing to tourism development. Sololá Tourism Commission The Sololá Tourism Commission is a focal point for tourism development in the Lake Atitlán area. As a relatively new entity, the Commission has the challenge of engaging all relevant stakeholders both within the region and external to Lake Atitlán to boost the image and position of the destination. They are responsible for fostering relationships amongst all stakeholders to elevate the region’s tourism development and coordinating activities that promote tourism growth. Local Tourism Committees (CAT) Local tourism committees should be actively engaged in enhancing tourism in the region as a whole and more specifically with their respective communities. As local tourism committees, they will represent their communities in meetings with other stakeholders such as the Sololá Tourism Commission. They should bring to light issues that affect their communities and present ways to improve existing tourism products or suggest and/or implement new products. Tourism Assistance Office (ASISTUR) ASISTUR division has 24 hour/seven days per week direct telephone numbers for tourist assistance and emergencies. They provide security escort services for tourists groups and security information. ASISTUR also maintains regional offices in all major tourist destinations in Guatemala, and the regional delegates provide rapid and appropriate assistance to crime and accident victims. There have been no incidents of armed robbery of groups escorted through the Tourist Protection Program. (State) La Coordinadora Nacional Paral la Reducción de Desasteres Naturales o Provocados (CONRED) CONRED is a national level institution whose legal, scientific, technological coordination, planning and development capacity is to execute all actions to reduce the effects of natural and social disasters through prevention. CONRED was formed to manage risk. Their vision consists of a system for the prevention and mitigation of risks, as in the preparation and response to disasters and emergencies that affect the communities. (CONRED) Chamber of Tourism (CAMTUR)

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The Chamber of Tourism (CAMTUR) was founded in 1976 and promotes responsible and sustainable tourism to benefit all subsector of tourism and the general population of Guatemala. Their strategic objectives are to consolidate the leadership within tourism organizations and influence public relations with the tourism sector. They aim to strengthen the image of tourism through media communication. CAMTUR also strives to propel the formation of strategic alliances through cross-sectoral and cross-institutional coordination. Finally they manage technical and financial support of project implementation that contribute and support the development of the tourism sector and sustainability entity. (CAMTUR Website) Counterpart International Counterpart International is the impetus for the consulting practicum and therefore a major player in the success for the promotion of tourism. They empower individuals, communities, and the institutions serving them. Their overarching function is to manage the portfolio of civil society programs that are key to the Lake Atitlán’s tourism development. Guatemala Community Tourism Alliance The Guatemala Community Tourism Alliance is a mixed public and private consortium of leading tourism development organizations led by Counterpart. They support and create small, community-based tourism enterprises in rural areas. Their major goals are to support and create a larger number of community-based, smalland medium-sized tourism enterprises in rural areas of Guatemala, improve access to marketing, product design, and financial services for tourism for these enterprises, improve the capabilities of local communities to co-manage and conserve cultural resources through tourism and improve local community support for and participation in the environmental conservation in the regions around program tourism sites. (Counterpart Website) Guatemala Sustainable Forestry Alliance The Guatemala Sustainable Forestry Alliance works with indigenous communities in the rainforests of the Maya Biosphere Reserve to develop alternatives to destructive “slash and burn” agriculture with high value shade-grown crops like coffee, cacao, vanilla, cardamom and all spice as well as create community-based ecotourism. As part of the Rainforest Alliance, they utilize certification of forest management practices and forest products to foster sound economic development, maintain long-term viability of commercial forests, and protect biodiversity. (Rainforest Alliance Website) Association for the Environmental Protection of Lake Atitlán (PROLAGO) The Association for the Environmental Protection of Lake Atitlán is a local nonprofit organized. The association was founded by citizens inspired by the work of Guatemalan environmentalist Juan Skinner Alvarado, who advocated for indigenous rights to a healthy lake landscape, inclusive policies, respect to their traditional resource use practices, and support to eliminate together the threats to their environment and nature. (World Lakes Website) University del Valle Altiplano (UVG) The University del Valle Altiplano, a private university founded in 1966, is dedicated to finding, educating, and graduating the young members of Guatemala. UVG educates a pool of future leaders that will play a part in the development of tourism for the country and in the Lake Atitlán area. The engagement of the university students will

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foster the sense of ownership needed to propel forward the implementation of recommendations and bring to light issues revealed during the practicum.

1.2. List of Stakeholders in Lake Atitlán   Communities  Ethnic Groups  T'zutujil  K'iche  Caqchikel  Expatriates  Tourists  Public Sector  Lake Atitlán Basin Sustainable Management Authority (AMSCLAE)  National Council for Protected Areas (CONAP)  Ministry of Tourism (INGUAT)  Departamento de Planeamiento   Mancomunidades ‐ Manctzoloj'ya  Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN)  ASISTUR: Tourism Assistance Office  CONRED: La Coordinadora Nacional Paral la Reducción de Desasteres Naturales o Provocados  INAB: National Institute of Forestry  PNC: National Civil Police  Politur: Tourism Police  Solola Tourism Commission  Solola Development Council  COCODE  CAT  CET  Private Sector  Tour operator  Adventure Life  Guatemala Adventure  Tour Guatemala  Turansa  Rainforest Tours  Maya Exotic Travel  Maya Expeditions  Kulkulcan Travel  Hotel  Panajachel  Hotel Regis  Rooms Santander  Mario’s Rooms  Hotel Primavera 

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Grand Hotel  Bungalows El Rosario  Hotel Uzt Jay  Villa Lupita  Hotel Atitlán  Hotel Dos Mundos  Jenna’s B & B  Posada de Don Rodrigo  Porta Hotel del Lago  Posada Los Encuentros  Rancho Grande Inn  Reserva Natural Atitlán  Posada del Los Volcanes  Santiago Atitlán  Hotel Bamby Atitlán  Posada de Santiago  Tiosh Abaj Hotel  San Antonio Palopo  Hotel Tzam Poc  Nimajay B & B  San Lucas Toliman  Hotel Toliman  El Jaibalito  Vulcano Lodge  Santa Cruz la Laguna  Isla Verde  Arca de Noe  La Iguana Perdida  La Casa Rosa  Tzununa  Lomas de Tzununa  San Pedro La Laguna  Mikaso Hotel  San Marcos la Laguna  The Retreat  Hotel Aaculaax  Vacation Rentals  Panajachel  Casa Alegre Apartments  Cameron Cottage  Debra’s House  Restaurants  Panajachel  Sunset Café  The Bistor 

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Guajimbo’s  Al Chisme Las Chinitas  La Terezza Pana Pan  Transportation  Bus  Boat  Car Rental  Airplane  Panajachel hotel and restaurant guild  Handicraft artisans  Pana Super ‐ supermarket  Fishermen  Associations  The Lake Atitlán Resort Association (LARA)  Friends of the Lake Association  Natural Private Reserves Association  Lightermen of San Pedro Association (ASLAT)  Association of Painters and Weavers, San Juan La Laguna, Santiago Atitlán, San Pedro La Lagun The San Lucas Toliman Catholic Parish  Facilitator Group   Boat Owners Association  Chamber of Tourism (CAMTUR)  Civil Society  Let's Live Better  Peace Corps  Solar Foundation  Counterpart International  The Guatemala Community Tourism Alliance  The Guatemala Sustainable Forestry Alliance  Foundation for Development (IPADE)  Natural Reserve of Atitlán  Friendship Bridge: Micro‐Empresa  Museo Cojolyá, Mayan Women Weavers: Kandis Klummel, Director  Private Natural Reserve Association  Boat Owners Association  Environmental Protection of Lake Atitlán Association (PROLAGO)  Universidad del Valle Altiplano  Media  Broadcast  Televisiete  Canal 3  BBC  Internet  Guatemala Times  Guatemala Post 

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De Guate  Newspaper  Diario de Centro America  El periodico  Radio  Donors  USAID  Inter‐American Development Bank  Foundation for Conservation Guatemala  American Electric Power Foundation  World Bank  The Nature Conservancy (TNC) 

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Appendix 2: Characteristics of Relevant Market Segments Nature Tourists Nature tourists, often referred to as eco-tourists, is a term established by Hector Ceballos-Lascurain in 1983. The term eco-tourism, originally referred to travels to undisturbed areas highlighting education; however, now it is described as a scientific approach to planning, management and development of sustainable tourism activities and products. The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has established a formal adaptation to the definition of ecotourism, identifying the following distinct characteristics: • •

All nature-based forms of tourism in which the main motivation of the tourist is the observation and appreciation of nature as well as the traditional cultures prevailing in natural areas. Contains education and interpretation features.

•

Generally, but not exclusively, organized for small groups by specialized and small locally owned businesses. Foreign operators of varying sizes also organize, operate, and market eco-tourism in small numbers.

•

Minimizes negative impacts of the natural and socio-cultural environment.

•

Supports the protection of natural areas by: generating economic benefits for host communities, organizations, and authorities that are responsible for conserving natural areas; creating jobs and income opportunities for local communities; and increasing awareness both among locals and tourists of the need to conserve natural and cultural assets.

All of these distinct characteristics refer to elements of the sustainability principles of balanced economic, environmental and cultural assets. Nature Tourists: Activities of Interest Nature tourists are active, preferring activities that center around nature and the outdoors, learning through observations and experiences. Although nature tourism is referred to by numerous names, all participants enjoy activities such as wildlife viewing,, horseback riding, nature photograph, and agrotourism. Nature Tourists: Segment Profile The main target market segments interested in nature tourism are DINKs (Dual Income with No Kids), empty nesters, and seniors. The typical nature tourist is well educated, mature and concerned with the environment. Travelers prefer to travel individually while appreciating the natural wonders of the world. They generally have previous international travel experience. The general age of this segment is older than 30, with half being male and the other half female. Over a third have college degrees, however, the segment attracts individual of all educational backgrounds. Nature trips are typically longer than the average tourist trip and individuals are willing to spend more money on services and tourism products than other segments. Based on previous market segment studies, it has been identified that the nature segment is willing to spend almost double of what non-nature tourists spend. The preferred length of stay, based on information collected in 2008, is broken down into the following numbers: 4-7 days (28%), 8-14 days (55%), more than 14 days (21%) (Xavier, B.). Nature travelers often seek minimal accommodations due to the fact that they wish to impact the environmental as little as possible, even though most individuals can afford it.

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Based on information from the Environmental Grantmakers Association, the eco-tourism sector is growing at an astonishing 100% per year. Adventure Tourists Adventure travel is referred to as an interactive trip or travel experience that concentrates on typically participating in outdoor activities and seeking new experiences and exotic adventures that are often perceived as risky or dangerous. This segment tends to gravitate toward remote or relatively unexplored destinations or areas. Adventure travelers often seek personal and physically intense challenges, producing a risky and uncertain outcome, referred to as adventure. Adventure travel can be divided into two separate categories: hard core and soft core. Hard core traveler characteristics consist of physical exertion with a certain level of risk involved as well as participant skills. This sector of the segment tends to stay in remote accommodations such as campsites and shoestring lodges with minimal amenities. Soft core adventure travelers are less active than hard core and tend to prefer accommodations with more amenities, such as bed and breakfasts or home stays. This sector tends to be older, with expected growth potential due to the aging population of the world. Adventure Tourists: Activities of Interest The level of adventure activities vary based on whether the tourist is a hard core or soft core traveler. Each sector enjoys and participates in diverse activities, with some similar interests, all typically based around the outdoors and physical activity. Hard core adventure travelers enjoy activities such as repelling, volcano climbing, hang-gliding, scuba, diving and intense water sports. Soft core adventure seekers enjoy such activities as bird watching, cycling, hot air ballooning and nature walks. Common activities that both adventure sectors seek are eco-tours, kayaking, canoeing, hiking/trekking and wilderness trips. Adventure Tourists: Segment Profile The main target market segments interested in adventure travel are youth, DINKS, and empty nesters. Typically hard core adventure travelers are young, between the ages of 13 and 45, well traveled, well educated, and based on the individuals point in life, are typically at the peak of their career and have a disposable income. The older end of this sector generally uses extreme travel as a means to cope with the stress and anxiety of life and work. The younger population of this sector prefers independent travel and living on minimal funds. Soft core travelers often range between 46 and 65 years of age and are extremely fit and lead active lifestyles. This sector also holds the same characteristics as the hard core sector and should be a marketable sector in the future due to the aging population. The adventure travel sector is typically not oriented toward families with small children, however, families with teenagers are now beginning to base vacation on adventure activities. Culture/Heritage/History Culture/Heritage/History include experiences and adventures that attract and enhance the tourist’s visit. This segment seeks destination specific attractions, activities, monuments and sites. The premise for this type of travel is to immerse one’s self in the local lifestyle including the people, area and native characteristics. Culture/Heritage/History: Activities of Interest

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This market segment enjoys various activities such as churches and cathedrals, ceremonies, festivals, archeology, Mayan culture, handicrafts, art and architecture. This segment is becoming more popular amongst tour operators who cater to niche markets. Culture/Heritage/History: Segment Profile The segment profile of culture/heritage/history tourists includes people between 45 and 60 years of age with higher incomes and education than average. Unlike the two market segments listed above, this market segment enjoys more amenities, taking longer trips, staying in hotels, and shopping, for arts and handicrafts native to the destination. In comparison with the previous two segments, this segment is also well educated, well traveled, and constantly seeking new and exciting destinations. Like nature tourists, culture/heritage/history travelers have a genuine interest in the society and culture of places they visit, largely motivated by a quest for knowledge presented in an entertaining and accessible form. S.A.V.E. S.A.V.E. tourists, which stands for Scientific, Academic, Volunteer, and Education is the newly suggested segment for the Lake Atitlán region. S.A.V.E. is a growing market in which tourists seek to experience more than relaxation and recreation during their travels. This segment wants to learn, grow and contribute to the community of the destination in movements or causes they personally believe in. The term S.A.V.E. is a niche travel market that was developed by The George Washington University ‘s tourism consulting practicum team of 2003 in Honduras, which includes the segments listed above. The following is a brief description of each segment: • •

•

•

Scientific – Individuals or groups who travel for the purpose of conducting specific research or observation within fields such as biology, archaeology, or anthropology. Academic – Individuals or groups who travel with the intention of participating in experiential learning activities leading to credit for formal degree programs or courses offered by higher education institutions; for example, field studies in anthropology, archaeology, languages, conservation biology, etc. Volunteer – Individuals or groups who travel to participate in specific activities that will contribute to the betterment of society. These opportunities include areas such as social responsibility as well as historical and natural preservation. Educational – Individuals or groups who travel to obtain, for personal gratification rather than academic credit, knowledge or experience within a wide range of human activities.

S.A.V.E Tourists: Activities of Interest Activities of interest in regards to S.A.V.E. activities vary among the four components S.A.V.E Tourists: Segment Profile The S.A.V.E. market segment includes tourists who want to transcend economic, social, and political boundaries to obtain knowledge and help the environment, people, and society. The age range of this segment spans from as young as 16 up to 85 years of age. Tourists in this segment over the age of 21 tend to be college educated, and 40% have graduate degrees. This segment also typically earns a higher than average income. Most are also willing to donate various resources to the S.A.V.E. sector such as time, money, and services. Individuals are committed to society and the learning process, frequently addressing specific issues facing a destination, seeking enhancement. S.A.V.E.

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tourists also typically try to incorporate the knowledge they have gained on their travels into their business and other life activities.

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Appendix 3: Respondent Answers – Pre-trip Survey

The complete data file with all collected responses with the pre-trip survey is available at: http://www.gwu.edu/~dmp/2008-Guatemala/PREtripSurvey-DATA.xls (if you are reading this report online, you can download the data file by clicking on the link above)

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Appendix 4: Fieldwork Survey

DEMOGRAPHICS: AGE:

GENDER: ‰ male ‰ female PERMANENT COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE:

TRAVEL TO ATITLAN: 1. Is this your first time visiting Guatemala? ‰ yes

‰ no

How many times, in total, have you visited Guatemala?

2. Is this your first time visiting Lake Atitlan? ‰ yes

‰ no

How many times, in total, have you visited Lake Atitlan? If you visited Guatemala, but not Lake Atitlan in previous trips, what was the reason?

3. How long will you be visiting Lake Atitlan?

4. Are you traveling: ‰ alone

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‰ as a couple

days

‰ with friends

‰ with family

5. What was your primary reason for visiting this area? (please choose one) ‰ leisure

‰ business

‰ visiting friends and relatives 1 yr)

‰ education, short-term (less than

‰ volunteerism, short-term (less than 1 yr) ‰ other___________

6. What was your main mode of transportation to Lake Atitlan? ‰ personal/rented car

‰ tour bus/vehicle

‰ chicken bus

‰ other: ____________

7. How did you first hear about Lake Atitlan? (please choose one) ‰ radio

‰ television ‰ newspaper ‰ magazine ‰ Internet ‰ tour operator

‰ travel brochure/book

‰ word of mouth

TOURISM AROUND LAKE ATITLAN: 1. What town are you staying in around Lake Atitlan?

2. What hotel/hostel are you staying in around Lake Atitlan?

3. What activities have you been doing or will you be doing while in Lake Atitlan (please check all that apply)

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‰ hiking/trekking

‰ wildlife viewing

‰ biking ‰ climbing ‰ swimming

‰ visiting villages ‰ visiting national parks ‰ attending art or music performances (i.e. dancing, drumming, singing, craft demonstrations) ‰other:

4. What types of services or products would convince you to lengthen your stay in Lake Atitlan?

5. Would you recommend that a friend of yours visit this area?

‰ yes

‰ no

Why or why not?

6. What (services/products) would convince you to stay another day in Lake Atitlan?

How important were the following factors in your decision to visit the area? (Please circle the number of the answer that represents your evaluation of each factor).

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Important

Not very important

Not important at all

1. Quality of natural scenery and landscapes/environment 2. Desire to learn about other cultures, their ways of life and heritage 3. Participation in major cultural or religious events 4. Opportunity to visit an indigenous or traditional communities 5. Opportunities for adventure/sports activities

4

3

2

1

4

3

2

1

4

3

2

1

4

3

2

1

4

3

2

1

6. Good prices for quality received

4

3

2

1

7. Good local transportation system

4

3

2

1

8. Recommendations from a friend/book

4

3

2

1

9. Safety

4

3

2

1

10. Interest in business investment in visited area

4

3

2

1

Please rate your personal experience with the following products & services:

Good

Fair

Bad

Very bad

Not applicable

Very important

Excellent

Factors

Personal safety

5

4

3

2

1

0

Friendliness of the people

5

4

3

2

1

0

Explanation of customs/culture

5

4

3

2

1

0

Accessibility to different lake communities

5

4

3

2

1

0

Ecotourism activities

5

4

3

2

1

0

Adventure activities

5

4

3

2

1

0

Visitor centers

5

4

3

2

1

0

Organized excursions/tours

5

4

3

2

1

0

Degree of knowledge of foreign languages from service personnel

5

4

3

2

1

0

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Helpful police services

5

4

3

2

1

0

Shopping for handicrafts

5

4

3

2

1

0

Telecommunications

5

4

3

2

1

0

Convenience and access to local transport

5

4

3

2

1

0

Is there anything else you would like to add about tourism or your experience in Lake Atitlan?

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Questions for San Lucas/San Juan

1. What are the challenges of attracting tourists?

2. What is your relationship with tour operators/hotels?

How effective is this relationship in bringing in tourists to San Lucas/San Juan?

3. What assistance do you need to bring more tourists to San Lucas/San Juan?

4. What products/services does San Lucas/San Juan have that are unique?

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5. What types of marketing have been used in the past?

What has (not) been effective?

6. How do you measure the impact of your marketing strategies?

7. If an official website was built for Lake Atitlan, how would you like San Lucas/San Juan to be represented on that website?

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Appendix 5: Comparison of Workshop and Tourist Responses

Question

Survey Results

Branding Meeting

What are the characteristics of the ideal tourists visiting Atitlan?

National Tourists: limited number interviewed, vast majority were internationals (possibly due to off season)

National Tourists: Easter week and New Year. Adventure

International Tourists:

Foreign Tourists: Look for relaxation and experience culture and nature They arrive in pairs or groups of friends

Nationals and foreigners: -Average length of stay of entire sample group: 16.38 days (Nationals stayed for 4.22 days) -Average age: 30.03

-

Nationals and foreigners - They stay 2 to 3 days, up to 1 week en the area Travel in organized groups and/or in pairs They are Young adults with the ability to buy Interested in local culture and nature

- 84% traveling with groups, friends or family - Top 3 reasons for visiting area: Quality of nature, desire to learn about other cultures, good quality for price.

What do you want tourists to remember from the Atitlán region after visiting it?

-

-

Tourists ranked “friendliness of the people” highest out of the products and services surveyed (average rating: 4.5/5) Many tourists cited lake pollution and underdevelopment of lakefront as turnoffs 41.38% had no experience/interaction with visitor centers Degree of knowledge of foreign languages was given a ranking of 3.66 (between fair and good) “Helpful police services” was ranked 3.26; many tourists cited not needing police services

Service, carisma and attention Well treated, respect, beautiful nature Living culture (textiles and handicrafts) Quality of the people

-the lake, volcanoes, and environment -living culture -kindness of the people -good service

What do you consider to be unique about the Atitlán region

-

beauty, landscape, natural surroundings Mayan culture

Lake and Volcanoes Landscape, culture and traditions

Combination of natural scenery and cultural

120

diversity -the scenery -the people, living culture -combination of culture and natural environment What are the advantages of Atitlán as a tourism destination compared to other destinations in Guatemala

- less than 4% stated they would not recommend Lake Atitlan as a tourism destination to friends. The remaining 96% cited beauty of natural surroundings as the primary reason for recommendation

-

Color, tradition, adventure Short distance between towns 3 cultures in the same location Living culture, reasonable prices, ease of transport, local interest - Climate - Handmade art: proud and rich - Diversity of natural attractions and cultures in the same region - Increase range of activities - authentic destination - multicultural

What are the disadvantages of Atitlán as a tourism destination compared to other destinations in Guatemala

-

-

Safety Lack of water sports Underdeveloped waterfront Those who participated in ecotourism activities ranked these, on average as 3.67/5 (between fair and good). Tourists stated activities were marked wrongly as ecotourism and sector is underdeveloped Pollution Aggressive tuk-tuk and motorcycles pose danger for tourists

-

Lacking tourism packets Lacking information (fees) and promotional material - Lack training - Unsafe - Access is currently in bad condition - signage is inadequate and/or non-existent - deficiency in service to the client - Not a management of trash

Which elements of landscape are the most outstanding in lake Atitlán?

-

natural beauty of volcanoes and lake Volcanoes were referenced less than the lake as the most significant element of landscape. Tourists also indicated a desire for hiking tours or well marked trails up the volcanoes - pollution of lake around docks and on waterfront was a source of dissatisfaction for tourists

Volcanoes, green water marina, ___

Which elements of people and culture are the most outstanding in lake Atitlán?

-

-

friendliness of the people had a rating of 4.5/5 (between good and excellent)

-

Lake surrounded by volcanoes is the most significant element of the scenery

Weavers Kindness and respect. Kindness and respect of the people in Atitlan - Multiculturalism - Everyday activities and traditions of the people of Atitlan -___ -languages

121

What phrase would best describe the Atitlán region

-

Peaceful laid back beautiful

- the cone of 3 volcanoes - the navel of the world - natural mirror of the Mayan world - Atitlan, where the time stands still - Atitlan, where the colors and the people win your heart in a unique scenery - Atitlan, your lake, your gente, ___ _

Tourist surveys Sample: # of respondents

Average Age

% Male

% Female

Avg. length of stay

116

30.03

43.18

56.82

16.38 days

122

*4 = very important; 3 = important; 2 = not very important; 1 = not important at all

123

*5 = excellent; 4 = good; 3 = fair; 2 = bad; 1 = very bad

124

Appendix 6: Tourist Survey Data Set

The complete data file with all collected responses with the fieldwork tourist survey is available at: http://www.gwu.edu/~dmp/2008-Guatemala/FieldworkTouristSurvey-DATA.xls (if you are reading this report online, you can download the data file by clicking on the link above)

125

Appendix 7: Tourist Demographics

Tourist surveys Sample: # of respondents

Average Age

% Male

% Female

Avg. length of stay

116

30.03

43.18

56.82

16.38 days

Home country: 45% North America; 38% Europe; 17% Other

International Segment (respondents not from Central America) identified the following countries as home:

Belgium

1

Italy

2

Canada

1

Korea

1

Denmark

1

Netherlands

5

Finland

1

New Zealand

2

France

6

Poland

1

Germany

1

Spain

2

Holland

3

Sweden

1

Ireland

2

Switzerland

2

Israel

1

UK

14

USA

52

126

Appendix 8: Global SAVE Travel Alliance Global SAVE Travel Alliance Brief Conceptual Introduction

This document briefly presents the recently coined SAVE concept, the formed SAVE Travel Alliance and its objectives, as well as potential activities that SAVE pilot initiatives could include. What is SAVE tourism? SAVE stands for Scientific, Academic, Volunteer and Educational tourism. This is essentially an existing and fast growing market segment, which was identified and conceptualized by The George Washington University in 20031. This market segments includes travelers who engage in activities with specific and sometimes significant positive impact on the destination. The paragraphs below outline the characteristics of the four categories of travelers that the SAVE market segment includes: Scientific: Profile and Activities: These are scientists from universities or research centers interested in conducting scientific research within fields such as biology, archaeology, or anthropology with the purpose of contributing to general human knowledge. Benefits for Destinations: Scientific research takes time and requires extended stays with longer economic impact. Scientific expeditions hire local workers, live in the communities, eat local food, utilize local transportation and buy local goods—leading to positive economic impacts in surrounding communities. In addition, scientists have the capacity to gather data on valuable destination assets, which destinations do not have. Examples: As part of its strategy to promote sustainable and nature-based tourism Costa Rika targeted leading scientists interested in butterfly species to conduct research. The country has a rich variety of butterfly species and scientific research has helped gather more data and build awareness on this interesting asset, which has begun to draw the interest of all tourists. Academic: Profile and Activities: Individuals or groups that travel with the intention of participating in experiential learning activities leading to credit for formal degree programs or courses offered by higher education institutions; for example, field studies in anthropology, archaeology, languages, conservation biology and others. Benefits for Destinations: Academic groups have a tendency to visit more remote places in the interest of study, and are more willing to interact with local communities. They often do not require sophisticated facilities and services.

1

GWU (2003). Assessing Opportunities in Scientific, Academic, Volunteer and Educational (SAVE) Tourism in the North Coast and Bay Islands of Honduras, Final Report Prepared by the GW MBA Consulting Practicum. Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management: The George Washington University.

127

Examples: Many established academic institutions offer study abroad programs, practicums or other academic programs as part of their programs. Volunteer: Profile and Activities: Individuals or groups that travel with the intention to participate in specific activities that will contribute to the betterment of society. These could be travelers associated with the growing number of organizations supporting volunteer programs or independent travelers. Benefits for Destinations: In recent times, travelers, particularly youth, have shifted from what was originally just traveling or studying abroad to incorporating service into the learning experience. Often volunteers spend a long period of time at the destination and do not require sophisticated facilities and services. Examples: There are many types of volunteer activities that can be directly related to the improvement of World Heritage Sites and local communities. Depending on background and skills, volunteers can contribute to the capacity building of local communities and other stakeholders as well as to help with product development, physical improvement of areas and other elements of developing destinations. Educational: Profile and Activities: Individuals or groups that travel to obtain knowledge or experience, for personal gratification rather than academic credit. This type of educational experiences could include learning a language or acquiring another skill. Programs leading to some credential or certificate of completion involve longer trips and higher expenditures for value added activities (e.g. guided interpretation) directly benefiting local people. Benefits for Destinations: The acquiring of skill or knowledge usually requires extended stays at the destination as well as increased interaction with local communities. In the cases when the focus of the educational experience is associated with the local culture or traditions this contributes to the strengthened pride of communities. Examples: In the last years the number of people traveling to a destination to learn local language has increased. For example, in many countries in Latin America (especially in less developed areas) there are Spanish language schools for foreign travelers. Other examples include travel programs which engage the tourist in learning how to prepare traditional meals, local crafts and others.

What is the Global SAVE Travel Alliance? The Global SAVE Travel Alliance was formed to promote the development of SAVE tourism on global scale. The Alliance was formed as a result of the collaborative efforts between the four founding partners: The National Geographic Society (NGS), Counterpart International (CI), the George Washington University (GW), and the Honduras Institute of Tourism (HIT). Dr. Donald Hawkins was appointed as Chairman of the Alliance. The objective of the organization is to enable linkages between responsible travelers and destinations interested in pursuing sustainable growth. Some of the specific approaches that the SAVE Travel Alliance will employ to meet its objective include: 1. 2.

Develop information and communication system Initiate fund raising and resources needed for start up initiatives

128

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Identify and survey marketing networks Develop case studies of viable destinations Develop and pilot test the Volunteer Educational Scientific and Travel (VEST) program Design and implement a quality assurance program Establish a performance monitoring system.

What is the business model and the benefits behind a SAVE initiative? As experience has shown many times linking tourism to effective economic development is effective only when there is a working business model in place. The concept of a SAVE initiative is to facilitate the links between potential or developing tourism destinations and attractions, and the appropriate SAVE markets. This is possible through the involvement of intermediaries (specialized tour operators, specialized NGOs and volunteer groups) who have the capacity to arrange specialized trips and programs to the destinations. In order to be successful and benefit the destination in the long run a SAVE initiative should include the following components: 1) Preliminary identification of potential destinations/attractions and assessment of their assets, needs, level of readiness 2) Education, capacity building and specialized training targeting specific stakeholders as well as the local community 3) Identification of appropriate intermediaries and organization of a familiarization trip 4) Establishment of a SAVE center to coordinate all SAVE travel-related activities. The attracting of SAVE markets brings more than mere economic benefits for destinations. SAVE travelers engage in activities that in many cases contribute to the improvement of the destinations or their tourism assets. SAVE initiatives effectively engage not only representatives of the private sectors but also local communities, community organizations, non-governmental organizations, academic and educational institutions.

129

Appendix 9: Community Based Tourism Awareness Brochure (starts on next page)

130

Hoteles

Guías Turísticos

•

El manejo, el personal y la propiedad son locales;

•

Se opera como una asociación de guías locales;

•

La mayoría de los recursos utilizados en el hotel son comprados localmente;

•

Los ingresos se invierten en proyectos que beneficien a la comunidad;

•

Se utilizan practicas ambientalmente sostenibles;

•

Se colabora con sectores públicos y privados para proveer servicios a la comunidad;

•

La cultural local es incorporada en la decoración, eventos, menú, etc.;

•

Se trabaja como un centro de información para productos turísticos de la comunidad;

•

Parte de los ingresos se utilizan para patrocinar proyectos comunitarios;

•

•

Se hacen asociaciones con tour operadores locales y otros productos turísticos que benefician a la comunidad.

Se ofrecen tours que promocionen la cultura local y el medio ambiente en una forma responsable.

Tours de Agroturismo •

Las plantaciones son manejadas por cooperación locales;

•

Los métodos de agricultura utilizados son orgánicos y sostenibles;

•

Los visitantes y los miembros de la comunidad son capacitados en temas de agricultura sostenible y orgánica;

•

Los ingresos son utilizados para proyectos de desarrollo comunitario;

•

Se promueve un medio ambiente sano dentro y alrededor de la comunidad.

Turismo de Base Comunitaria en el Lago Atitlán

TBC no es un tipo específico de producto turístico. Cualquier producto turístico tiene el potencial de tener bases comunitarias. Cada comunidad debe decidir si el TBC es una actividad que los beneficie, determinar sus propios objetivos y metas, e identificar que productos quisieran que se desarrollaran.

Creado por: El equipo consultor de la Univer sidad de George Washington y la Univer sidad del Valle Con apoyo de: Counter par t Inter national y la Comisión de Tur ismo de Sololá

¿Qué es Turismo de Base Comunitaria?

¿Cuáles son los beneficios del TBC?

El Turismo de Base Comunitaria (TBC) es un proceso que considera el desarrollo y manejo del turismo como uno que involucra y beneficia a la comunidad local, así como a los turistas.

Económicos •

Proporciona nuevas oportunidades para la creación de micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas;

La palabra comunidad incluye a todos los ciudadanos, gobierno local, dueños de negocios privados, ONG’s, asociaciones y cooperativas.

•

Crea nuevas oportunidades de trabajo para diferentes grupos de la comunidad (por ejemplo mujeres e indígenas).

Ambientales

¿Qué hace al TBC diferente de otras formas de turismo? •

Una parte importante de los ingresos recibidos provenientes del turismo se queda en la comunidad;

•

Los recursos locales se utilizan de forma sostenible;

•

•

•

•

Aumenta el entendimiento y el aprecio de un ambiente sano;

•

Fomenta la sostenibilidad;

•

Minimiza la dependencia de actividades que dañan el medio ambiente.

Escuelas de Español •

Los maestros tienen el mismo poder de toma de decisiones;

•

La mayoría de los pagos van para los maestros, programas de amplio alcance y al mantenimiento de la escuela;

•

Gran parte de los ingresos se invierten en programas de apoyo comunitario;

•

Los turistas pueden decidir quedarse en casas con familias locales y hacer voluntariados.

Socio-cultural

Los actores locales tienen una voz en el proceso y reciben beneficios del turismo;

•

El turismo es utilizado como una herramienta para lograr objetivos comunitarios como la protección ambiental, la conservación cultural, o el alivio de la pobreza;

•

Fomenta la participación y la responsabilidad ya que las decisiones se toman a nivel local;

•

Construye recursos y capacidades comunitarias,

•

Promueve el orgullo comunitario y la preservación de la cultura y las tradiciones;

Las necesidades de la comunidad son consideradas para minimizar los impactos negativos del turismo, contribuyendo a la mejora de la calidad de vida.

¿Cómo pueden los productos turísticos en el Lago Atitlán llegar a tener bases comunitarias?

Aumenta el entendimiento intercultural entre las comunidades locales y los turistas,

Tienda de Artesanías •

Los operadores y propietarios de la tienda son miembros de una cooperativa o asociación;

•

Las artesanías son producidas localmente y utilizando métodos tradicionales;

•

Los turistas pueden aprender acerca de las tradiciones locales a través de demostraciones y clases.

Appendix 10: CBT Capacity Building Toolkit (starts on next page)

133

A Toolkit for Success

Produced by George Washington University & University del Valle Consulting Team With support from the Alianza para el Turismo Comunitario project by USAID and Counterpart International & the Sololá Tourism Sub-commission

Table of Contents

Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………. - Figure 1: CBT benchmarks What is CBT? ………………………………………………………………………………………… - Figure 2: Relationship between market segments and CBT How is CBT different from other forms of tourism? ………………………………….. What are the benefits of CBT? ………………………………………………………………… Participation …………………………………………………………………………………………. - Figure 3: Categories of participation Identifying and/or developing a CBT product ………………………………………… - Table 1: Guidelines for sustainable CBT products Establishing linkages within the community ……………………………………………. Collaborating with surrounding communities ………………………………………….. Connecting to external distribution channels …………………………………………… - Table 2: Potential international CBT distribution channels

3 4 5 5 6 8 13 14 15

Introduction This toolkit was designed by members of the George Washington University and University del Valle tourism consulting team, with support from Counterpart International and the Sololá Tourism Commission, as part of the Destination Atitlán consulting project conducted from May to August of 2008. One focus of the project was identifying the potential for community-based tourism (CBT) in the Lake Atitlán region and determining benchmarks for measuring success. After completing background research as well as field interviews, the team determined that the Lake Atitlán region already hosts a number of good examples of CBT, and the potential to develop further CBT operations is great. However, many of the existing operations, while demonstrating the important qualities of CBT, remain relatively small operations due to the lack of linkages within communities, between communities, and with the external tourism market. The toolkit identifies four main benchmarks for developing successful and sustainable CBT enterprises in Lake Atitlán: STEP 4 Connecting to external distribution channels

STEP 3 Collaborating with surrounding communities

4 3 2

STEP 2 Establishing linkages within the community

1

STEP 1 Identifying and/or developing CBT products Figure 1: CBT benchmarks Step 1 contains detailed guidelines for developing a tourism product that can be considered community-based, including characteristics that impact the local economy, society and culture, and environment. Each step also includes a specific case example of a CBT operation in Central America that has achieved that benchmark. This toolkit, while focusing specifically on the Lake Atitlán area, is intended to be used as a guide by local, regional, and national stakeholders who are interested in promoting CBT in Guatemala. - Table of Contents -

What is Community-Based Tourism? There are many definitions of community-based tourism (CBT) that have been developed by various organizations. After a thorough assessment of the current situation in the Lake Atitlán region, a definition has been developed to fit the context of community development and tourism in Guatemala. Community-based tourism is a process for developing and managing tourism that engages and benefits the local community as well as tourists. Community includes citizens, local government, private business owners, NGOs, associations, and cooperatives. CBT is not a specific type of tourism product. Four main market segments have been identified for tourism in Lake Atitlán: nature, adventure, cultural/religious/historical, and S.A.V.E. (Scientific, Academic, Volunteer, and Educational tourism). Tourism products in each of these segments can be developed in a way that maximizes benefits to the local community and minimizes the negative impact of tourism, thus making them community-based tourism products.

Figure 2: Relationship between market segments and CBT

- Table of Contents -

How is CBT different from other forms of tourism? Community-based tourism has many advantages for both local communities and tourists themselves. These advantages include: ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ

A significant share of tourism revenue remains in the community; Local resources are utilized in a sustainable way; Local stakeholders have a voice in the process and receive benefits from tourism; Tourism operations are used as a tool to achieve broader community goals such as environmental protection, cultural preservation, or poverty alleviation; The needs of the community are balanced with the expectations of tourists in order to minimize the negative impacts of tourism, thus contributing to a better quality of life and less friction between local communities and visitors.

- Table of Contents -

What are the benefits of CBT? Community-based tourism includes a wide range of economic, environmental, and sociocultural benefits. Some of the major benefits include: Economic ƒ Provides new opportunities for entrepreneurship for small, medium, and microenterprises; ƒ Creates new jobs for different community groups such as women and indigenous populations. Environmental ƒ Increases understanding and appreciation for a healthy environment; ƒ Encourages sustainability; ƒ Decreases dependence on environmentally harmful activities. Socio-cultural ƒ Increases cross-cultural understanding between host communities and tourists; ƒ Encourages participation and accountability because decisions are made locally; ƒ Builds community resources and capacity; ƒ Fosters community pride and preservation of culture and traditions.

- Table of Contents -

Participation One of the key elements of community-based tourism that distinguishes it from other types of tourism is that, by definition, it is a wholly participatory process. Given the importance of participation to community-based tourism development, defining the principles and types of participation is a crucial step to understanding the CBT process. According to the Mountain Institute’s Community Based Tourism for Conservation and Development: a Resource Toolkit, there are six common principles of participation within a development framework: 1. Participation has a defined methodology and a systematic learning process. The key is that it is a process of cumulative learning by all the participants. 2. Participation incorporates multiple perspectives. The objective is to collect a diversity of ideas and opinions, rather than aiming for simplicity. There will always be more than one way to interpret any situation, and other perspectives should not be ignored just to avoid complications. 3. Participation involves a group learning process. Understanding the complexity of situations cannot occur without group interaction and analysis. 4. Participation is context specific. Participatory approaches need to be flexible enough to adapt to different situations and participants. 5. Participation brings together facilitating experts and stakeholders. External experts should help stakeholders go through the learning process to reach their own objectives and goals, and stakeholders should carry on as facilitators in the field. 6. Participation leads to change. The act of group discussion and analysis will change the actors’ perceptions, define areas for change, and motivate participants to take action. In addition to multiple principles of participation, there are also a variety of types of participation. There are seven broad categories of participation types that fall along a continuum, ranging from least active to most active, as demonstrated in Figure 3 (The Mountain Institute, 2000). In the context of community-based tourism, there are four areas in which stakeholders can participate: 1. Sharing of economic benefits 2. Planning tourism development 3. Implementation and operations of tourism projects 4. Decision-making for and management of tourism ventures All of the principles of participation should be employed, and the goal is to help the stakeholders reach the most active level of participation, self-mobilization.

Passive Participation

Participation in Information Giving

Participation by Consultation

Participation for Material and Incentives

Responses of participants are not really considered in the decision making because the outcome is predetermined. This is essentially going through the motions only. Participants answer rigidly set questions without any opportunity to influence the context. Participants give their opinion and those views are taken into account when decisions are made, but they do not take an active role in decision-making. Participants receive incentives such as cash for their involvement, which can lead to a lack of motivation when the incentives are removed.

Functional Participation

Participants are put into groups with predetermined objectives, but major decisions have usually already been made.

Interactive Participation

Participants generate and analyze information, which leads to plans for action and implementation. They are involved in the decision-making about how to use the information gathered.

Self-Mobilization

Participants are independent of external intervention and take the initiative to make changes. They retain control over resources even if they seek external input. Figure 3: Categories of participation

- Table of Contents -

Step 1: Identifying and/or developing a CBT product The identification of existing tourism products is important in assessing where your community stands with CBT and how it can improve. Existing tourism products can be categorized into the following market segments which may house overlapping CBT products: • • • •

Nature Adventure Culture/Religion/History SAVE (Scientific, Academic, Volunteer, Education)

Once products are identified, the level of community engagement and level of community benefit must be considered and discussed. Several great examples of CBT products in the Lake Atitlán area exist. Major CBT products include accommodation, agricultural tours, guided hiking, handicraft shops, and Spanish schools. Below are some specific ways in which these tourist operations can be communitybased:

Accommodation ƒ Accommodation is owned, managed, and staffed locally; ƒ Supplies are purchased locally as much as possible; ƒ Environmentally sustainable practices are used; ƒ Local culture is incorporated into décor, events, menu, etc; ƒ Revenue is used to sponsor community projects; ƒ Partnerships are made with local tour operators and other tourism products that benefit the community. Agricultural tours ƒ Plantation is managed cooperatively by locals; ƒ Organic and sustainable farming methods are used; ƒ Visitors and community members are educated by sustainable and organic agriculture; ƒ Some revenue is used for community development projects; ƒ A healthy eco-system is promoted in and around the community. Guided hiking ƒ Operated as an association of local guides; ƒ Some revenues is invested in projects that benefit the community; ƒ Collaborate with private and public sector to provide services for the community; ƒ Serve as information center for tourism products in the community; ƒ Offer tours that promote local culture and environment in a responsible way.

Handicraft shops ƒ Shop is owned and operated by a cooperative; ƒ Handicrafts are produced locally using traditional methods; ƒ Visitors are encouraged to learn about local traditions through demonstrations and skills classes. Spanish schools ƒ Teachers are equal partners in ownership; ƒ A majority of tuition fees go to teachers, outreach programs, and school maintenance; ƒ Significant revenues are invested in community support programs; ƒ Travelers are encouraged to do home-stays and volunteer work. Restaurant ƒ Business is owned, managed, and staffed locally; ƒ Supplies are purchased locally as much as possible, especially fresh ingredients; ƒ Environmentally sustainable practices are used; ƒ Local culture is incorporated into décor and menu; ƒ The business is used to build local capacity through skills training; ƒ Profits are shared by employees and their families; ƒ Revenue is invested in community projects; ƒ Partnerships are made with other tourism services in the community that encourage responsible and sustainable travel. Step 1 Case Example: Ijat’z, San Lucas la Laguna Ijat’z is an organic coffee farm which produces, processes, and sells organic coffee. The farm also functions as an agro-ecological center providing educational programs on recycling and sustainable agriculture, and supports women’s initiatives, such as weaving and other handicrafts. In addition, it offers training programs for women and micro-finance for entrepreneurs. By purchasing their products, tourists can support organic coffee production which maintains the biodiversity of the area and benefits local farmers, in turn benefiting community projects. While Ijat’z works closely with Sololá Association of Organic Coffee Producers (APOCS) and has a relationship with Vivamos Mejor, there is limited linkage within the municipality of San Lucas to hotels or volunteer groups. The following pages contain a detailed chart of guidelines for the development of sustainable community-based tourism products, including economic, socio-cultural, and environmental guidelines. While all of the guidelines are important, these three guidelines are necessary as a foundation for any community-based tourism enterprise: • • •

The enterprise shall promote knowledge of the local culture and promote respectful attitudes and behavior towards local culture among its customers. The enterprise shall plan and implement measures to prevent the negative impacts of its activities in the local communities. The enterprise shall promote, while seeking to preserve authenticity, cultural activities and manifestations of the local communities. - Table of Contents -

Guidelines for Sustainable Community-based Tourism Products 1. Economic Viability

Economic

To ensure the viability and competitiveness of tourism destinations and enterprises in providing lasting prosperity and sustainable benefits.

• • •

2. Local Prosperity

•

To maximize the contribution of tourism to the economic prosperity of the host destination, including the retention of a significant proportion of visitor spending.

•

3. Employment Quality

•

To strengthen the number and quality of local jobs created and supported by tourism, including level of pay and opportunities regardless of gender, race, social status, etc.

• •

4. Visitor Fulfillment

•

To provide a safe, satisfying and fulfilling experience for all visitors.

•

Plan and implement activities with specific consideration of their long-term sustainability. Have a regularly updated business plan which demonstrates long- term viability and sustainability. A business plan should include: 1) analysis of the market and market segments; 2) description of the product; 3) pricing policy and sales policy; 4) marketing strategies; and 5) investments required.

Compensate local communities for benefits derived from the use of local natural and cultural resources. Use elements of local art, crafts, architecture, or cultural heritage in its operations, design, decoration, food, or shops, while respecting the intellectual property rights of local communities. Facilitate local small entrepreneurs to develop and sell products that are based on the area’s nature, history, and culture (including food and drink, crafts, performance arts, agricultural products, etc.). Be committed to making use of local resources and encouraging quality and sustainable initiatives in the community. Employ, to the greatest extent possible, workers from the local or regional communities. Create employment opportunities by promoting capacity building initiatives - preparing the local workforce to find work directly in the enterprise or in the provision of goods and/or services to the enterprise through the formation of regional production chains.

Guarantee the quality of the products offered through regular evaluation of tourist satisfaction, safety, information, environmental education and established service standards.

5. Social Equity

Socio-Cultural

To seek a widespread and fair distribution of economic and social benefits of tourism throughout the host community, including improving opportunities, income and services available to the poor.

• • • • •

6. Local Control

•

To engage and empower local communities in planning and decision making activities regarding the development and management of tourism in their community.

•

7. Community Well-being

•

To maintain and strengthen the quality of life in local communities, including social structures, access to resources, and life support systems.

•

8. Cultural Richness To respect and enhance the historic heritage, authenticity of culture, and traditions that showcase the uniqueness of the host community.

• •

• • • • • • • •

Promote knowledge of the local culture among its customers. Provide customers with orientation and information to encourage learning and to promote respectful attitudes and behavior towards the local culture. Compensate the local community for benefits received through using their natural and cultural resources. Support initiatives that promote the knowledge, appreciation, preservation and marketing of the local culture. Plan and implement measures to prevent the negative impacts of its activities in the local communities. All community stakeholders, regardless of status, are invited and encouraged to participate in the entire process of management of the tourism activities in the area. Support actions which improve the living conditions of the local communities according to priorities that they themselves have determined. Establish appropriate use of common resources that are under community control such as rights of passage, access to sacred sites, extractive use of natural resources and others. Attempt to prevent over-dependence on tourism by fostering the continuation of traditional economic activities by local communities. Promote knowledge of the local culture and promote respectful attitudes and behavior towards local culture among its customers. Plan and implement measures to prevent the negative impacts of its activities in the local communities. Promote - while seeking to preserve authenticity - cultural activities and events in the community. Implement healthcare programs for its workers, which are extended to their families and community. Programs should include health education initiates, vaccination campaigns etc. Implement actions to support the education of workers and the local community. Participate in socio-environmental programs within the local communities. Follow established guidelines or a code of behavior for visits to culturally or historically sensitive sites in order to minimize visitor impact. Promote respect of the culture and the privacy of the traditional communities and sites by insuring their intimacy and protection. Contribute to the protection of local historical, archeological, and cultural properties, and do not impede access to them by local residents. Historical and archeological artifacts are not sold, traded, or displayed, except as permitted by law and accepted by local customs.

9. Physical Integrity To maintain and enhance the quality of landscapes, urban and rural, minimizing negative impacts to the natural environment.

Environmental

10. Biological Diversity To support the overall conservation and ecosystem health of natural areas and the species they support. 11. Resource Efficiency To minimize the use of scarce and nonrenewable resources in the development and operation of tourism facilities and services. 12. Environmental Purity To minimize the pollution of air, water and land and the generation of waste by tourism enterprises and visitors.

• Use native species for landscaping and restoration while taking measures to avoid the introduction of alien invasive species. • Building and other construction activities are undertaken after careful consideration of environmental and aesthetic impacts to the surrounding environments.

• • • •

Be engaged in conserving biodiversity, ecosystems, and landscapes. Insure that protected, rare, or threatened species are not consumed, sold, or traded. Do not keep captive wildlife. Contribute to the support of biodiversity conservation and insures that interaction with wildlife does not produce adverse impacts on natural ecosystems.

• Adopt measures to decrease consumption of resources, including recycling and reusing materials. • Encourage the use of renewable energy and serve as an example where possible. • Seek and implement innovative methods for resource conservation such as collection of rain water for irrigating landscaping, etc.

• Focus on the reduction of pollution through measures to address emissions, wastewater, and waste management. • Implement practices to reduce pollution from noise, light, runoff, erosion, and air and soil contaminants.

- Table of Contents -

Step 2: Establishing linkages within the community Developing and establishing linkages between stakeholders and CBT products and services is important for fostering sustainability. The involvement of all community stakeholders would include the following representatives: • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Members of the local municipality Academic community Private sector, i.e. tour operators, hotels, restaurants, etc. Local biodiversity conservation organizations Community development organizations Indigenous groups Farming community Transportation authorities Scientific community Culture and arts associations, cooperatives, etc. Parks and attraction management Development agencies with projects or offices in the region Others

The involvement of these stakeholders in public meetings, workshops, and individual consultations is critical for building capacity and engagement. Without support from community stakeholders, any community-based tourism venture will be limited in its capacity for success. It is crucial that community members exchange information and ideas and develop a common vision in order to guide the development of tourism products in a way that supports community development objectives and protects local values. If a community-based tourism product is developed in isolation, it ceases to be truly community-based, and will not likely be sustainable.

Step 2 Case Example: San Juan la Laguna, Guatemala Several artisan and guide associations in the town of San Juan are engaged in the development of CBT. The townscape is well maintained, decorated with murals, and safe for tourists to stroll around on foot, exploring the many small handicraft stores. A tourist information center offers tourists maps and information, and can set up any of the cultural and/or nature tours offered by the local ecotourism guide association. The village has also developed catchy logo, tag line (“El lugar donde los tz’utujiles viven”), and sales kit. Presently, there is limited linkage with its surrounding villages - San Juan remains a hidden little-known destination to many tourists.

- Table of Contents -

Step 3: Collaborating with surrounding communities Tourism development should be collaboratively planned, and the municipalities need to identify what is unique to them and try to complement each other. Overall vision of the area as a tourist destination is necessary, and the municipalities should not operate tourism in isolation and their own interests. Despite any difficulties, such as political disparity or disputes about territorial borders, it is necessary to consolidate and establish a complementary system in the area. The CBT products should focus on facilitating mutual understanding between the municipalities to build an alliance and to integrate a unified tourism development plan. CBT ventures will find that collaboration with surrounding communities is mutually beneficial because it facilitates the sharing of best practices as well as helping to increase awareness of each operation and bringing more tourists in to each community. Furthermore, increased collaboration between communities will aid the Lake Atitlán region in its efforts to distinguish itself as an international destination. As tourists perceive better organization and cooperation in the area and become aware of the diverse range of activities available to them in each community, the average length of stay in the lake region will increase. Such collaboration could take place through an umbrella organization such as a Destination Management Organization or a regional tourism commission.

Step 3 Case Example: La Ruta Moskitia, Honduras La Ruta Moskitia is an alliance of six indigenous communities which have developed ecotourism products within the Rio Plátano Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northwestern Honduras. Several communities have created multi-day tours, including trekking, bird watching, kayaking, and cultural experiences. The tours complement each other, avoiding potential conflict from competition of services between villages. La Ruta Moskitia highlights the importance of creating networks and alliances to integrate communities and their products which help ensure long-term success.

- Table of Contents -

Step 4: Connecting to external distribution channels It is necessary to note that while CBT operations may not follow a traditional business model, in certain senses they still need to operate like a business. The importance of marketing CBT products is generally undervalued, leading to insufficient allocation of marketing funds. Building capacity for marketing as well as developing partnerships with tour operators (local and foreign) is vital for the success of CBT projects. The long-term sustainability of a CBT product depends on it ability to connect to the marketplace just like any other tourism product, and that requires connections to external distribution channels. Given the frequency with which travelers utilize the internet to plan their journeys, having a website or a fully-updated page on a regional travel website is a crucial first step for community-based tourism operations. Making the details of the product and contact information readily available on the internet will increase the CBT operation’s ability to reach a wider audience. However, building a website is not enough to ensure heightened awareness and more visitors. The website must be connected to other websites, and marketing materials must be distributed through the appropriate channels. Responsible travel, sustainable tourism, and community-based tourism are all buzz phrases that are becoming increasingly popular in the tourism industry, which is contributing to the development of a niche market in these areas. There are already a number of travel websites and tour operators around the world that promote the principles of responsible and sustainable travel, and making them aware of CBT products in Lake Atitlán would be highly beneficial. Websites such as www.responsibletravel.com offer a free platform for registering and promoting CBT products, and tour companies such as Intrepid Travel (www.intrepidtravel.com) prefer to incorporate community-based products into their travel itineraries in order to promote sustainable tourism. Additionally, other niche segments can be tapped into for wider distribution based on the specific types of products available around the lake, such as bird-watching societies, volunteer organizations, organic farming associations, etc. A table of potential CBT distribution channels can be found on the following page. CBT products in the Lake Atitlán area need to market through booking agents, tour operators, and other travel-oriented businesses in the major regional destinations, starting with Panajachel. Within Guatemala, creating a partnership with travel agents in Antigua, Guatemala City, and Quetzeltenango would also be highly beneficial to CBT products around the lake, and advertising in bordering countries’ destinations such as the Copán Ruins in Honduras would further increase awareness of the attractive products available at the lake. In the long term, community-based tourism products in Lake Atitlán can help establish a unique image and advantageous position for tourism in the region which can be marketed through a variety of distribution channels internationally. One way to achieve this is by offering familiarization tours of the lake area to mainstream travel agencies, travel writers, and the media. As a final note on marketing of Lake Atitlán’s community-based tourism, it is important not to overlook alternative distribution channels outside the traditional tourism marketing arena. Community-based tourism ventures have a unique competitive advantage over other types of tourism ventures because they directly contribute to community-development. This characteristic makes it possible for CBT products to gain recognition from the international development community and multi-lateral organizations such as the United Nations or the World Bank, which can further contribute to developing Lake Atitlán’s image and successful tourism growth.

Step 4 Case Example: Oyacachi, Ecuador The Kichwa community of Oyacachi in Ecuador implemented an ecotourism project in a thermal water complex. From a market analysis they were able to identify and develop new products and services aimed at ecotourism markets. They also created and distributed marketing materials (e.g. brochures, flyers and websites) and established a relationship with an ecotourism operator in Quito to acquire a greater inflow of tourists.

Potential International CBT Distribution Channels Title

Homepage

Email

Intrepid Travel

www.Intrepidtravel.com

[email protected]

Responsible Travel

www.responsibletravel.com

[email protected]

Volunteer Tourism

www.bravenewtraveler.com

Ecotravel

www.ecotravel.com

[email protected]

Ethical Escape

www.ethicalescape.co.uk

[email protected]

Earthfoot

www.earthfoot.org

[email protected]

People and Places

www.travel-peopleandplaces.co.uk

[email protected]

Slow Travel

www.slowtrav.com

[email protected]

Redturs

www.redturs.org

[email protected]

Friends of World Heritage

www.friendsofworldheritage.com

[email protected]

Green Seniors

http://greenseniors.typepad.com

[email protected]

Intelligent Travel

www.intelligenttravel.typepad.com

[email protected]

- Table of Contents -

Appendix 11: “Stay Another Day” Brochure

150

Stay Another Day Sponsors:

INFORMATION

Stay Another Day Partners: RESTAURANTS:

For more information on things to do in the Lake Atitlan region visit: www.destinationatitlan.com Or visit our office at:

HOTELS:

HOSTELS:

SPANISH SCHOOLS:

SHOPS:

MUSEUM:

Stay Another Day!

Why Stay Another Day?

Ecotourism & Nature

Things to Do! Tour

The Stay Another Day campaign invites you to discover more about the authentic local culture and heritage, experience the beauty of the deepest lake in Central America and explore the richness of the surrounding landscapes. How much do you know about Lake Atitlan? With over 14 communities in close proximity, the Lake Atitlan area offers ample experiences to choose from, regardless of your budget.

Communities to Visit Activity Community

Ecotourism & Nature

Adventure & Sports

Culture & Religion

Education & Experience

San Juan

9

9

9

San Pedro

9

9

9

Panajachel

9

9

9

Santiago

9

San Marcos

9

9

Santa Clara

9

9

9

9

San Lucas

9

9

9

9

9

9 9

9

9

Santa Cruz

- Coffee Plantation - Natural Reserve - Natural Tour & Park - Eco-park - Bird-watching - Hiking - Zip-lining & Rappel

- Volunteerism - Reforestation - Agroecology - Spanish School - Environmental Education Program - Cultural Experiencing

Community

Coffee/Tree

Bird

Natural

Natural

Plantation

watching

Reserve

Tour/Park

9

San Juan

9

San Pedro

9

9

Santiago

9 9

San Marcos Santa Cruz Santa Clara

9

San Lucas

9

9 9

Adventure & Sports Product

Zip-lining/ Rappel

Hiking

Destination

9

San Juan San Pedro

9

Panajachel

- Coffee - Natural Herbal Medicine - Handmade bracelets - Basket Weaving

Santa Cruz Santa Clara

Visit our Tourist Center and obtain your wooden Stay Another Day passport to qualify for discounts NOW!!!

9

San Lucas

Culture & Religion Product

San Juan

With a complimentary dinner…

9

San Marcos

Destination

Stay Another Day !!!

Handicrafts 9

Church

Festival/ Ceremony

9

9

San Pedro

9

9

Panajachel

9

9

Santiago

9

9

San Marcos

9

9

Santa Cruz

9

9

9

9

9

9

Santa Clara

9

San Lucas

Museum

Heritages/ Architecture

9

9

9

Village Tour

9

9

Education & Experience Product Volunteerism

Reforestation

San Juan

9

9

San Pedro

9

Agroecology

Destination

Collect four color stamps from any of our communities on your wooden

San Marcos

Stay Another Day passport,

Santa Clara

Spanish School

Cultural Experience

Environmental Education

9

Panajachel

and you can receive a complimentary dinner.

9

Santiago

Things to Buy! - Weaving Products - Carpets - Wood Furniture - Candles - Soaps

9 9

Panajachel

Things to See! - Church - Festivals & Ceremonies - Museum - Heritages & Architecture - Lake Villages

Eco-park

9

9

Santiago 9

9

Santa Cruz

San Lucas

9 9

9

9

Appendix 12: Itinerary Borchure with Sample Itineraries

153

Activities

Things to do....

Nature

Activities Cultural/Religious

Adventure

SAVE

TOURISTIC PACKAGE 1 Day in Atitlán Lake

Lake Atitlan Lake Atitlan was formed when a volcano blew its top and is said to be the

Day 1

Time

Place

Description

Departure

06:00

Guatemala City

Welcome

Tecpán

Restaurant options are Katok, Kape Paulinos. Also available are Restrooms, handicrafts, weavings,

Tecpán to Panajachel

Panajachel, or Pana as it is called by many locals, is a town full of interesting sights, sounds, and

07:30

Breakfast

08:30 Transportation

08:40

Transporta-

10:35

Panajachel to San

Tranportation via boat.

Activity 1

11:10

Coffee Tour and Hill

Mayan Ceremony, plant a tree.

10:30

deepest lake in all of Central America, reaching depths of 1,115 feet. The lake is surrounded by two dormant volcanoes, Atitlan and Toliman and San Pedro is said to be inactive. There are 13 villages

01:00 Lunch

Uxlabil Restaurant 02:00 02:10

Transportation

02:40

Although the village is developing for tourism, there is still space for a traditional Maya corn field, even on

San Pedro

Visit Church, Cultural Center and Community Museum Tz´unun´ya

03:30 03:35

Transportation

04:10 05:00

Transportation

05:20

surrounding the lake that offer many nature based,

San Juan to San Pedro La Laguna

02:30 Activity 2

Two families of the community who prepare healthy foods with a standard of good quality manage the restaurant of the hotel. They possess

05:30

Activity 3

07:00 Departure

07:10

San Pedro La Laguna to Panajachel

Tranportation via boat.

Panajachel to Natural Private Reserve

Tranportation via bus

Natural Private Reserve

Visit butterfly sanctuary, botanical garden and canopy.

Guatemala City

Closure

TOURIST PACKAGE 3 Days/2 Nights in Atitlán Lake Day 1

Time

Place

Description

Departure

06:00

Guatemala City

Welcome Restaurant options are Katok, Kape Paulinos. Also available are Restrooms, handicrafts, weavings, pottery.

07:30 Breakfast

Tecpán 08:30

Activity 1

10:30

12:30 Activity 2 Lunch

01:30 01:40

Chiraxamoló Park (Santa Clara La Laguna) Chiraxamoló Park (Santa Clara La Laguna) San Juan La Laguna Restaurant

Activity 3

02:30

Diferent

Activity 4

03:30

Coffee Tour and Hill

05:30

San Juan La Laguna to Panajachel

Transportation

Reception

06:00

Panajachel

Dinner

08:00

Pana Rock

Canopy walk and rock climbing

Day 2

Time

Place

Transportation

07:00

Panajachel to San Marcos

Breakfast

08:00

Transportation

11:00 11:30

Activity 1

11:40

This restaurant is located on the lake shore and offers a diverse menu. Although the village is developing for tourism, there is still space for a San Marcos La Laguna to San Pedro traditional Maya corn field, even on the lakefront. Restaurant El tul/Sol

San Pedro La Laguna

Lunch

01:10

Transportation

02:00

Unique restaurant in San Pedro, such as Zoola is hidden on narrow shaded paths that wind past cornfields and intermittent flashes of the lake.

Zoola Restaurant San Pedro to Santiago

03:00 03:10

Santiago Atitlan

Transportation

04:00

Santiago Atitlan to Panajachel

08:00

Transport via boat. During the day you can visit the surrounding villages, enjoy the breathtaking views of the volcanoes that surround the lake or visit Panajachel's busy market street (Calle Santander).

08:10

MakITub´ar is a restaurant and bar located in the heart of Panajachel on calle Santander just 100 meters from the bus stop.

04:10 Activity 3

Dinner

Swarms of tourists visit Santiago Atitlán daily, and the streets leading up to the center of town are lined with exciting shops. Visit the downtown and MaximonMayan Saint

Activity 2

Free Time

MakTub´ar

Day 3

Time

Place

Breakfast

08:00

Panajachel Panajachel to Natural Private Reserve

09:30 Activity 1

09:40

Lunch

01:00

Activity 2

02:00

Return

04:00

Arrive

07:00

Mayan Ceremony, plant a tree.

Tranportation via boat. The town has numerous hotels and is full of quality restaurants and interesting nightspots. The 2 options are: Hotel Don Rodrigo ($110-150) and Hotel Regis ($4090) Is situated above the PanaRock Café in the main street in Panajachel (Lake Atitlan). They offer reasonably priced, great food.

Visit Church, Cultural Center and Community Museum Tz´unun´ya

01:00

Transporta- 09:00 tion In San Juan you can see weaving workshops making use of natural dyes and traditional artrists, visit the local church and the monks.

Description Surrounded by fruit trees, this small village is known for its tranquil atmosphere and has attracted travelers seeking a peaceful spot to relax for awhile. The area is known for its holistic center, yoga and meditation centers and saunas.

Natural Private Reserve

Description Panajachel located in the Guatemalan highlands provides breathtaking views of three volcanoes that encircle perhaps the most beautiful lake in the world, Lake Atitlan. The nearby Natural Reserve, or Nature Reserve, and butterfly sanctuary is a on an old coffee plantation. You can see monkeys and birds, and walk on hanging bridges up towards the waterfall. Visit butterfly sanctuary, botanical

Circus Bar, Av Los Arboles, The BEST pizza in Guatemala. Panajachel, or Pana as it is called by many locals, is a town full of interesting Panajachel sights, sounds, and smells. It is one of the best places in Guatemala to shop for souvenirs. Panajachel to Guatemala Circus Bar

Guatemala

Closure

Sample Itinerary TOURIST PACKAGE 3 Days/2 Nights in Atitlán Lake Day 1

Time Place

Description

Departure

6:00

Guatemala City

Welcome

Tecpán

Restaurant options are Katok, Kape Paulinos. Also available are Restrooms, handicrafts, weavings, pottery.

Breakfast

7:30 8:30

Activity 1

Chiraxamoló Park 10:30 (Santa Clara La Laguna) Chiraxamoló Park 12:30 (Santa Clara La Laguna)

Canopy walk and rock climbing

Activity 2

1:30

San Juan La Laguna

Lunch

1:40

Restaurant Uxlabil

Activity 3

2:30

Different Associations

Activity 4

3:30

Coffee Tour and Hill

Mayan Ceremony, plant a tree.

San Juan La Laguna to Panajachel

Transportation via boat.

Panajachel

The town has numerous hotels and is full of quality restaurants and interesting nightspots. The 2 options are: Hotel Don Rodrigo ($110150) and Hotel Regis ($40-90)

Pana Rock

Is situated above the PanaRock Café in the main street in Panajachel (Lake Atitlán). They offer reasonably priced, great food.

Transportation 5:30

Reception

6:00

Dinner

8:00

Day 2

Time Place

Transportation 7:00

Description

Panajachel to San Marcos

Surrounded by fruit trees, this small village is known for its tranquil atmosphere and has attracted travelers seeking a peaceful spot to relax for awhile. The area is known for its holistic center, yoga and meditation centers and saunas.

Restaurant El tul/Sol

This restaurant is located on the lake shore and offers a diverse menu.

Breakfast

8:00

Transportation

11:00 San Marcos La Laguna to San Pedro 11:30

155

In San Juan you can see weaving workshops making use of natural dyes and traditional artists, visit the local church and the monks.

Although the village is developing for tourism, there is still space for a traditional Maya corn field, even on the lakefront.

Activity 1

Lunch Transportation Activity 2

11:40 1:00

1:10 2:00 3:00 3:10

Transportation 4:00

Activity 3

4:10

San Pedro La Laguna

Visit Church, Cultural Center and Community Museum Tz´unun´ya

Zoola Restaurant

Unique restaurant in San Pedro, such as Zoola is hidden on narrow shaded paths that wind past cornfields and intermittent flashes of the lake.

San Pedro to Santiago

Swarms of tourists visit Santiago Atitlán daily, and the streets leading up to the center of town are lined with exciting shops.

Santiago Atitlan

Visit the downtown and Maximon-Mayan Saint

Santiago Atitlan to Panajachel

Transport via boat.

Free Time

8:00

MakITub´ar is a restaurant and bar located in the heart of Panajachel on calle Santander just 100 meters from the bus stop.

Dinner

8:10

Day 3

Time Place

Description

8:00

Panajachel located in the Guatemalan highlands provides breathtaking views of three volcanoes that encircle perhaps the most beautiful lake in the world, Lake Atitlán.

Breakfast

9:00 Transportation 9:30

MakTub´ar

During the day you can visit the surrounding villages, enjoy the breathtaking views of the volcanoes that surround the lake or visit Panajachel's busy market street (Calle Santander).

Panajachel Panajachel to Natural Private Reserve

The nearby Natural Reserve, or Nature Reserve, and butterfly sanctuary is a on an old coffee plantation. You can see monkeys and birds, and walk on hanging bridges up towards the waterfall.

Activity 1

9:40

Natural Private Reserve

Visit butterfly sanctuary, botanical garden and canopy.

Lunch

1:00

Circus Bar

Circus Bar, Av Los Arboles, The BEST pizza in Guatemala.

Activity 2

2:00

Panajachel

Return

4:00

Panajachel to Guatemala

Panajachel, or Pana as it is called by many locals, is a town full of interesting sights, sounds, and smells. It is one of the best places in Guatemala to shop for souvenirs.

Arrive

7:00

Guatemala

Closure

156

Appendix 13: Promotional Posters (starts on next page)

157

Appendix 14: Crisis Awareness Poster (starts on next page)

160

Emergency Procedures – Just in case. Tips in case    of  a Hurricane

Tips in Case       of an Earthquake 1. Move away from  1. If instructed to  furniture and light   leave ‐ do so! fixtures. 2. Follow instructions    2. Secure an escape  from the officials. route. 3. Obtain accurate  3. Follow advised  information  travel routes. from officials.

Evacuation  Route 1

Tips in Case  of a Fire 1. Get out and  stay out! 2. Crawl low under  the smoke. 3. Don’t go back!

Evacuation  Route 2

Evacuation  Route 3

Emergency Numbers ASISTUR: (502) 58749450 Tourists Assistance

Police: 120 Fire Department: 122  Ambulance: 122

Tips for Safety  and Security 1. Avoid walking  alone  in night. 2. Use caution in isolated  areas. 3. Do not confront  in case of attack!

Appendix 15: SMED Guiding Principles

System for Measuring Excellence of Destinations (SMED)

Tourism destinations should sustain or enhance the geographical character of a place—its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of its residents.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES 1. Cultural richness: Respect and enhance the historic heritage, authentic culture, traditions and distinctiveness of host communities and local destinations. 2. Physical integrity of landscapes: Maintain and enhance the quality of landscapes, both urban and rural, so that the physical and visual integrity is not degraded. 3. Biological diversity: Support the conservation of natural habitats, plants, and wildlife, and minimize damage to them. 4. Environmental purity and resource efficiency: Minimize pollution of air, water, and land (including noise and excessive lighting), generation of waste, and use of scarce and non-renewable resources. 5. Local quality of life and social prosperity: Maintain and strengthen the quality of life in local communities, including access to resources, amenities and social benefits for all, avoiding social degradation or exploitation in any form. 6. Local control and involvement: Engage and empower local communities in planning and decision making about the management and future development of tourism in their area, in consultation with other stakeholders.

162

7. Employment quality: Strengthen the quality of local jobs created and supported by tourism and related businesses, including the level of pay, conditions of service and availability to all without discrimination by gender, race, disability, age, or in other ways. 8. Visitor fulfillment: Provide a satisfying and fulfilling experience for visitors, available to all without discrimination, and encourage interactive interpretation by engaging both visitors and local communities in the learning process. 9. Appropriate market positioning Match needs and interests of desired visitors with goals, products and services. 10. Economically viable tourism destinations and enterprises: Ensure the competitiveness of tourism destinations and enterprises, and maximize tourism’s local contribution and visitor spending, so that destinations are able to continue to prosper and deliver benefits over the long term. 11. Quality of governance: Establish sustainability policies, including planning, environmental protection, and management systems, supported by the necessary infrastructure appropriate to the character of the destination. 12. Evaluate outcomes: Measure results by quality of tourism impact, minimized harm (not only by mere headcount or gross revenue) in keeping with a community plan for responsible tourism.

Note: Destinations striving for excellence should adhere to the UN World Tourism Organization’s Global Code of Ethics for Tourism. The SMED Principles of Excellence were derived with the National Geographic Society’s Geotourism Principles and the UNEP/UNWTO Aims for Sustainable Tourism; in addition, they are consistent with key indicators of sustainable tourism used by Innovation Norway and the Best Tourism Cities of China Program.

163

Appendix 16: SMED Sample Questionaire (English and Spanish)           from the George Washington University, USA, and Universidad del Valle de Guatemala conducting a survey in order to We are a team of consultants understand how key stakeholders, including tourists, perceive the Lake Atitlán area. We would appreciate it if you would take five minutes to complete   this brief questionnaire about guiding principles related to tourist destination excellence. Your reply will be kept anonymous.   1. Which of the following stakeholder groups best describes you?  □1 Tourist

□4 Civil society (e.g. NGOs,

 

universities)

□7 Private sector

□2 Resident

□8 Trade or professional

□5 Park or protected area

 

association

□3 Government  □9 Others (Please specify)

□6 Media

   

2. (For tourists only) Which of the following countries/regions are you from?   

□1 Guatemala

□2 USA

□3 Canada

□4 Mexico

□5 El Salvador

   

□6 Honduras     □7 Europe     □8 Others (Please specify)                            

  3. (For Guatemalans only) Which of the following is your area of residence?    □1 Panajachel     □2 San Pedro la Laguna

□3 San Marcos

□4 Santiago Atitlán 

  □5 Santa Cruz la Laguna

□6 San Juan

□7 San Antonio Palopo 

  □8 Santa Catarina Palopo     □9 Others (Please specify)

 

164

  3. Please evaluate the performance of the Lake Atitlán area as a tourist destination in terms of  the following principles.   (Please mark “X” for each principle.) 

Lake Atitlán’s Performance 

1. Cultural Richness: Respect and enhance  the historic heritage, authentic culture,  traditions and distinctiveness of host  communities and local destinations.  2. Physical integrity of landscape: Maintain  and enhance the quality of landscapes,  both urban and rural, so that the physical  and visual integrity is not degraded.  3. Biological diversity: Support the  conservation of natural habitats, plants,  and wildlife, and minimize damage to  them.  4. Environmental purity and resource  efficiency: Minimize pollution of air, water,  and land (including noise and excessive  lighting), generation of waste, and use of  scarce and non‐renewable resources.  5. Local quality of life and social  prosperity: Maintain and strengthen the  quality of life in local communities,  including access to resources, amenities 

165

and social benefits for all, avoiding social  degradation or exploitation in any form.  6. Local control and involvement: Engage  and empower local communities in  planning and decision making about the  management and future development of  tourism in the area, in consultation with  other stakeholders. 

Please turn

Lake Atitlán’s Performance 

7. Employment quality: Strengthen the  quality of local jobs created and supported  by tourism and related businesses,  including the level of pay, conditions of  service and availability to all without  discrimination by gender, race, disability,  age, or in other ways.  8. Visitor fulfillment: Provide a satisfying  and fulfilling experience for visitors,  available to all without discrimination, and  encourage interactive interpretation by  engaging both visitors and local  communities in the learning process.  9. Appropriate market positioning: Match  needs and interests of desired visitors with  goals, products and services. 

166

10. Economically viable tourism  destinations and enterprise: Ensure the  competitiveness of tourism destinations  and enterprises, and maximize tourism’s  local contribution and visitor spending, so  that destinations are able to continue to  prosper and deliver benefits over the long  term.  11. Quality of governance: Establish  sustainability policies, including planning,  environmental protection, and  management systems, supported by the  necessary infrastructure appropriate to the  character of the destination.  12. Evaluate outcomes: Measure results by  quality of tourism impact, minimized harm  (not only by mere headcount or gross  revenue) in keeping with a community plan  for responsible tourism.    4. Please indicate the importance of the following principles for the Lake Atitlán area.   (Please mark “X” for each principle.) 

Importance for Lake Atitlán 

1. Cultural Richness  2. Physical integrity of landscape  3. Biological diversity  4. Environmental purity and resource  efficiency 

167

Not  at all  impo rtant 

Extre mely  impo rtant 

5. Local quality of life and social prosperity  6. Local control and involvement  7. Employment quality  8. Visitor fulfillment  9. Appropriate market positioning  10. Economically viable tourism  destinations and enterprise  11. Quality of governance   12. Evaluate outcomes  Thank you for your cooperation.  Somos un equipo de consultores de la Universidad de George Washington en Estados Unidos y la Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, y estamos realizando encuestas para poder comprender cómo los actores en el turismo perciben el área del Lago de Atitlán. Nos sería de gran utilidad y le agradeceríamos si se pudiera tomar 5 minutos para completar este breve cuestionario sobre principios relacionados con excelencia en destinos turísticos. Sus respuestas serán anónimas. Gracias por su colaboración.

  1. A cuál de los siguientes grupos de actores pertenece usted? (Escoger uno)          □1 Gobierno     □2 Sociedad civil (ej. ONGs, universidades)

 

□3 Parque o área 

□6 Asociación Profesional o de

protegida

intercambio

□4 Medios

□7 Otros (favor especificar)

□5 Sector privado

2. En cuál de las siguientes áreas reside? 

168

  □1 Panajachel     □2 San Pedro la Laguna

□3 San Marcos la Laguna

□4 Santiago Atitlán 

  □5 Santa Cruz la Laguna

□6 San Juan la Laguna

□7 San Antonio Palopó 

  □8 Santa Catarina Palopó     □9 Otros (favor especificar)

 

3. Por favor marque en qué medida se cumple con las siguientes características. (Marque con  una “X” para cada principio)   

Rendimiento del Lago de Atitlán 

1. Se respeta y realza el patrimonio histórico,  cultura auténtica, tradiciones y lo característico  de las comunidades y destinos locales. (Riqueza  Cultural)  2. Se mantiene y realza la calidad de los paisajes  urbanos y rurales, para que la integridad física y  visual no disminuya. (Integridad física del  paisaje)  3. Se apoya la conservación de hábitats  naturales, plantas y animales, y se minimiza el  daño que se les pueda causar. (Diversidad 

169

Biológica)   4. Se minimiza la contaminación del aire, agua y  suelos (incluyendo la contaminación por ruido y  luz excesiva), generación de basura y uso de los  recursos no renovables escasos. (Pureza  ambiental y eficiencia de los recursos)   5. Se mantiene y fortalece la calidad de vida en  las comunidades locales, incluyendo el acceso a  recursos, entretenimiento y beneficios sociales  para todos, evitando la degradación social o  explotación de cualquier manera. (Calidad local  de la vida y prosperidad)   6. Se da poder e involucra a las comunidades  locales en la planeación y toma de decisiones en  el manejo y desarrollo futuro del turismo en el  área, y en consultas con otros actores. (Control  local e involucramiento)  7. Se fortalece la calidad de los empleos locales  creados y apoyados por negocios relacionados  con el turismo, incluyendo los niveles de los  sueldos, condiciones de servicio y acceso para  todos sin discriminación para género, raza,  discapacidades, edad, o cualquier otro. (Calidad  de empleos) 

Voltear

Rendimiento del Lago de Atitlán 

8. Se provee una experiencia satisfactoria para  los visitantes, accesible a todos sin 

170

discriminación, y fomenta la interpretación  interactiva involucrando tanto a visitantes como  a comunidades locales en el proceso de  aprendizaje. (Satisfacción del visitante)   9. Se logran las necesidades e intereses de los  visitantes a quienes se quiere atraer con metas,  productos y servicios. (Posicionamiento  apropiado en el mercado)  10. Se asegura la competitividad de destinos  turísticos y empresas, y se maximiza la  contribución a nivel local del turismo y de los  gastos de los visitantes, para que los destinos  puedan continuar prosperando y traer  beneficios a largo plazo. (Destinos turísticos y  empresas económicamente viables)  11. Se establecen políticas de sostenibilidad,  incluyendo la planeación, protección ambiental  y manejo de sistemas, apoyados con la  infraestructura apropiada para el tipo de  destino. (Calidad del gobierno local)  12. Se miden los resultados del impacto  turístico, de los daños minimizados,  manteniendo un plan comunitario para el  turismo responsable. (Evaluación de resultados)    4. Clasifique la importancia de los siguientes principios para el desarrollo del destino turístico del  Lago de Atitlán   (Marcar con una “X” para cada principio) 

Importancia para el Lago Atitlán 

171

Sin  impo rtanc ia 

Muy  impo rtant e 

1. Riqueza Cultural  2. Integridad física del paisaje   3. Diversidad biológica  4. Pureza ambiental y eficiencia de recursos  5. Calidad de vida local y prosperidad social  6. Control e involucramiento local  7. Calidad de empleos  8. Satisfacción de visitantes  9. Posicionamiento en el mercado  apropiado  10. Turismo y empresas en el destino  económicamente viables  11. Calidad del gobierno local  12. Evaluación de resultados  Muchas gracias por su cooperación 

172

Appendix 17: Crisis Communication Toolkit (starts on next page)

173

C RISIS C OMMUNICATION T OOLKIT CREATED FOR SOLOLA TOURISM SUB-COMMISSION

CRISIS MANAGEMENT One crucial aspect of crisis management is communication. Without a clear set of guidelines to serve as a foundation for communication efforts, the crisis can spin a life of its own and, in doing so, can complicate the crisis rather than resolve it.

GOAL The goal of this toolkit is to expand the crisis management capacity of the local communities by enabling them to effectively communicate in a case of crisis. Effective communication is a key to minimizing loss of life and resources not only among local residents but also among tourists.

OBJECTIVES The objectives of the Crisis Communication Toolkit are: ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰

To create an awareness of the need to have a communication plan in place to deal with crises To provide background information regarding the basics of communication To provide guidelines and information to the tourism leaders as they deal with media To provide communication formats and examples for tourism leaders to adopt or adapt to their specific needs when facing a crisis To provide additional resources dealing with crisis communication Target Audiences:

‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰

Governor of Sololà Department Tourism Sub-commission of Sololà Tourism Businesses around Lake Atitlàn ASISTUR Members of COE Representatives of all municipalities around Lake Atitlàn Police Department Fire Department Hospitals

CRISIS COMMUNICATION TOOLKIT CONTENT ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰

Communication Diagram Proposal Template for Immediate Press Release After Crisis Emergency The Basics of Talking to the Media Media Contacts

CRISIS COMMUNICATION DIAGRAM PROPOSAL

The purpose of the diagram above is to propose communication flow among the tourism representatives in case of a disaster. It is divided into sequential phases. COE (Commission for Operation in Emergencies) will gather on local level. The leader of the COE is the Governor, who is in charge of communicating with the media, as well as with CONRED (The National Organization for Reducing Emergencies). Members of COE are the Head of the Fire Department, Head of the Hospital, Head of the Police, ASISTUR, and others. Our recommendation is to have a member of the Tourism Sub-Commission as a member of COE. This representative will communicate with COE, as well as with ASISTUR. The next phase of communication is with all Tourism Businesses, such as hotels, restaurants, tour operators, etc. And in Phase 4 businesses communicate with Tourists in order to ensure their safety and inform them about emergency steps and evacuation, if necessary.

SAMPLE CRISIS PRESS RELEASE (Location Specific) Tourism Council (or) XYZ Resort Address Telephone Number Fax Number (Contact: Spokesperson) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Telephone Number Alternative Contact Telephone Number (DISASTER) PROMPTS EMERGENCY ACTION FROM THE (AREA) TOURISM COUNCIL (OR FROM THE XYZ RESORT) (CITY/STATE) (Month, Day) The XYZ Resort (or Area Tourism Council) has begun crisis management activities as a result of the recent (DISASTER) in (NAME OF DESTINATION), according to (Name), spokesman for the XYZ Resort (or Area Tourism Council). The (DISASTER), which has affected large areas of the state (area and attractions) coastal area, golf courses and tourism operations, has damaged (number of hectares) of state and private property, (number of) trees and (number of) homes and private buildings. (DESCRIBE IMPACTS OF DISASTER ON AREA, POPULATION AND TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY, FOCUSING ON CLOSINGS AND REOPENINGS.) The XYZ Resort (Area Tourism Council) is taking all possible steps to assist the (AREA’s) local travel and tourism industry to recover from this setback and prepare for the coming tourism season. Current activities include (GIVE LOCATION AND RESORT SPECIFIC INFORMATION). Travellers seeking specific information on resorts and other venues may contact. (GIVE EITHER A FREE CALL-IN HOTLINE NUMBER OR DIRECT THEM TO THE RESORTS AND VENUES.) (NAME), spokesperson for the (Name the resort or organisation), expresses confidence that some resorts and tourist attractions will be reopened by (GIVE DATE) and encourages people interested in (AREA NAME) to contact their travel agents and the (Free Call-in Hotline or Chamber of Commerce) for updates on the status of the area. In remarks made immediately after the (DISASTER) Mr. Mrs. Ms. (Name) said: “(USE SOME POSITIVE AND HOPEFUL QUOTE.)”

The purpose of the template is to assist the Tourism Sub-commission in communication with the media and have it ready for immediate publishing after crisis emergency.

GUIDELINES

FOR

DISASTER NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT

1) What happened, where and when; 2) Who was involved; 3) Who is in charge of crisis management and who is the contact for tourists now in the area; 4) Who is the contact for travelers who had planned to come to the area in the next few weeks or months; 5) The most recent developments; 6) What will be the next steps, what is planned; 7) The short-term and long-term ramifications for the victims, the community, the general public, the travelling public, the resort and the local tourism industry; 8) The estimated recovery period; and 9) What can be confirmed at present about the disaster, what is not known, what is being checked on; when more information will be available; and whom to contact for further information.

The purpose of the guidelines is to assist the Tourism Sub-commission in communication with the media after crisis emergency in order to avoid missing any important information which could lead to misunderstanding on the side of the media.

GUIDANCE ON MARKETING AND PRESS RELATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH RELAUNCHING TOURISM AFTER A DISASTER: SAMPLE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Q. This (storm, flood, earthquake) has been predicted for many days/months/years. Why wasn’t something done to prepare for it? A. Prediction of these types of events is always difficult, and (name the officials or their organisations) did provide us with early warning (if they did). As a result, we made a variety of preparations such as (describe some specifics that resulted in lives saved and property protected). Q. How can the families of tourists find out if their relatives are safe? A. Resorts are developing rosters of their guests and will be coordinating with local authorities. Local officials have established contacts with embassies and missions, and are providing them names of people known to be safe. We are also making every effort to provide telephone lines for our guests to call their homes and reassure their families. (Make sure this is true before you say it.) Q. Do you know how many people died at your resort? A. Local officials are keeping track of injuries and deaths. We know of only (number) injuries or deaths at (your resort) and will release the names of the people only after we have informed their families. (Press representatives from their home nations/cities may be able to help make notifications, but must be cautioned to hold such information until it is clear families have been properly notified.) Q. How long will the resort be closed? A. We are assessing the damage right now. We don’t have a prediction yet, but will provide one shortly after we complete our damage assessment. We hope to have one within (xxx hours), and will provide it to you at the next press briefing. (If this question has been addressed at an earlier session...) We have previously suggested it will take (xxx days/months) before the resort can be reopened. That estimate remains our best estimate. (OR We have revised our estimate and now expect the resort to reopen on…[name the time and day]). Q. How much damage was done? A. We cannot estimate the damage until all our evaluations are completed. We hope to do that by (name the time and day). Q. When will it be safe for tourists to come to the area? A. (Specific venues) are open now. (Specific venues) are expected to be back in operation on (date). Travelers seeking information on specific locations I haven’t mentioned should feel free to contact (the free call-in line, the chamber of commerce, an industry contact person) at the following telephone number (give them only one number).

Q. How will the disaster affect the tourism industry in this area?

A. In the short term, we have to recover and rebuild. Our local offerings will be limited for a short while (name a date if possible). The area is not uniformly affected, however, and some resorts are already open for business. In time, the effect of this disaster will produce a safer and better travel destination, and by (name a time) we believe tourists will find this area better than it ever was before.

The purpose of the guidance is for the Tourism Sub-commission to be prepared with the set of questions that media always asks in case of emergency situations and thus to avoid being unprepared with answers to key questions.

LIST

OF

MEDIA CONTACTS

LOCAL LEVEL: Radio: Name Community Radio Sonora

Contact N/A

Name Canal 5 de Sololá (Panajachel TV)

Contact N/A N/A

TV:

NATIONAL LEVEL: TV: Name Channel 7 Channel 3 Guatavision Noti 7

Tele 3 Diario

Contact Pbx (502) 2410 3000 Pbx (502) 2410 3000 [email protected] [email protected] Phone: (502) 2410 3060/ 62 Fax: (502) 24103065 [email protected] Tel: (502) 2410-3200

Radio: Name Sonora Stereo 100

Emisoras Unidas

Radio Punto

Contact Tel. (502) 2414 4800 ext 15125 Fax: (502) 2414 4803 Pbx: (502) 7761 2076 Fax: (502) 7763 1947 Cabina: (502) 7761 2930 (502) 7765 1304 [email protected] Tel: (502) 2440 5139 and (502) 2440 5140 Text Messages: 8970 N/A

Press/ Newspapers Name Prensa Libre Nuestro Diario

La Hora

El Periodico

Al Día Siglo Vientiuno

Contact Pbx: (502) 2412-5600 Fax: (502) 2251-8768 Pbx: (502) 2379-1650 Agencia Quetzaltenango Tel: (502) 7763-7124 Fax: (502) 7763-7125 [email protected] Pbx: (502) 2423-1800 Fax: (502) 2423-1837/38 Pbx: (502) 2427-2300 Fax: (502) 2427-2361/ (502) 2427-2371 N/A [email protected]

INTERNATIONAL LEVEL: Name The Associated Press Headquarters 450 W. 33rd St., New York, NY 10001 Reuters

Contact +1-212-621-1500 http://www.ap.org/pages/contact/contact_pr.html +1 (201) 360-6776 [email protected]

The purpose of this list is for the Tourism Sub-commission to have ready some of the most important media contacts on local, national and international level so that they can communicate with the media and be able to send a press release with details on the crisis situation immediately after the disaster.

Appendix 18: Stakeholder Crisis Management Toolkit (starts on next page)

181

Tourism Crisis Management Toolkit For Stakeholders

Included: 1) Evacuation Map 2) Emergency Numbers 3) What to do if your guest is victim of a crime 4) What to do in case of… 5) How to Assist Traumatized Guests 6) How to Respond to Media after a Crisis

1) Evacuation Map In case of a crisis situation, please refer to the map for evacuation points and meeting points. There are several paths that boats will follow in case of emergency to pick up tourists and transport them to the central dock at Panajachel, where they will be guided to designated shelters. For more information on Crisis Response Strategy for Tourists, please contact ASISTUR.

Evacuation Evacuation

Evacuation

Emergency Numbers Below is a list of emergency numbers for crisis situations. Police ASISTUR: Security Escorts and Emergency services available, dial 1500 in Guatemala, or (502) 2421-2810 and (502) 5578-9836 Hospital Fire station Embassy Contact Number Canada 2-363-4348 France 2-421-7370 Mexico 2-420-3400 Russia

2-368-0979, 2-367-2765

Switzerland Taiwan United Kingdom United States

2-367-5520 2-332-2618, 2-339-0707 2-367-5425,6,7,8,9 2-326-4000

For additional embassies, please contact ASISTUR.

What to do if your guest is victim of a crime 1) 2) 3) 4)

Listen to the guest’s situation. Call ASISTUR for security escort and tourist support for filing police report Refer to section on “How to Assist Traumatized Guests” In case of media contact, be sure to follow guidelines for recovery communication

What to do in case of… The best way to reduce the impact of a natural disaster is knowing how to manage your facility and personal safety before, during, and after the crisis. The following sections detail actions needed to prepare, mitigate, and recover from various crisis situations.

Equipment There are basic equipment needs to prepare for a crisis if the facility will provide shelter. (If the facility will not be a shelter, identify official shelters and evacuation sites and prepare directions to them) -

Food Water Blankets Pillows First aid supplies Telephone, battery powered radios and back up communication Flashlights

Hurricane Preparation 1) Secure vital records not needed during the emergency. Store computer disks in insulated and waterproof containers 2) Prepare and maintain a roster of current employees and guests 3) Establish notification procedures to announce evacuation 4) Identify commercial and emergency travel coordinators for airline, train, and bus lines. During 1) Stay indoors and away from windows. 2) Move all guests and personnel into sheltered areas of the resort. Do not be fooled if there is a lull, it could be the eye of the hurricane. 3) Move communications equipment to shelter space and test it to verify if it works. This includes battery operated radios and telephones if possible. 4) Whenever possible, exhibit a calm confident manner. Advise patience and safety. After 1) Conduct search of facility premises for injured people, broken gas, water or sewage lines, downed electrical and telephone lines. 2) Report injured people to shelter assistance desk. Do not attempt to move seriously injured people unless they are in immediate danger of death or further injury. 3) Record all damage (video cameras can be useful) 4) Assess facility capacities and the need for relocation of some or all guests. 5) Be prepared to advise income guests of facility conditions. Routinely post notices of important information, especially on the status of your facility and other important venues. Earthquake Personal Safety 1) If you are indoors, take cover under a sturdy desk, table, or bench, or against and inside wall and hold on. 2) Stay away from glass, windows, outside doors or walls and anything that could fall. 3) If you are outdoors, stay there. Move away from buildings, street lights, trees, and utility wires. After the Earthquake 1) Be prepared for aftershocks. 2) Assess facility damage

How to Assist Traumatized Guests

A sudden illness, an accident or an assault - these are all traumatic experiences which can cause distress. They arouse powerful and disturbing feelings in us, which usually settle in time without any professional help. This section provides information for stakeholders to assist a guest who has been through a traumatic experience, and to gain a better idea of how they might be feeling. It describes the kind of feelings that people have after a trauma, what to expect as time goes on, and mentions some ways of coping and coming to terms with what has happened.

1) What happens immediately after a traumatic event? Shock – a person feels: * stunned, dazed, or numb * cut off from their feelings, or from what is going on around you. Denial – A person cannot accept what has happened - so they behave as though it hasn't. Other people may think that you are being strong, or that you don't care about what has happened. Over several hours or days, the feelings of shock gradually fade and other thoughts and feelings take their place.

2) What happens next? People react differently and take different amounts of time to come to terms with what has happened. Even so, they may begin to feel:

• • • • • • • •

Frightened …. that the same thing will happen again, or that you might lose control of your feelings and break down. Helpless …. that something really bad happened and you could do nothing about it. You feel helpless, vulnerable and overwhelmed. Angry …. about what has happened and with whoever was responsible. Guilty ….. that you have survived when others have suffered or died. You may feel that you could have done something to prevent it. Sad …. particularly if people were injured or killed, especially someone you knew. Ashamed or embarrassed …. that you have these strong feelings you can't control, especially if you need others to support you. Relieved …. that the danger is over and that the danger has gone. Hopeful …. that your life will return to normal. People can start to feel more positive about things quite soon after a trauma.

3) What else you might notice? Strong feelings affect physical health. In the weeks after a trauma, you may notice: * sleeplessness * tiredness * dreams and nightmares * poor concentration * memory problems * difficulty thinking clearly * headaches * changes in appetite * changes in sex-drive or libido * aches and pains * heart beating faster

4) What should you do? Give it time It takes time - weeks or months - to accept what has happened and to learn to live with it. You may need to grieve for what (or who) you have lost. Find out what happened It is better to face the reality of what happened rather than wondering about what might have happened. Be involved with other survivors If you go to funerals or memorial services, this may help you to come to terms with what has happened. It can help to spend time with others who have been through the same experience as you.

Ask for support It can be a relief to talk about what happened. You may need to ask your friends and family for the time to do this - at first they will probably not know what to say or do. Take some time for yourself At times you may want to be alone or just with those close to you.

5) What professional help is available? Your might suggest that the guest contact a hot-line that allows them to talk with someone who specialises in helping people cope with traumas. Embassies may provide such support.

Responding to Media after a Crisis In the event of a crisis, timely communication with the media is key. As the news media is most active at this stage, misinformation is easily spread. To promote positive publicity and restore the destination’s image, stakeholders can use the following resources to best manage questions from the media.

GUIDANCE ON MARKETING AND PRESS RELATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH RELAUNCHING TOURISM AFTER A DISASTER 1. Sample Questions and Answers A review of questions asked of resort managers and public officials during and after disasters serves up the following questions and potential answers. Q. This (storm, flood, earthquake) has been predicted for many days/months/years. Why wasn’t something done to prepare for it? A. Prediction of these types of events is always difficult, and (name the officials or their organisations) did provide us with early warning (if they did). As a result, we made a variety of preparations such as (describe some specifics that resulted in lives saved and property protected). Q. How can the families of tourists find out if their relatives are safe? A. Resorts are developing rosters of their guests and will be coordinating with local authorities. Local officials have established contacts with embassies and missions, and are providing them names of people known to be safe. We are also making every effort to provide telephone lines for our guests to call their homes and reassure their families. (Make sure this is true before you say it.) Q. Do you know how many people died at your resort? A. Local officials are keeping track of injuries and deaths. We know of only (number) injuries or deaths at (your resort) and will release the names of the people only after we have informed their families. (Press representatives from their home nations/cities may be able to help make notifications, but must be cautioned to hold such information until it is clear families have been properly notified.) Q. How long will the resort be closed? A. We are assessing the damage right now. We don’t have a prediction yet, but will provide one shortly after we complete our damage assessment. We hope to have one within (xxx hours), and will provide it to you at the next press briefing. (If this question has been addressed at an earlier session...) We have previously suggested it will take (xxx days/months) before the resort can be reopened. That estimate remains our best estimate. (OR We have revised our

estimate and now expect the resort to reopen on…[name the time and day]). Q. How much damage was done? A. We cannot estimate the damage until all our evaluations are completed. We hope to do that by (name the time and day). Q. When will it be safe for tourists to come to the area? A. (Specific venues) are open now. (Specific venues) are expected to be back in operation on (date). Travelers seeking information on specific locations I haven’t mentioned should feel free to contact (the free call-in line, the chamber of commerce, an industry contact person) at the following telephone number (give them only one number). Q. How will the disaster affect the tourism industry in this area? A. In the short term, we have to recover and rebuild. Our local offerings will be limited for a short while (name a date if possible). The area is not uniformly affected, however, and some resorts are already open for business. In time, the effect of this disaster will produce a safer and better travel destination, and by (name a time) we believe tourists will find this area better than it ever was before.

List of Media Contacts Initiating communication with the media can be crucial in providing the most accurate information. Stakeholders can collaborate with media to present the story most effectively. The following is a compilation of media contacts from local to international levels.

Local Radio: Community Radio Sonora

National TV: Name Channel 7 Channel 3 Guatavision Noti 7

Tele 3 Diario

Contact Pbx (502) 2410 3000 Pbx (502) 2410 3000 [email protected] [email protected] Phone: (502) 2410 3060/ 62 Fax: (502) 24103065 [email protected] Tel: (502) 2410-3200

Radio: Name Sonora

Radio FM 95.7 Stereo 100

Emisoras Unidas

Contact Tel. (502) 2414 4800 ext 15125 Fax: (502) 2414 4803

Pbx: (502) 7761 2076 Fax: (502) 7763 1947 Cabina: (502) 7761 2930 (502) 7765 1304 IP Phone: 1646432497 [email protected] Tel: (502) 2440 5139 and (502) 2440 5140 Text Messages: 8970

Radio Punto

N/A

Press/ Newspapers Name Prensa Libre Nuestro Diario

La Hora

El Periodico

Al Día Siglo Vientiuno

Contact Pbx: (502) 2412-5600 Fax: (502) 2251-8768 Pbx: (502) 2379-1650 Agencia Quetzaltenango Tel: (502) 7763-7124 Fax: (502) 7763-7125 [email protected] Pbx: (502) 2423-1800 Fax: (502) 2423-1837/38 Pbx: (502) 2427-2300 Fax: (502) 2427-2361/ (502) 2427-2371 N/A De Luisa ([email protected])

International Name

Contact

The Associated Press Headquarters 450 W. 33rd St., New York, NY 10001 http://www.ap.org/pages/contact/contact_pr.html

+1-212-621-1500

Reuters [email protected]

+1 (201) 360-6776

APPENDIX 19: Action Plans Appendix 19. 1. Develop S.A.V.E. Market Segment ISSUE: Background •

S.A.V.E. stands for Scientific, Academic, Volunteer and Education market segment.

•

S.A.V.E. is a fast growing market segment, and can contribute positively to sustainable tourism development of the destination.

Tourists who fall within the S.A.V.E. segment are willing to learn and help people, environment and society. They want to interact with local residents in remote destinations, ordinarily prefer to stay in accommodation with no or little luxury facilities and are willing to offer assistance to the community in their fields of expertise. By cultivating the S.A.V.E. market segment, the destination would be able to develop and uncover niche tourism opportunities and responsible travelers. While there are some S.A.V.E. activities around the lake, they operate in isolation and are not fully coordinated. For example, at Lake Atitlán, particularly San Pedro, is becoming home to a number of Spanish schools, which are known for their reasonable tuition rates. Some of them support the local community and offer students volunteer opportunities, including teaching English at local schools and reforestation activities. Although each school functions proactively as possible S.A.V.E. products, there are limited coordination and linkage between schools. SOLUTION: Solutions •

Pilot Project: “Voluntelingual” Project (Link Spanish schools and volunteer organizations)

•

Long-term Step: Establish a S.A.V.E. Center to coordinate all S.A.V.E. tourism activities

As a first step in developing the S.A.V.E. market, it is recommended to launch a “Voluntelingual” Project to link Spanish schools and volunteer organizations. This pilot project aims to encourage students to participate in volunteer programs as well as to encourage volunteers to study Spanish for further immersion experience in local communities. At this point, students studying at a certain school take part in a volunteer program that the school organizes, and there is a limited variety of programs. Moreover, as ties between volunteer organizations and schools are relatively weak, even though students are dispatched as volunteers, they often do not know what to do on site and the organizations do not know what to get them to do. Not all students can utilize their expertise. Each of the schools should cooperate to offer a wide range of volunteer activities across school boundaries, and should also collaborate with volunteer organizations. As a long-term process, it is recommended that S.A.V.E. Center be created near the lake to coordinate all S.A.V.E. tourism activities. In order to save costs, it would be ideal to utilize an existing facility, i.e. Universidad del Valle Guatemala (UVG) Altiplano campus in Sololá. This center will include various facilities, such as field study equipment, classrooms and laboratory. With this center, the Lake Atitlán will be able to appeal as a S.A.V.E. destination.

194

The S.A.V.E. Center needs to hire a S.A.V.E. Center coordinator to manage the facility, whose annual salary is estimated at $14,000 a year. In addition, other costs, including vehicle and field study equipment, are also to be estimated. SUCCESS INDICATORS: Measures of Performance 1. Strategic alliances of schools and of volunteer organizations are formed •

An association of Spanish schools around the lake is established

• •

An association of volunteer organizations around the lake is established Websites of both organizations are created and linked with the regional DMO’s website

2. A school-volunteer liaison system is created to coordinate students who want to participate in volunteer program with volunteer organizations •

Project database and volunteer coordination system is created

•

Free publication to promote the system is published

3. The S.A.V.E. Center is established • •

Center coordinator is hired Funds are raised and received

4. Various components of the S.A.V.E. Center is coordinated •

Facilities are set up

•

Equipment is procured

•

Field guide teachers are identified

•

Strategic alliances are formed with partner organizations

5. Center branding, product development and marketing strategy is finalized • •

Partner organizations start promoting the Center on their websites and brochures The Regional DMO starts promoting the Center on its website, and develop and distribute the Center’s brochure

• •

Tourist visitation is increased in the Lake Atitlán area Local knowledge of the importance of the natural and culture resources is increased, and conservation efforts are also increased

ACTIONS: Activity Components Pilot Project: “Voluntelingual Project” •

195

Hold meetings of Spanish schools around the lake to establish an association (“Lake Atitlán Spanish School Association”)

• •

Hold meetings of volunteer organizations around the lake to establish association (“Lake Atitlán Volunteer Association”) Hold meetings of the school association and the volunteer organization association and collaborate to establish a liaison system and website of schools and volunteer facilitation

Supply Side Development •

Hold meetings of UVG and organizations related to S.A.V.E. activities

•

Establish the S.A.V.E. Center

•

Coordinate the various components of the S.A.V.E. Center

Demand Side Development •

Implement Center branding, product development and marketing strategy with the Regional DMO to reach out to niche target markets

Estimated Timeline Timeline

Objectives

Tasks to be Performed

July – December, 2008

1. Form strategic 1.1. Bring representatives of Spanish schools alliance between Spanish to a meeting to discuss the procedure of the schools “Voluntelingual Project”

Responsibility Counterpart International (CI)

1.2. Form an association of Spanish schools CI and school around the lake (“Lake Atitlán Spanish School representatives Association”) and select the chairman of the association

July - December, 2008

2. Form strategic alliance between volunteer organizations

1.3. Build an official website of the association and link it with the regional DMO’s website

Persons in charge of website

2.1. Bring representatives of volunteer organizations to a meeting to discuss the procedure of the “Voluntelingual Project”

CI

2.2. Form an association of volunteer organizations around the lake (“Lake Atitlán Volunteer Association”) and select the

CI and volunteer organization representatives

196

chairman of the association

July, 2008 – June, 3. Build a volunteer 2009 coordination system

2.3. Build an official website of the association and link it with the regional DMO’s and the school association’s website

Persons in charge of website

3.1. Bring representatives of both associations to a meeting to discuss the procedure of the “Voluntelingual Project”

CI

3.2. Establish project database and volunteer coordination system

3.3. Pilot test the coordination system on the volunteer association’s website

3.4. Publish a free publication to promote the facilitation system and distribute it to tourist information centers, schools, hotels, restaurants etc.

School association and volunteer association

Volunteer association

Volunteer association

January, 2009

4. Reach an agreement of establishment of the S.A.V.E. Center

4.1. Convene meetings of S.A.V.E. related organizations and UVG to discuss the procedure of establishment of the S.A.V.E. Center

Regional DMO manager

Beginning of 2009

5. Bring the S.A.V.E. Center into existence

5.1. Hire and train S.A.V.E. Center coordinator

Regional DMO manager

5.2. Secure funding for center creation and operation of the first year

Center coordinator and Regional DMO manager

5.3. Conduct stakeholder meetings (Center coordinator, the Regional DMO manager and regional/local municipality representatives, etc.)

197

Center coordinator and Regional DMO manager

Middle of 2009

Remainder of 2009

6. Coordinate the various components of the S.A.V.E. Center, including financial systems, office space, procurement of equipment, logistics of bringing researchers, students, tourists and volunteers

6.1. Procure necessary equipment

Center coordinator

6.2. Identify local guides and park rangers to teach field guide courses

Center coordinator

6.3. Work with the Volunteer Association to match interns, researchers, students and volunteers with specific tasks that need to be accomplished

7. Finalize branding, 7.1. Advertise and brand the Center product development and marketing strategy

Center coordinator and volunteer association

Regional DMO manager and Center coordinator

Resources: Information source of S.A.V.E. market S.A.V.E. Travel Alliance: non-profit organization that facilitates between potential or developing tourism destinations and the appropriate S.A.V.E. markets. Website: http://www.save-travel.org Phone: +1 (202) 210-0941 E-mail: [email protected] Possible S.A.V.E. Center Venue Universidad del Valle Guatemala Altiplano: a UVG’s external campus established in Sololá in 1999, as a model of a strategic alliance of the government, private sector and civil society with the purpose of developing region. Website: http://www.altiplano.uvg.edu.gt/ Phone: 7762-4158/60/61 E-mail: [email protected] Spanish Schools around the Lake Atitlán San Pedro Spanish School: runs its own social project “Proyecto Niños del Lago” to support the education of local children with little resources. Website: http://www.sanpedrospanishschool.org Phone: 5715-4604/7721-8176

198

E-mail: [email protected] Cooperativa: organizes two community development programs: helping marginalized local families and supporting an insufficiently funded local elementary school. Website: http://cooperativeschoolsanpedro.com/ Phone: 5398-6448 E-mail: [email protected] Flor del Maiz: have two own projects: supporting local children in education and reforestation. Website: http://www.flordmaiz.com/ Phone: 5384-9727/5439-6253 E-mail: [email protected] Casa Rosario Website: http://www.casarosario.com/ Phone: 7613-6401 E-mail: [email protected] Corazón Maya Website: http://www.corazonmaya.com Phone: 7721-8160 E-mail: [email protected] Escuela de Español Casa America Phone: 7767-7718 E-mail: [email protected] Mayab’ Spanish School Phone: 7815-7722 Sol de Oro Spanish School Phone: 7614-9618 Volunteer Organizations around the Lake Atitlán Asociación Artesanos Unidos por el Desarrollo de Atitlan (AUDA): a community based NGO in Panajachel that is dedicated to promoting social and economic empowerment activities for marginalized groups Website: http://www.audaguatemala.org/ Phone: 5567-8917 E-mail: [email protected]

199

Asociación de Lideres de Mujeres: provides scholarships and training workshops for its female members to help in the development and improvement of women’s lives Phone: 5860-1332 E-mail: [email protected] Casa Antigua Ojer Tijob'al: refurbished a former school in San Marcos la Laguna to provide funds for the underfunded local school Phone: 5462-7522 E-mail: [email protected] Centro Maya Xe’Kiyaqasiiwaan: provides therapy to children with Down’s Syndrome, deaf, blind and paralyzed Phone: 5849-2115 E-mail: [email protected] Hospitalito Atitlan: provides the only 24 hour emergency care in the Lake Atitlán area Website: http://www.puebloapueblo.org Phone: 7721-7683 E-mail: [email protected] Volunteer Coordinate Organizations in Guatemala Entremundos: a non-profit organization based in Quetzaltenango, which publishes a free publication and has a website, including a database of more than 150 organizations in Quetzaltenango and other areas. Website: http://www.entremundos.org Phone: 7761-2179 E-mail: [email protected] Project Mosaic Guatemala: a non-profit organization based in Antigua, which places volunteers with about 100 organizations Website: http://www.promosaico.org Phone: 7832-0955 E-mail: [email protected] Community-Based Tour Guide Association Jovenes Maya: a local Mayan Kaq’chikel youth group offering natural and cultural walks Website: http://www.atitlanresource.com/jovenesmayas_eng.htm Phone: 5912-6116/5475-4150/5787-7728 E-mail: [email protected] Potential funding sources:

200

Personnel expenses of S.A.V.E. Center coordinator: $14,000/year USAID, World Bank

201

Appendix 10.2 Atitlan Boat Mobile ISSUE: Background The consulting team conducted a survey of tour operators to determine the range of products being offered to tourist, as well as existing challenges. One of the findings indicated that the “Lake Tour” is one of the top products that is being promoted by the tour operators. In addition, surveys of tourists were conducted, which indicated that tourists are looking for better organized trips, better packages, and visits to lake communities. Currently, all the tour operators offer an identical tour, departing from Panajachel, which lasts 7 hours, consisting of stops to three villages (San Pedro La Laguna, Santiago Atitlan, San Antonio Palopo). The boat stops at San Pedro La Laguna and Santiago Atitlan for approximately one hour each and at San Antonio Palopo for half an hour. Tours depart daily at 8:30 am and 9:30 am. The advertising differs from one tour operator to the next, some promote a “Tour on the Lake” offering a boxed lunch, others promote “Maravilloso Lago Atitlan.” The cost at the tour operators is 75 Quetzales (USD $10). To conduct research on the boat tour, five members of the consulting team went on the tour on 21 June 2008. The following are findings: •

Five tickets were purchased from a tour operator for 75 Quetzales (USD $10).

• •

The group met in front of the tour operator’s office and was led by the sales person on a bike to the port. About twenty people were on the boat, some had bought their tickets from tour operators, while others bought them at the docks, sometimes paying more then 75 Quetzales.

• No brochures or narration about the villages or the lake were provided. • A boxed lunch was not provided. The team recommends improvement of lake tours to provide an overall experience for tourists. Boat tours can include: •

Pre-recorded narration to provide information about the lake and its communities;

•

Expanded itineraries to include more villages, bringing economic benefits to local communities;

•

Traditional meals and refreshments on board;

•

Expanded services such as sunset cruises, private parties, etc.

SOLUTION: Solution Product: Improvement of the current lake tours, to a “hopper” boat with 2 routes each consisting of stops at five towns. The current boats operating will need to be improved. There will be a yellow and green boat to represent the two different routes. The inside of the boats will be repaired to include comfortable seating and a snack bar. The boat will have prerecorded narration in multiple languages, highlighting the Lake’s history and natural attributes, as well introducing unique aspects of each village. Passengers will be able to purchase one, two, or three day passes. Passengers will be able to get off (hop off) at their chosen locations. The boat will pass each village on an hourly basis. Each passenger will receive a wrist band and a brochure which links to the overall proposed marketing strategy

202

detailing activities for each village, separated by interests connected to the proposed marketing segments. The snack bar on board will offer refreshments. The team proposes that this product be tested in high season. Suggested routes: Route 1: Yellow Boat - Panajachel, Santa Caterina Palopo, San Antonio Palopo, San Lucas Taliman, Santiago Atitlan Route 2: Green Boat – Panajachel, San Marcos La Laguna, Santa Clara La Laguna, San Juan La Laguna, San Pedro La Laguna Examples of boat tours include a tour around the Bospherous River in Turkey, a tour around Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan, as well as a tour around the Thames River Cruise in the UK. These tours are all guided, providing tourists an option to visit a number of attractions around a given lake or river. These examples are suitable for Lake Atitlán, as there are a number of communities around the Lake that offer numerous attractions from visiting coffee farms, to learning to make handicrafts, and participating in Mayan ceremonies. Price: The survey for tour operators indicated that price range for a variety of products offered around Lake Atitlán range from USD $10 to $450. The lake tour that is currently being offered hits the low end of the range. We are proposing a slight increase in price. The following prices are proposed: • •

1 Day Pass - $15 2 Day Pass - $25

•

3 Day Pass - $30

Place: The distribution for these trips should be through the tour operators, both direct and 3rd party, as well as hotels and restaurants. In addition, the boat tour should be offered through online channels, including the proposed Destination Lake Atitlán website, and under the “Stay Another Day Activities.” Visitors will be able to purchase the tickets at any of the identified villages, at a tour operator, or before boarding. Promotion: The boat tour should be promoted through newly printed brochures to be disseminated through the distribution channels mentioned above. SUCCESS INDICATORS: Measures of Performance •

Increased number of customers for the boat operators.

• •

Increased visits to community attractions, i.e. coffee farms, etc. Increased profit for tour and boat operators.

ACTIONS: Activity Components •

203

Convene a roundtable of tour and boat operators, as well as local tourism leaders to propose a new structure for the boat tours, highlighting the profit potential as a result of collaboration among stakeholders and

• •

improvements. This step is incredibly important because it will help with the challenge of brining together boat owners. Work with local communities to gather the best product offering to provide customers with the best information on different attractions. Improve the current boats, painting them in two different colors, improving the interior for added comfort, adding a snack bar.

•

Contract a local company to create recordings of guided tours in languages that represent the visitors to Lake Atitlán.

•

Create promotional materials, linking with the proposed consistent brand and image for Lake Atitlán, and creating a synergy with “Stay Another Day” and community-based tourism. Implement the first lake tour during high season.

•

Activity Description To fulfill the need of more organized lake excursions and trips to lake towns, the consulting team proposes improvement of the current lake tour. Lake Atitlán Boat Hopper will operate two routes, in multiple languages and offer tourists a number of choices, including one to three day passes, as well as snacks on board. The Hopper Boat will create a strong link with CBT activities, and establish a synergy with the “Stay Another Day” campaign. The majority of improved product development is proposed to be funded through private resources, mainly the boat owners and operators. The estimated cost is $10,000. Resources: The majority of the resources for this project should come from the private sector. Currently the boats are operated as a family business. Resources from organizations such as Counterpart International and Fundacion Solar should compliment activities to bring together they key stakeholders for initial roundtable meetings. Proposed Budget: Activity/Item

Rates (USD)

Units

Qty.

Amount

Roundtable for Tour Operators

300

event

2

600

Assistance for Business Plan Creation

20

hour

10

200

Boat Paint (Materials + Labor)

850

boat

2

1700

Upgrade Inside Boat (Materials + Labor)

1000

boat

2

2000

Audio-Equipment Purchase

750

unit

2

1500

Contract for Brochure Design

1000

contract

1

1000

Contract for Recorded Narration

300

20 min

10

3000

204

Total

10000

Proposed Timeline: Month 1 Roundtable for Tour Operators Assistance for Business Plan Creation Boat Paint (Materials + Labor) Upgrade Inside Boat (Materials + Labor) Audio-Equipment Purchase Contract for Brochure Design Contract for Recorded Narration Distribute Marketing Brochure Initiate Tours

205

Month 2

Month 3

Month 4

Appendix 10.3. Pedestrian-Friendly Panajachel

NOW: Background A simple, low cost adjustment can be made to the market areas of Panajachel that will attract more tourists and provide a safer, more inviting environment for visitors to the area. This simple idea is to shut down part of the main street in Panajachel on a predetermined day to allow tourists a chance to enjoy shopping in a relaxed environment. The current situation in Panajachel is one of high congestion and nervous visitors who are cite fear of being hit by tuktuks or other motorized vehicles as a major turnoff. FUTURE: Goals •

Increase the amount of money spent in Panajachel by creating a special “market day” aimed at tourists who want a stress-free shopping experience

•

Work with local stakeholders (shop keepers, tuktuk operators, restaurants, local law enforcement) to establish guidelines for establishing a pedestrian friendly Panajachel. Present Panajachel as a special destination where tourists will flock to on a weekly basis to experience the market

•

SUCCESS INDICATORS: Measures of Performance •

Increased revenue for store-owners in Panajachel

•

Increase satisfaction from tourists (a brief survey should be conducted in which tourists are asked to rate their shopping experience both on days when the street is open as well as when it is closed)

ACTIONS: Activity Components 1. Convene a meeting of major stakeholders to determine the best date for implementing a closed street policy and develop buy-in and commitment 2. Work with local law enforcement to establish a strategy for directing traffic and maintaining safety and convenience for all stakeholders 3. Implement the Pedestrian Friendly Panajachel action Estimated Costs: No costs Proposed Timeline: Month 1

Month 2

Month 3

Month 4

Stakeholder Meeting Identify and design appropriate

206

regulation Launch pedestrian-friendly Panajachel

207

Appendix 19.4. Stay Another Day Campaign The “Stay Another Day” Campaign will aim to facilitate a better promotion of existing tourism products and events, as well as a comprehensible product offerings to tourists. Moreover, the campaign will focus on minimizing linkage between tourism products and services. The “Stay Another Day” Campaign comprises the following promotions to attract tourists to stay another day in Lake Atitlán area. • •

Passport discount program Tourist passports made by wood with Mayan totems and designs represent the spirit of indigenous people and are the best souvenirs back home.

•

Promote the four categorized tourism products based on the product matrix with CBT highlights, which are Nature & Ecotourism, Adventure & Sports, Culture & Religion and Education & Experience. The campaign will encourage tourists to collect four color stamps from any of the communities on the wooden passports by offering a complimentary dinner.

•

2nd day hotel discount

• •

All day or two-day “Hopper” Boat Pass Cooperative hotels, restaurants, shops, Spanish schools and museums

•

Promotional materials: brochures (see following page), website, calendar of events, posters, stickers

Proposed Budget:    

$12,000.00 per year 

   Proposed Timeline:      

Time

Month 1  Month 2 Month 3 Month 4  Month 5

Issue   Negotiate with all  related stakeholders and  DMOs    

 

 

 

208

  Contract assignments  among all stakeholders  and DMOs   

 

 

   

Frame the calendar of  events    

 

 

 

Prepare and process the 

 

necessary materials, such  as brochures, coupons,  posters and wooden  passports. 

 

  

 

   

Q&A and demonstration  for the campaign   

 

  

   

Distribute Marketing  Brochure   

 

 

   

Initiate the campaign   

209

 

 

  

Appendix 19.5. Professional Training in Event Management ISSUE: Background •

Events and festivals are identified by INGUAT as a priority market segment for Guatemala

•

Rich cultural landscape offering opportunities to enhance tourism offerings through cultural events and festivals Currently, a very small number of cultural events take place

• •

There is a lack of training programs building the event planning and management capacity of local stakeholders

Meetings and events are one of the seven market segments identified by INGUAT as high-potential for Guatemala. This segment includes professional meetings and conferences but also special events like festivals, cultural performances, celebrations and others. During the fieldwork the consulting team learned that there are very few special events that are organized in the communities around Lake Atitlán. At the same time, the rich culture of the area and the preserved traditional lifestyle of local communities are a great opportunity to use special events to increase the number of tourists to the area and to diversify the existing tourist experiences. In order to make this opportunity a reality there is a need of a specialized professional training in event design and coordination. This will help build the capacity of local stakeholders in designing events and using them to attract more visitors. SOLUTION: Goals •

Establish an ongoing professional training program in event management

•

Increase the tourism product portfolio of Lake Atitlán through proliferation of special events in the area

The best way to deal with limited local capacity in event management is to establish a professional training program, which will help local stakeholders develop the needed knowledge and skills. An ongoing training program can help increase the quantity and quality of events organized in the area. This will help enrich the local tourism product portfolio and will offer another opportunity for local participation. SUCCESS INDICATORS: Measures of Performance •

Existence of ongoing professional training program in event management

• 50 local stakeholders undergo the training program • The number of special events organized and managed as part of the local tourism portfolio is doubled One of the most important indicators for the success of this project will be the establishment of an ongoing professional training program. The program should be based locally and managed by a local institution. Another success indicator should be the number of local stakeholders that take part in the program. If 50 local stakeholder are trained by the program this will have a significant impact on the local event management capacity. As an end result this should lead to an increase of the successful and high-quality events in the area. ACTIONS: Activity Components

210

• •

Sign partnership agreement between GWU and UVG to offer jointly GW’s Event Management Certificate Program Conduct a full series of 7 certificate courses for one group of professionals

•

Train local trainers for ongoing delivery o the program.

Activity Description Since 1972, The George Washington University (GW) has been a pioneer in tourism management, education, research and technical assistance. GW was the first university in the United States to offer a master’s degree in tourism administration, and the first to offer a professional training program in destination management and event management. The professional education program carries the TedQual certification, which is a certificate for quality education given by the UNWTO. The Event Management Certificate Program is for professionals interested in the theoretical and practical aspects of event and meeting management, including research, design, planning, coordination, and evaluation of events and meetings of various types and sizes. Students study best practices in promotion, organization and risk management. By participating in the program, participants will: •

Learn best practices and latest thinking for the design, planning and execution of successful events for groups from 10 to thousands

• •

Gain a big picture awareness of the event industry Learn to conduct effective event and meeting management research, including needs assessment, site analysis, situation analysis, and feasibility studies

•

Experience the industry firsthand via an on-site, hands-on internship

The professional certificate program in Event Management at the George Washington University has established partnerships with universities and professional organizations to deliver our curriculum around the world. Partnership universities or training organizations that have licensing agreements to teach the GW Professional Education Content include: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

University of the West Indies, Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business - Trinidad & Tobago University of San Diego – San Diego, California Ryerson University, School of Tourism & Hospitality Management – Canada Dongguk University, College of Tourism - Korea Instituto de Hospitalidade – Bahia, Brazil Jordan Inbound Tour Operators Association – Jordan

One opportunity is to establish a long-term partnership between GW and UVG. This will involve the joint organization of a pilot series of event management courses for a selected group of professionals who can benefits from event management training. This training series will be lead by GW instructors and will be held at UVG campus site. In addition to training of participants, GW trainers will engage local professionals in a trainer of trainers program. This will help build local capacity for teaching and will help sustain the program in the long run. The event management program includes the following courses:

211

•

Best Practices in Event Management

•

Event Coordination

•

Event Marketing

•

Risk Management: Financial, Legal, and Ethical Safeguards

• •

Catering Design and Coordination Corporate Event Management

•

Event Fund Raising Introduction to Event Information Systems (EIS)

•

Event Laboratory

• •

Event Management Motivational Seminar Event Sponsorship

•

Exposition/Trade Show Planning Management and Marketing

• •

Government, Civic, and Political Events Meetings and Conferences

•

Sport Event Marketing and Management

• •

Starting, Growing, and Managing an Event Business Wedding Planning, Coordination, and Consulting Workshop

•

Event Protocol

Resources: $50,000.00 The program involves the conducting of 7 event management courses, the conducting of each costs $5,000. In addition this amount includes honorarium for GW instructors and new trainers for the training of trainers program as well as other costs. Potential funding sources: Potential funding for this activity can come from UVG and donor assistance for capacity building, for example USAID or the World Bank. Activity/Item

2008

2009

2010

2011

Sign GWU/UVG agreement

0

0

0

0

Plan and conduct a series of 7 certificate courses in event management ($5,000 each + accommodation for instructors)

$40,000

0

0

0

Training of trainers

0

$10,000

Total

$40,000

$10,000

Total

$50,000

212

Appendix 19.6. CBT Distribution Channels ISSUE: Background •

Low awareness of CBT products

• •

Low volume of CBT visitors and no market segment Lack of CBT marketing and promotion

•

No linkage to the main stream tour market

When it comes to the current situation of CBT product market, it has very weak perception and there is no special marketing or promotion. It is no surprise that the most successful CBT product of San. Juan had just 300 visitors in the high season. FUTURE: Goals • •

Enhance the awareness of CBT products Increase the volume of CBT visitors

•

Create CBT segment in travel market

•

Launch & Stabilize in the major tour market

Through marketing and promotion of CBT product, enhancing the perception of CBT product. Attract potential visitors to the new CBT program, which gradually will be staged on the main market area as a individual segment. SUCCESS INDICATORS: Measures of Performance •

Number of CBT activity participants (enhancing direct buyers)

•

Number of CBT activities in package tour program (increasing indirect buyers)

•

Number & Sales frequency in the major tour market (Creating CBT segment)

Actually, it’s not easy to measure the specific number of visitors who have only one purpose to visit destination. Currently, the maximum visitors in high season have been only 300 people in San, Juan that is the most successful example of CBT provider area. From this number, we can measure the CBT visitors by setting this figure as the short term target number and compare the result with previous number of visitors. We can measure the performance of new tour product as simply as possibly by calculating the number of visitors. Subsequently, comparative analysis will be followed to find out which part have problems. After this we can further to search out for the solution to the next step. Actually, frequency is the most important and easy way to diagnose the situation of market. ACTIONS: Activity Components 1. Activity 1 : Link to the special interest tourism websites 2. Activity 2 : Provide stay-longer program 3. Activity 3 : Creating CBT segment by connecting to online travel channel Activity Description

213

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Link to the special interest tourism websites (Responsibletravel.com, Intrepidtravel.com) Provide stay-longer program by connecting CBT with volunteer tourism Creating CBT segment by connecting to major on-line travel channels – Expedia, Travelocity (Familiarization Tour for Major Market Launching main market product generator, media, tourism writer)

First, for short term solution, To boost up the image of Atitlan, we can use the most relating website (www.responsibletravel.com) which is free to register and display CBT product. Currently, there is only one CBT product under the section of tailor-made holidays to Guatemala that include one day stay in Atitlan area. We can use this website to test our new pilot CBT product. Also, we must change the concept of Atitla’n from stop-by place for chichicastenango to a place must stay at least 2 days. In most packages, they have only stop by or one day staying. For the pilot itinerary, we would like to suggest the below schedule; 1st day (Friday)

Arrive early from Antigua

Boating trip to 3 places Stay in san. Antonio

2nd day(Saturday)

CBT Activities

Planting ceremony

(Move to S. Juan)

Painting wall Visiting weaving house Stay in san. Juan

3rd day(Sunday)

Move to Chichicastenango

Shopping and Seeing Traditional Market

We would like to recommend to make a business partnership with Major distribution channel in Antigua (Mundo Guatemala, www.mundo-guatemala.com). We also recommend the Panajachel main travel agent who could be a partner, STA (Melvin Urizar T: 7762-2075) which has a good transportation network and a good potential to connect to. Melvin, CEO, is also the president of tour operators Association in Panajachel. Main reason to recommend Mundo travel is that it is full-service incoming tour operator for FIT and small group. FIT group could be easily attracted to ‘stay another day’ program rather than package travelers. Second. for the mid term solution for maximizing the benefit , we must provide attractive stay longer program. According to the Special interest travel website, Responsibletravel (www.responsibletravel.com), the best segment to attract long stay tourists is volunteer tourism that has range from 19 days to 40 days stay.

214

Volunteer Tourism Guideline for Destination Atitlán Be a part of a village history

‐

Catch Phrase :

‐

Volunteer tourism site : circulating villages in need

‐

Linkage to CBT activities and destination specifics

‐

Maximize collaboration with regional NTOs

‐

Main activity: charity such as building Elementary School, repainting school walls, rebuilding walking trails…etc.

‐

Period: 4 times a year/quarterly base

‐

Special ceremony: After finishing schedule, Honorable Citizenship Ceremony (Confer Certificate to participants for their devotion)

‐

On the long term plan : To hold a workshop or convention of 3 World volunteer tourism EXPO 3 in Atitlán

Last but not least, for the long term economic success, CBT Atitla’n product should be positioned and stabilized on the main distribution channel. From recommendation 1,2 , we can get the maximum market share of Special Interest Segment. However, our goal is transform Atitlan to the international destination to attract holiday travelers. To make it happen for the long term breakthrough, we must do the Familiarization tour for the main market product generator (www.Expedia.com), media (national geographic center for sustainable tourism), and influential tourism writer (Herr. Andre Hoffman). The reason why we put this at the last stage is the lack of budget at the moment. However, we can gradually raise the fund for this marketing strategy. Resources: Each community has its specific character to provide various color for the CBT product. CBT brochure and new approach will be helpful to find precious assets to be used as a different unit for CBT tour module. For the promotion of CBT product, already existing marketing points should be screened in terms of CBT related marketability. Potential funding sources: First, Communities should raise their own fund for the marketing segment. A special potion of their income must be set aside for the promotion of whole communities. This fund could be used as seed money that can be accumulated as a whole marketing budget from every 14 community. Budget committee and decision making body should be organized for the long term development.

215

Second, collaborative marketing fund could also be organized from the relating authorities such as INGUAT and Municipality of Sololá. National and regional NTOs should cooperative in promotion this area. Third, donation from the international entities such as USAID and World Bank (US$) Activity Item

2008

2009

2010

Total

Register on

0

0

0

0

SIT Website Familiarization tour

1,180

1,180

(business partnership with Antigua Travel Agent) 3,630

3,630

Familiarization tour (Volunteer Tourism) Volunteer Special Ceremony

400 400

Volunteer Tourism EXPO

TBD

Familiarization tour

9,650 9,650

(Major Market) Total

1180

4,030

9,650

14,860

216

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217

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Travelocity Partner Program •

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•

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• •

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Why Partner with the Travelocity Partner Network? WCT-Travelocity Program •

It builds your brand, not ours

• •

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WCT Partner Program: Note: WCT is for established travel websites with an active customer database

218

• • • •

219

Enjoy the same competitive rates and inventory that are offered on Travelocity, but have your own branding throughout the customer experience Get generous commissions paid in a timely fashion PLUS bonus income from optional service fees Access a suite of online booking products to help you earn a larger piece of the traveler's dollars, resulting in more profits and repeat customers Gain from real-time, back-office reporting and memorable Partner support

SIT Market Linkage Point for CBT Distribution Title

Intrepidtravel

Responsibletravel

Homepage

Email

Contact

Tel +(61 3)

www.Intrepidtravel.co m

[email protected]

www.responsibletravel .com

amelia@responsibletravel. com

9473 2626 Jerrine, Amelia

Fax

Remarks

+(61 3) 9419 4426

+ 44 (0) 1273 60030 SIT community café

Volunteer tourism

www.bravenewtraveler .com

Ecotravel

www.ecotravel.com

[email protected] m

Ethicalescape

www.ethicalescape.co. uk

[email protected]

+ (351) 812 482 419 Knut Eiseman n& Claudia Avendan o

Bird watching specialized

Earthfoot

www.earthfoot.org

[email protected]

Peopleandplaces

www.travelpeopleandplaces.co.uk

[email protected]

+ 44 (0) 8700 460 479

Slowtravel

www.slowtrav.com

[email protected]

+ 1 (310) 280 5239

Redturs

www.redturs.org

[email protected]

Friendsofworldherit age

www.friendsofworldhe ritage.com

worldheritage@unfoundati on.org

Green Seniors

http://greenseniors.type pad.com

[email protected]

Intelligent Travel

www.intelligenttravel.t ypepad.com

[email protected]

CBT Promotion Website

Joyce Emery

Seniors Club for CBT National Geographic Traveler

220

Current market situation of CBT product in Panajachel travel agents Volume Tour Operador

Type of Product

Connection

Guides

(Monthly)

Canopy Laguna Azul Atitlan

Low season: 25 costumers

Panajachel: asociación de tour operadores

Caves

San Marcos

coffee tour

San Pedro La Laguna

butterfly sanctuary

Santiago

nature/adventure tours

Low season: 75

Panajachel: Asociación de lancheros, asociación de microbuses, asociación de tour operadores

High season: 250

San Juan La Laguna: Rupalaj K´istalín San Marcos

Santander Travel Agency

Santiago

They take their own guides to the communities they visit, but all their employees are from Panajachel

Their employees are all from Panajachel, they usually take their own guides to their destinations, except in places where there´s an existing guide association

San Pedro La Laguna San Antonio Palopó Santa Catarina Palopó Santa Lucía Utatlán: Corazón del Bosque

Mario´s Tours

Community tours (however, they take their own tour guides, and don´t work with the existing community associations in each destination)

Low season: 50

San Marcos

High season: 75

San Pedro La Laguna Santiago

They take their own guides for the activities in each village

San Antonio Palopó Santa Catarina Palopó

nature / adventure tourism

Low season: 10

Guate Maya Tour Operator

San Pedro La Laguna Santiago

They take their own guides to their destinations whenever the client asks for a guide

San Antonio Palopó Plus + Travel Agency

221

backpackers, no community tourism

low season: 30

San Pedro La Laguna

They don´t normally take tour guides, but they can arrange for

High season: 60

Santiago San Antonio Palopó

San Sebastián Tour Operator

low season: 5

Tour around the lake

High season: 60

San Pedro Volcano Santiago

one when requested. They specified they don’t work with communities

They usually take their own tour guide

San Marcos San Antonio Palopó nature / adventure tourism

San Juan La Laguna: Rupalaj K´istalín Panajachel (natural reserve)

Tourist Service Centroamericana

Santa Catarina Palopó: Walk by trail from Panajachel

They usually take their own guides, except in places where they have the service, like in San Juan and Corazón del Bosque

Santa Lucía Utatlán: Corazón del Bosque

222

Appendix 19.7. Branding Competition ISSUE: Background •

Limited marketing and lack of an official brand and image

• •

Community has had a limited role in marketing the destination Stakeholders need to have a unified marketing packet of materials

To-date, in the Lake Atitlán region, the key tourism stakeholders in the industry do not have any unified marketing materials and have not really involved the local community in trying to market the destination. Tourism plays a major role in the economic stability, prosperity and growth in this region; therefore it is vital for Lake Atitlán to have a brand and image that can be recognized globally as well as have a proper marketing strategy in place to highlight the wonderful offerings of the destination. SOLUTION: Goals To conduct a branding competition that will engage the youth and their families of the Sololá region At the end of the competition to have a brand and image that positively represents the area and that can be used to market and promote the destination Engaging the youth ages 10-15 in the branding competition exercise, will not only allow for great creativity, but will also draw in the families of the youth involved in the competition, therefore reaching out to the larger community. In order to achieve successful results of the competition and have a recognizable symbol and brand, the competition must be set-up in a competitive and transparent manner. SUCCESS INDICATORS: Measures of Performance • •

Large number of competition entries Panel of outside judges to ensure transparency

•

Large media coverage

In order for the competition to be a success, it is important that there are a large number of entries; this will show that a large portion of the community is engaged and involved in the process, and cares about the official brand and image that will be used to portray their region. Having large media coverage will lend importance to the event as well as increase awareness of the area and aid in the marketing and the publicizing of the official brand and image that is chosen. Using an objective panel of judges that are involved in the industry will not only ensure transparency, but will also ensure that the right brand/image is chosen for this destination that encapsulates the experience that a visitor can expect to have. ACTIONS: Activity Components 1. 2. 3.

223

Selection of judges Spreading marketing materials to the media Getting sponsors and prizes donated

4. 5. 6.

Sifting and Selecting qualified entries and narrowing down to finalists Hosting the announcement of the winner at the launch event of the Commission Adopting the official brand/image and utilizing it in marketing material

Activity Description The above 6 activities are the main highlights of what is needed to go into running a successful competition a more comprehensive outline can be found below Resources: Human resources will be the most important aspect of this competition. Volunteers will be vital to the success of this competition in terms of hanging up and handing out flyers, tapping into media sources to publicize the event, as well as the volunteers that will spend their own time in organizing and running the competition. Potential funding sources: Funding for this competition will come from the competition sponsors as well as from the Sololá Commission marketing committee. The estimated budget for this competition is $1,500 exclusionary of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes, which very in value and would be a denotation from the hotels, restaurants, and tour operators that provide the prizes. Below is a full outline of the branding competition. Branding Competition Outline Purpose: To engage the youth of the Sololá region and their families in the tourism sector by establishing a competition to develop the official tagline for Lake Atitlán by taking into account the following aspects 1-The natural beauty 2-The Mayan culture 3-Traditions 4-Sense of community Competition Components Information dissemination – Announcing the competition through the following media means will help ensure transparency in the competition by making sure that all those that want to have the opportunity to participate are informed. •

Local radio announcement

•

Newspaper

•

TV (local news)

•

Posters in elementary schools

224

Eligibility: Engaging the youth of this age bracket will allow for greater creativity as well as having buy-in from their family members, which means a collective community process in establishing a world recognized brand for the Lake Atitlán region. Elementary students age 10-15 Requirements: A short 500 word essay from one of the three topics A phrase/ tagline used to brand the lake with each of the 4 elements mentioned above and that relates to the provided image. Note that in annex 1 some possible taglines were created during a stakeholder’s forum, these are a good start and can help you take it to the next level. Essay Topics: •

What does living in the Lake Atitlán region mean and represent to you?

•

How has Tourism benefited your community?

•

What image do you think Lake Atitlán has and why is it important to promote a positive image of the Lake?

Length and Deadline: The competition should run for one month and should end at least two week before the Sololá Commission launch events. This will give the judges enough time to review entries and pick the three finalists. Prizes: 1st place- Official brand for Lake Atitlán, some sort of media coverage, whether it be a story covered by the local news station or an article with picture in local newspaper and the chance to experience a sample 2 day itinerary. 2nd place- Opportunity to experience a stay another day activity and spend the night in that village. 3rd place- A night in a hotel and dinner for family in Panajachel.

Judges: The judges should be 5 members of the commission and 6 other stakeholders in the industry. Since the chosen brand will become the official brand for the Lake Atitlán region, it is important that the panel of judges be industry members as they will eventually be the ones marketing, ensuring brand recognition and promoting a brand that promotes the appropriate image of the region and will attract both international as well as national tourists. Sponsorship: This may be one of the most critical components of the competition. Having both industry and nonindustry businesses in the region sponsor the competition helps give legitimacy to the event, reduces the overall cost of hosting such an event, creates beneficial relationships within the industry and facilitates the lines of communication. Some benefits that a sponsor could receive are: •

225

Targeted exposure to others in the industry and establishing linkages, ex. Tour Operators and Travel Agencies.

• •

Increased reach/exposure – being able to reach potential customers that you may not have been exposed to otherwise i.e. marketing and promotion of products. Increased sales – many business experience increased sales because of the increased reach and exposure.

Steps to make the competition a success and have an established brand and image for Lake Atitlán The establishment of a competition committee. This committee should be different from the panel of judges, so as to maintain transparency throughout the entire process. The committee should include community members and members of the tourism sector. Responsibilities of committee: •

Selection of judges based on specific selection criteria

• •

Distributing competition info packet to media for distribution and dissemination. Monitoring entries and discarding those that do not completely adhere to requirements and eligibility.

•

Securing sponsors and prizes

•

Coordinating the announcement of the winner at the Commission launch event and ensuring media coverage

Once the committee has been established, a temporary centralized headquarters needs to be established. As the competition will run for approximately a month, the committee needs to be established at least 2-3 months prior to organize all of the key steps in the competition. Once the competition is over, it will be the responsibility of the competition committee to hand over all information and collected materials to the Commission Marketing Committee. SAMPLE PHRASES:

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

VOLCANOES, NATURE AND PEOPLE FOR YOU CULTURES AND LANDSCAPES: ATITLAN HAS IT ALL ATITLAN THE MIRROR OF THE WORLD OR OF THE SOUL ATITLAN COLOR, TRADITION AND NATURAL ADVENTURE ATITLAN: NATURAL PARADISE OF THE MAYA COSMOVISION ATITLAN: CRADLE OF THE 3 VOLCANOES WELCOME THE LAKE OF ATITLAN: NATURAL AND CULTURAL RICHNESS ATITLAN: NATURAL MIRROR OF THE MAYAN WORLD UNIQUE PLACE DIVERSE AND MULTICOLOR UNIQUE PLACE THAT OPENS THE DOORS TO THE WORLD THE MIRROR OF THE WORLD ATITLAN: THE PLACE WHERE THE TIME STOPS ATITLAN WHERE THE COLORS AND THE PEOPLE MAKE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH THE UNIQUE SCENERY ATITLAN ITS LEGACY AND PEOPLE MAKES IT UNIQUE AND ITS WAITING FOR YOU LIVE ATITLAN, LIVE ITS LAKE LIVE ITS PEOPLE

226

Appendix 19.8. Marketing Distribution Strategy ISSUE: Background •

No centralized marketing committee for the region

• •

No unified marketing materials Limited communication between the key industry stakeholders

•

Limited exposure to major sources of info for tourists such as guidebooks and magazines

With in the Sololá Commission, there is no established marketing unit that handles marketing the region exclusively at tradeshows, through unified marketing materials or other marketing means. To-date, there has not been any unified marketing materials produced or means to track any marketing efforts to establish a cost to benefit ratio. SOLUTION: Goals • •

Creating a marketing committee within the Commission Establishing unified marketing pamphlets and posters

•

Creating and utilizing a tracking system via a scorecard for example

•

Reaching out to major media outlets such as Lonely Planet, Frommers, etc

By reaching some of these goals, the Commission will have some control over what sort of information and promotional material is generated for the region and this will ensure that the right information, image and target market is being reached. Below are diagrams that help to show what role the committee should play and how to go about establishing a distribution channel. SUCCESS INDICATORS: Measures of Performance • •

Increased number of visitors Increased bookings

•

Greater exposure in media forms such as magazine articles, blogs, etc.

•

Established links and lines of communication between major players in the industry.

By using an established tracking method, the marketing committee will be able to see how successful their various marketing efforts have been and where they can improve, where they need to increase efforts, or what needs to be eliminated due to its limited impact. ACTIONS: Activity Components

227

•

Creation of Marketing materials that highlight the 4 main market segments and sample itineraries

•

Creation of posters and flyers in various languages that can be distributed among the stakeholder network

•

Establishment and utilization of a scorecard for tracking purposes

Activity Description Attached to this action plan are examples of potential posters, flyers and brochures that could be utilized as marketing materials. Creating materials that are colorful, eye-catching, and grab the readers attention is what is needed to reach out to the various tourist profiles that visit the Atitlan region. Resources: There are several online resources that can be found to find examples and get ideas of what a good brochures should look like and what it should have in it. www.gallerycommunications.com and www.travelbrochures.com are just a few examples. Potential funding sources: Funding for the creation, publication and distribution of marketing materials should come from the marketing committee budget, which will come from the paid membership dues to the Sololá Commission (DMO) organization.

Distribution Strategy Diagram

228

229

Sololá Commission Marketing Strategy Scorecard: Sample Scorecard

Project Information Project Name

Marketing Distribution Strategy

Location

Guatemala

Transaction Leader

????

Company Summary

The Sololá Commission Marketing association is responsible for all of the marketing efforts of the Lake Atitlán region and distributing appropriate marketing materials to relevant stakeholders. As well as implementing or attending marketing events that will increase awareness of the destination.

Project Components

Technical Assistance: Project Finance:

1) Strengthening of management’s marketing distribution strategy and capabilities; 2) Expansion of distribution channels

Commission Funds (CF)

Outside Investments (OI)

Q

USES

Gra nts (G)

Commitment (Q)

Project funding

Expense Schedule Actual (Q)

Use of Funds

SOURCES

Q Budge t Actual

Expense 1 (CF)

Brochure and Poster Template

230

Expense 2 (OI)

Printing Distribution Costs

TOTAL

Provide r

Other Funding

TOTAL

Amount (US$)

Date

Purpose

INGUAT

Quality Control

Tour Operator s Associati on

PR

Sololá Commission Marketing Strategy Scorecard: Sample Scorecard 1-Jul-08 Project Name

Sololá Commission Marketing Strategy

Data as of December 2005 Year ending July Q

Financial Statements and Projections

FY 09

Current Year

FY 10

FY 10YTD

Projected

Actual

Dec-08 Dec-09 Dec-10 Income Statement Revenues Export Sales Local Sales

231

FY 08

Projected

Mar10

Vary %

Cost of Goods Produced Gross Profit / Loss

Operating Expenses

Net Income (before investments/others)

Other Income (Grants, donations, etc)

Net Income / Loss

Balance Sheet Assets Cash Accounts Receivable Inventory Net Fixed Assets Liabilities and Equity Accounts Payable

Cash Flow Cash flow from operations Total Sources Total Uses

232

Direct Stakeholders # of new stakeholders frequency of distribution to stakeholders M&E Indicators

# of increased bookings # of tourists per quarter

Increase in Revenues (year/year) Key Ratios

Gross Profit Margin Operating Margin Net margin

Evolution of Results

233

Brief Financial Analysis

The efforts in FY2008 to improve marketing distribution strategy, order fulfillments and quality control produced some dramatic financial results during the first quarter of FY2009..... Challenges: To maintain growth and profitability, The Association will need to.....

1-Jul-08 Project Name

Marketing Distribution Strategy

Milestones

Association has identified new distribution markets b) Association has helped establish relationships/linkages with other similar associations.

Distribution Means: Although problems with distribution means have been partially resolved, these processes have not been streamlined to handle increased demand. Necessary steps need to be implemented to resolve this issue.

Supervision Issues

Opportunities. The Sololá Commission Marketing Association has a good image as a marketing association but still has difficulty reaching other key international stakeholders due to its infancy. The Sololá Commission and the management of the marketing association recognize this as a priority and are continuing to make the necessary efforts to increase awareness of the Commission and Association. Marketing Association Certification . The Association is in the process of becoming certified, which will then open up more networking opportunities between other similar associations. Management. The current management team is focused on day to day short term activities, and has not been able to focus on key strategic issues. An effective organizational structure needs to be established and followed in order to properly and effectively implement various marketing projects.

234

M&E

M&E Periodic surveys of tourist will be conducted to assess the impact of Sololá Commission marketing efforts. A consultant will be retained to analyze existing information on the impact of marketing efforst and provide recommendations on indicators and methodologies with respect to conducting the surveys and ways to improve distribution strategy. Financial Reporting: Ensure that continued budgeting and essential financial reporting and analysis are taking place.

Next Steps

235

Distribution Channels: Assess new opportunities for distributing marketing materials

Appendix 19.9. Keep Lake Atitlán Beautiful Campaign ISSUE: Background •

Survey results • •

• •

•

Respondents in the tourist survey indicated pollution around the lakefront as a significant turnoff 96% of respondents stated natural beauty of the area as a primary reason to recommend Lake Atitlan as a tourism destination to friends/family, so it is imperative that the beauty of the area be preserved and protected. There is currently no publicly visible initiative to maintain the natural beauty and cleanliness of Lake Atitlán that is targeted at all tourists and groups who frequent the waterfront Multiple groups who have an interest in cleanup and litter prevention programs exist around the lake community, however – their individual projects are not connected under an all encompassing theme that also includes tourists. Litter prevention programs and nature preservation studies have shown that simple reminders such as signs promoting a litter free environment can lead to lasting change and a cleaner environment.

SOLUTION: Goals • •

Improve and protect the natural environment, particularly around lakefront areas. Create a sense of personal responsibility amongst stakeholders by implementing an action plan that gives responsibility to both tourists and the local community in preserving the beauty of Lake Atitlán.

SUCCESS INDICATORS: Measures of Performance •

Trash collection must be monitored on an ongoing basis to determine usefulness of trash receptacles and signage. An increase in collected trash, while a decrease in scattered trash is an indication that the program goals have been achieved.

ACTIONS: Activity Components •

Lakefront cleanup program

•

Anti-littering policy

•  

Partnership development

Activity Description •

Place trash bins along the waterfront and near docks along with signs (in multiple languages) encouraging people to put trash where it belongs.

•

Establish a regular schedule for emptying trash bins

•

Institute fines for those caught littering around lake property

236

• • • •

Work with local schools, community groups and business to coordinate a monthly waterfront cleanup day Require all boat operators to keep trash bins on bags on their boats at all time Partner with S.O.U.L. Projects during scuba clean up expeditions (voluntourism) and ProLago Atitlan on an ongoing process. Establish a lakefront trash collection and cleanup program (pilot in Panajachel)

•

Contract large signs made of durable, waterproof material (eg: plastic, water-sealed wood) stating “Keep Lake Atitlán Beautiful, Please Throw Your Trash in the Trash Bin” in multiple languages including: local indigenous languages, Spanish, and English;

•

Purchase 15-20 trash receptacles to be placed at main docks, paths leading to waterfront, and in high traffic areas near waterfront;

•

Arrange joint-meetings with local trash collection operators and local government officials to establish a regular trash pick-up schedule; Identify high priority areas for placement of trash receptacles. Special consideration should be given to high-traffic areas such as paths leading toward waterfront, areas with a high volume of restaurants, etc.;

• • •

Install signs and trash receptacles in identified areas; Monitor amount of trash collected on a weekly basis to determine usefulness of signs and trash receptacles.

•

Work with local government to institute an anti-littering policy that requires boat operators have trash receptacles on their boats at all times as well as fines for those caught littering in the area.

•

Partner with S.O.U.L. Projects during scuba clean up expeditions (voluntourism) and ProLago Atitlan on an ongoing process. Work with these groups to help publicize their efforts within the tourism sector by marketing through

Resources: Tips on litter prevention:http://www.kab.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Focus_litter_prevention S.O.U.L. Projects: http://www.soulprojects.org/expeditions.html ProLago Atitlan: http://prolagoatitlan.org/ AMSCLAE MARN CONAP Estimated Costs: The Keep Lake Atitlán Beautiful project will require a modest one time fee of roughly $3000. This initial fee will pay for the purchase and installation of trash receptacles as well as signs encouraging people to use the trash receptacles for their garbage. Ongoing monthly fees for this project will average about $1000. This monthly fee will pay for trash bags, supplies, and salaries for trash collectors.

237

Activity/Item

2008

2009

2010

2011

Purchase and installation of trash receptacles

$ 2,200

0

0

0

Design, production and installation of signs

$ 800

0

0

0

Trash bags, supplies and salaries

$4,000

$12,000

$12,000

$12,000

Total

$ 7,000

$12,000

$12,000

$12,000

Total

$43,000

238

Appendix 19.10. Crisis Communication Toolkit

Crisis Communication Toolkit Issue: Background • •

Communication improvements required between crisis management representatives Need for toolkit on crisis communication management

The consulting team held a number of meetings with representatives from different stakeholder groups around Lake Atitlan in order to identify the current status of any existing crisis communication plans, toolkits, etc. As a result of these meetings was concluded that there is room for improvement on communication among crisis management representatives from different communities around Lake Atitlan.

Solution: Goals • •

Coordinate dialog between CONRED, ASISTUR and Tourism Sub-Commission to ensure cohesion Distribute toolkit to key players

During the held meetings with different stakeholders, the consulting team was able to understand that almost every community has its own emergency plan in case of crisis situation. If these plans are shared between the different communities and they work all together, then from all the great ideas they have come up with, they can establish a successful emergency plan for all communities around the lake. In order to have a leader in this sophisticated process, the consulting team suggests that there is better coordinated dialog between CONRED, ASISTUR and the Tourism Sub-commission so that they can take initiative and assist in the process. The consulting team has created Crisis Communication Toolkit, which includes a proposed diagram on how should communication flow, in phases, from the crisis management team – all the way to tourists. In order for the tourism sub-commission to be fully prepared for crisis situation, the crisis communication toolkit contains also a press release template, list of questions that media always covers in case of a disaster, key points that always need to be followed when giving an interview after crisis situation and the last part is list of media contacts – on local, national and international level.

SUCCESS INDICATORS: Measures of Performance • • •

239

Improved communication between CONRED, ASISTUR and Tourism Sub-commission Improved communication among the crisis management representatives from the communities around lake Atitlan Usage of the Crisis Communication Toolkit

ACTIONS: Activity Components 1. Propose a meeting between ASISTUR, CONRED and Tourism Sub-commission 2. Follow up on the first meeting by proposing an event and series of seminars with all the communities in order to establish strong relationships and dependency among them. Activity Description It is necessary to propose a meeting between ASISTUR, CONRED and the tourism Sub-commission representative in order to coordinate all the work that the three entities do and plans of doing. Once a dialog is established between them and they all work together, then can be Propose a meeting between ASISTUR, CONRED and Tourism Sub-commission Follow up on the first meeting will be a proposal of an event and series of seminars with all the communities in order to establish strong relationships and dependency among them.

Resources: There is no need of resources for this action. The crisis communication toolkit needs to be printed so that the tourism sub-commission can use it accordingly. The proposed event is described as a separate event.

240

Appendix 19.11. Tourists Crisis Management Toolkit Purpose In order to effectively reach the tourists through the chain of communication, it is essential to first ensure that the tourism stakeholders have the appropriate resources to manage crisis situations. These stakeholders include hotels, restaurants, and tour operators—all with the ability to reach the tourists directly. The Crisis Management toolkit provides the ongoing opportunity for the stakeholders to educate their staff on crisis procedures. The toolkit is meant to serve as a clear reference for long-term use by stakeholders, whose businesses may include many employees or experience high employee turn-over rates. The additional resources for tourists ensure peace of mind during their visit. The toolkits include various components that address the need for more far-reaching communication of tourism crisis management strategies around the Lake Atitlán area.

Included in the Toolkit: • • • • • •

Evacuation Map Emergency Numbers Manual: What to do in Case of… How to Assist Traumatized Guests How to Respond to Media after a Crisis Resource for Tourists

Goals 1. To encourage adoption and distribution of the Tourism Crisis Management Toolkit within the Lake Atitlán tourism stakeholders. This will ensure that all tourism stakeholders and tourists are aware of evacuation procedures and appropriate emergency contacts for various crisis situations. 2. To promote a unified crisis response and improved communication in the Lake Atitlán area, as all stakeholders will have uniform information resources and will be able to coordinate effectively in times of crisis. Evacuation Maps For more efficient evacuation and identification of key meeting points, maps of Lake Atitlán and Panajachel are included, with indication of evacuation routes. The evacuation maps are based on the proposed crisis strategy plan developed by ASISTUR. The map of Lake Atitlán features boat evacuation routes around the lake from all of the surrounding communities (see page 2 of Toolkit in Appendix “Stakeholder Crisis Management Toolkit”). The boats depart from designated towns and proceed to pick up tourists along the routes with the end goal of reaching the docks at Panajachel where they can be evacuated from the area or escorted to temporary shelters. ASISTUR’s proposed strategy plan also features a local map of Panajachel that directs tourism stakeholders and their guests to proper meeting points. ASISTUR has tentatively established agreements with two hotels in Panajachel that would act as shelters for the tourists. These hotels have arranged spaces where tourists can find a central meeting point while being provided with food and other basic needs during a crisis.

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Manual: What to do in case of… The instructional manual for stakeholders provides more detailed information on what to do in various crisis situations that affect the Lake Atitlán area. This covers crime, earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes- particularly what is needed to prepare, mitigate and recover from such scenarios. The manual outlines the preparation phase for natural disasters, beginning with the proper equipment. For example, if the stakeholder facility is designated as an official shelter, it may have to provide food, water blankets, or first aid supplies. An additional point that is crucial to the stakeholders’ businesses is managing their business records and maintaining a roster of guests for informational purposes once the crisis situation has subsided. For tourists that are victims of crime, the manual details procedures that stakeholders can follow to alleviate the situation and promote safety. The section guides the stakeholders to the appropriate contacts, such as ASISTUR, and provides emergency as well as embassy numbers for the tourists. In the field interviews, ASISTUR in Sololá discussed the its role in aiding the tourists file police reports and contacting their embassies. The manual directs tourism crime issues to ASISTUR due to its specialized role in navigating tourists through a potentially traumatic process. Assisting Guests after a Crisis Following a crisis situation, guests may experience psychological effects. It is important for tourism service providers to acknowledge certain behavioral warning signs that their guests are suffering from trauma. Information on the stages of trauma are provided so that stakeholders are aware that their guests may be in need of additional support. Although the manual does not suggest that the service providers resolve the effects of trauma altogether, it promotes greater sensitivity to the tourists’ situation. In addition, several embassies offer counseling hotlines for tourists dealing specific with crime or other crisis situations. How to Respond to Media after a Crisis Similar to the Crisis Communication Toolkit for the Sololá Tourism Sub-Commission, the toolkit for stakeholders provides a guide for responding to media after a crisis. As positive interaction with media plays a crucial role in crisis mitigation and recovery particularly for Lake Atitlán as a tourism destination, stakeholders can benefit from a simple communication resource. The sample template of a media interview with typical questions asked and strategic answers aids stakeholders to best manage the portrayal of the crisis situation. In addition, the list of key media organizations can be used to make initial contact and provide accurate information on the crisis before facts are distorted. Resource for Tourists Includes: •

Emergency Contacts

•

Panajachel Evacuation map

• •

Boat Evacuation Routes What to do in Case of…

The toolkit for stakeholders includes a separate component for the tourists. It was decided that a visual resource would be most useful, particularly in the form of an informational poster that would be readily accessible in the

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tourists’ rooms or other frequented areas. This poster provides key emergency contacts, the Panajachel evacuation map, and the boat evacuation routes for Lake Atitlán’s surrounding communities. In addition, it educates tourists on practical By reaching out directly to the tourists, the tourism service providers promote peace of mind in their guests. This demonstrates that the stakeholders have taken the guests’ safety into consideration while providing information on how they can help protect themselves as well in a crisis situation. Actions: Activity Components 1. Identify Tourism Industry Stakeholders. This will provide proper targeting for distribution of the toolkits. 2. Produce copies of the Tourism Crisis Management Toolkit for Stakeholders as well as Emergency Information posters for tourists. 3. Organize an event or meeting of stakeholders to discuss crisis management in tourism and coordinate distribution of toolkits. 4. Educate stakeholders on how to use the toolkit most effectively and importance of promoting staff awareness of the toolkit. Resources: Existing Lake Atitlán tourism organizations: Sololá Tourism Sub Commission, ASISTUR. These organizations are most tied to the tourism stakeholders and would benefit from adding a crisis management component to their operations. In addition, having the main source of distribution come from these organizations would strengthen their position in crisis management and unify efforts in communication. Potential Funding Sources: Activity/Item

Rates (USD)

Qty.

Amount

Copies of Stakeholder Toolkits

$1 per copy

100

$100

Emergency Response Posters for Tourists

$2 per copy

100

$200

Event for Stakeholders

$500

1

$500

Total

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$800

Appendix 19.12. Lake Atitlán Destination Website Portal ISSUE: Background •

58% of US Online Leisure Travelers use internet to research where to visit

•

Need for a website embraced by all stakeholders

58% of United States Online Leisure Travelers use the internet to research places to visit. This percentage is steadily increasing making it more crucial for destination organizations to have a website. In addition, the total number of international booking has increased online while travel agents continue to lose ground on international bookings. The key to achieving the full potential of internet promotion is having a well-designed and maintained site that contains useful information that will guide consumers to traveling to the destination. It is also important to have a website that is embraced by all stakeholders. Currently, there are a few websites for Lake Atitlán but none of them are the official site for the Sololá Sub-Commission. The website will help to bring all stakeholders together to a central place to exchange and disseminate information. Stakeholders Stakeholder buy in will be key to the success of the site and in turn the success of the region. In order to get buy-in from the communities it is recommended that the DMO plan a conference to explain the site, its purpose and the positive benefits it can bring to the region in terms of marketing and exposure. Secondly, it will be especially important to hold educational seminars teaching representatives from each village. These seminars should educate these representatives in basic computer skills, especially related to the Calendar of Events. SOLUTION: Goals Dual Purpose • Establish lake as a destination on web • Intranet for internal communication Featuring: •

Itinerary Generator

• •

Trip Planner Online Booking Capabilities

To establish a strong internet traffic flow To convert website visitors to tourists of Lake Atitlán To be more visible to Americans and Europeans as a tourism destination Destination Atitlan website will serve two purposes. First, the site will help to promote Lake Atitlán to potential tourists. Second, it will include an intranet that the Sololá Sub-Commission can use to provide useful tools to business owners. The intranet will also serve as a platform for discussions about crucial issues for the region and a way for stakeholders to learn more about the Commission including its goals, current and future projects.

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Another goal of the site is to establish strong internet traffic flow to the site. Although search engine optimization is will bring traffic to the site, it is also necessary to advertise it to the target market. Some suggested places to advertise are: •

Ads by Google in related Searches or websites

•

Printed materials about tourism in Lake Atitlán

•

Ingot’s website

One of the most important goals of a destination website is to convert website visitors to tourists of Lake Atitlán. In order to do so, the site must impress the visitor and drive him or her to booking accommodations and other packages on the site. By working towards all of the aforementioned goals, Lake Atitlán will become a more visible tourism destination around the world especially to Americans and Europeans. SUCCESS INDICATORS: Measures of Performance • •

High ratio of online bookings to the number of website visitors Listed on first page of major search engine results

•

Increased participation and community involvement with the Sololá Tourism Sub-Commission

One of the success indicators of the Destination Atitlan website is a high ratio of online bookings to the number of website visitors. A high ratio shows that people are visiting the site, learning about the destination and booking the travel. Another success indicator is the site being listed on the first page of major search engines such as Yahoo and Google. The vast majority of search engine users only browse the first page of the results therefore the site must be highly ranked for it to be effective. Lastly, the intranet will help to increase the participation and community involvement of business owners and other stakeholders with the Sololá Tourism Sub-Commission. Currently, many business owners around Lake Atitlán are not familiar with the Commission and the intranet will give another avenue to become more popular within the community. ACTIONS: Activity Components • •

Determine tools and features of the website Engage a web designer to design the website according to the AIDA Model

•

Utilize Search Engine Optimization

Activity Description Determine tools and features of the website For this website too stand and grab the attention of consumers it will incorporate the newest tools including an itinerary generator, trip planner, online booking capabilities, search functions, and a Calendar of Events. Itinerary Generator The itinerary generator will allow consumers to create their own dynamic package meeting specific needs.

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The consumer will have ability to select Itinerary type. We recommend having four itinerary types for Lake Atitlán which include: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Eco and Nature Sports and Adventure History and Culture General Itinerary

Travelers will have ability to choose among specific niches or enjoy a bit of everything the lake offers. The itinerary will also offer a function for which the consumer will be able to determine length of stay. Trip Planner The trip planner allows the consumer to take the information drawn from itinerary generator and create the actual trip: The consumer can add items such as hotels, restaurants, museums, tour operators, and events to this trip planner from various sections of the website. Online Booking Capabilities This function allows consumer to book and pay for items on the trip Search Functions Allow user to find out information pertaining to Guatemala and specifically Lago Atitlan Calendar of Events This is very important for Lake Atitlán as it is made up of 14 different villages with unique tourism offerings. This calendar of events would incorporate all activities around the lake. Village representatives will be able update calendar through email or fax. Engage a web designer to design the website according to the AIDA Model The AIDA Model AIDA is a model used in marketing that shows the sequential steps that a consumer goes through from ignorance to purchase. The model is an acronym for attracting Attention, creating Interest, developing Desire and prompting Action. The AIDA model should be used as the basis for building the website for Lake Atitlán. Each part of the website should serve a purpose within the model to drive the consumer to traveling to the region.

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Table 1: AIDA Model shows how each section of a tourism website fits within the AIDA model. Attention The homepage serves as the attention grabber of the consumer. It establishes awareness about the destination and informs the potential buyer of the product. A user of a tourism site expects a comprehensive navigation structure, unique selling points of the location and attractive photographs. Interest Attractive descriptions of the location create and stimulate the buyer’s interest. The descriptions should include information about the history and culture, maps, route planners, and photo galleries. This message focuses on the benefits of traveling to the location and how it fits the needs of the consumer. Desire This promotional message is stimulated by descriptions of places to go and things to do including accommodations and travel information. This step moves the buyer from passive awareness about the location to active consideration of purchasing the product. Action This part of the website includes platforms for consumers to purchase airline tickets, book accommodations, tour packages, etc. Consumer needs are met with online reservation capabilities and secure payment options. Utilize Search Engine Optimization Search engine optimization is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a website from search engines through natural search results for targeted key words. Optimizing the new Destination Atitlan website will help to capitalize on the growing popularity of the internet as a promotional strategy for destinations. By using SEO properly, the site will be ranked highly on search engine results and have a high ratio of online bookings to the number of site visits. There are many techniques that are used to optimize a website; however the World Tourism Organization has highlighted 5 of the most important techniques. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Maximize accessibility for search engine crawlers; Optimize meta data; Optimize content for important keywords; Update content timely and frequently; Link popularity - high number of inward links.

Search Engine Crawlers There are two main types of search engines – human powered directories and crawler-based search engines. Humanpowered directories use descriptions submitted by website developers, while crawler-based search engines create their listings by ‘crawling’ the web. Google, one of the most popular search engines, uses crawler- based search engines. The crawler visits and reads websites and then follows links to other pages within the site. The

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information is indexed with a copy of all the pages that is found. The Google crawler does not recognize text that is displayed within an image, therefore the Lake Atitlán site should use text instead of images to display important information. Other obstacles that hinder accessibility for search engine crawlers are flash introductions, splash pages and multiple independent frames within a web page. All of these obstacles should be avoided on Lake Atitlán’s site. Meta Data Meta Tags are the information that is inserted in the “head” area of a web page which includes the meta title, description and key words. The Meta title appears all the way at the top of a web page in the browser toolbar. Each page of Lake Atitlán’s Website should have a Meta Title that corresponds to the information on the page. The Meta title is used by search engines as the text title in the search listings and is used to describe a webpage when someone adds it to their list of “Favorites”. The meta description is used by search engines to provide users with a summary about the page. Lastly, meta keywords provide additional text for search engines to index with the content of the page. Keywords, Updates and Internal Links Key search words will need to be identified for the site and could contain the following: • •

Lake Atitlán Lake Atitlán Tourism

•

Lake Atitlán Tours

•

Tour Guatemala

•

Backpack in Guatemala

Although the selection of key words is important, it is also the strategic placement of key words throughout the site that helps to obtain a better ranking with search engines. The keywords should be used often however with compromising the readability of the text. Updating the site with new information and media will increase the frequency of crawler visits. It is also important to have up-to-date information for site visitors. Resources: World Tourism Organization Report – Evaluating and Improving Websites Potential funding sources: Sololá Sub-Commission, Universidad del Valle – Business Incubator Budget for Website Development of functioning website incorporating newest travel tools including the itinerary generator, booking system, blog, calendar of events and business linkages Cost: $25,000 to 35,000 Maintenance of website including updating information, adding new applications, and monitoring visitor activity Cost: $14,000 per year Hotel/ Tour Operator fees which will enable business to have increased website presence including external linking capabilities.

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Cost per business: $300

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Table 1: AIDA Model Attention

Interest

Desire

Action

Attractive home page

Heritage/Cultural Information

Places to See

Online Booking Capabilities

Destinations

Things to See

Tour Packages

Photo Gallery

Calendar of Events

Itinerary Generator

Testimonials/Blogs

Hotel Information

Trip Planner

Maps

Restaurants

Weather

Air Travel

News

Local Travel

Multiple Languages Easy Navigation

Travel Tips Spanish Schools Business Directory Service Menu

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Appendix 19.13. Apply System for Measuring Excellence in Destinations (SMED) ISSUE: Background •

The Lake Atitlán regional DMO needs to know its competitive position in the international tourism market.

•

The measurement of excellence of Lake Atitlán is needed to identify performance gaps and make improvements if necessary.

Why does the destination need SMED? “Tourism destinations should sustain or enhance the geographical character of a place – its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of its residents.” How can the destination achieve its goal? The regional DMO should employ this internationally recognized tool to measure achievement of destinations developed by World Centre of Excellence for Destinations (CED). It is an innovative analysis tool to promote the pursuit of excellence in tourist destinations around the world. SOLUTION: Goals •

Become the first destination in Central America to develop a system for measuring destination excellence

•

Achieve sustainable tourism development goals and enhance its competitiveness

Since the CED began operations in February 2007, 3 destinations (Mexico City, Douro Valley, Portugal and Cantons-de-l’Est, Quebec, Canada) have signed an agreement to implement the SMED. Other destinations have also expressed their interest in the SMED. If the Lake Atitlán DMO signs an agreement with the CED, the destination will be the first user of SMED in Central America. As a result of the implementation of the SMED, the destination will be able to achieve sustainable tourism development goals and enhance competitiveness. SUCCESS INDICATORS: Measures of Performance Evaluation report from the CED In the long term, when the SMED acquires a sufficient number of destination users, the CED may consider the award of prizes or recognition to destinations that have significant result (e.g. destinations with a grade within the first quartile or higher than x% of the world average for each one of the fields). ACTIONS: Activity Components

251

•

Become the first destination in Central America to use SMED

•

The CED Questionnaire

• •

The SMED Pre-development Visit The consultation activities

Activity Description Participation Agreement Sign an agreement with the CED to implement SMED. SMED Pre-development Visit Request the CED to conduct a Pre-development Visit by two representatives from the CED. CED Questionnaire The general manager of the DMO (the “destination manager”) completes the CED Questionnaire and returns it to the CED in prior to the Visit. Consultation Activities The Pre-development Visit includes consultation activities involving key stakeholders in the destination who have been identified in the CED Questionnaire (the “destination experts”). The consultation activities consist of 1) consultation workshops and 2) interviews. Estimated Timeline Timeline

Objectives

Tasks to be Performed

Responsibility

Now – Summer, 2008

1. Investigate the adoption of SMED

1.1. Make a contact with the CED and ask for information packet (potential contract form, code of ethics and pre-SMED manual)

Regional DMO manager

1.2. Convene a meeting of regional member stakeholders to discuss the appropriateness of SMED

1.3. If necessary, invite the CED representatives for further discussion Fall, 2008

Fall, 2008

2. Sign an agreement with the CED

3. Complete the CED

Regional DMO manager

Regional DMO manager

2.1. Sign a participation agreement with the CED

Regional DMO manager

2.2. Pay the first installment of professional fees for the SMED Pre-development Visit (the first installment has to be payable 30 days prior to the visit)

Regional DMO manager

3.1. Ask for an information collection

Regional DMO

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Questionnaire

document (the CED Questionnaire)

manager

3.2. Propose dates for the Visit upon receiving Regional DMO the Questionnaire manager

3.3. Complete the Questionnaire and return it to the CED, together with the requested supporting information and documents (at least 3 weeks prior to the visit) End of 2008 – Beginning of 2009

4. Organize the SMED Pre-development Visit

4.1. Arrange the necessary facilities and Regional DMO staff services for the CED representatives’ visit (e.g. accommodation, telephone, Internet connection, transportation, a guide and an interpreter)

4.2. Organize consultation activities (consultation workshops and interviews) of the CED representatives, which includes i) contacting the destination experts and inviting them to the consultation workshops and the interviews, ii) preparing meeting rooms for the consultation workshops, and iii) providing transportation

4.3. Select 6 to 10 destination experts who should be invited to each consultation workshop, and attend all the workshops

4.4. Select at least 25 destination experts for the interviews Spring, 2009

5. Conduct the SMED Pre-development Visit (for 6-10 days)

Regional DMO manager

Regional DMO manager

Regional DMO manager

5.1. Host at least 5 consultation workshops to Regional DMO discuss on all the fields of application covered manager and CED by the SMED coordinator

5.2. Carry out 25 90-minute-interviews with

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Regional DMO manager

Regional DMO and

Spring, 2009

6. Receive Visit Report and set the future plan

the destination experts to clarify and complete the information

CED coordinator

6.1. Receive Visit Report from the CED and determine how to prepare future SMED evaluation

Regional DMO manager and CED coordinator

6.2. Pay the second installment upon receiving the Visit Report

Regional DMO manager

7.1. Communicate follow-up actions to the CED

Regional DMO manager

Remainder of 2009

7. Initiate action plans based on the report

2010-12

8. Continue actions to 8.1. Monitoring activities will be provided by improve performances the CED for SMED destinations and communicate with other SMED destinations 8.2. Possible plans will be made for second SMED visit

Regional DMO and CED coordinator

Estimated Costs and Potential funding sources: US$40,000 – 50,000 USAID, World Bank Contact: World Centre of Excellence for Destinations (CED) 555-1255, Peel Street Montreal, Quebec H3B 4V4 Canada Telephone: +1 514.871.1115 (ext. 226) Facsimile: + 1 514.871.1121 Email: [email protected]

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Jones, H.M. (2007). Three Cases of Community-based Ecotourism. In, Tourism, Protected areas and Communities: Case Studies and Lessons Learned from the Parks in Peril Program 2002-2007. Arlington, VA: The Nature Conservancy. Keller, K. L. (2001). Building Customer-Based Brand Equity: A blueprint for creating strong Kerri K. & Frank A.. (n.d.). Applying Keller’s brand equity model in a B2B context: Limitations and an empirical Test. Retrieved July 12, 2008, from Lonely Planet (2007) MARN Website. (n.d.). Retrieved June 10, 2008, from http://www.marn.gob.gt/ Martilla, J. A., & James, J. C. (1977). Importance-Performance Analysis. Journal of Marketing, January, 77-79. Offline to Online Marketing: In Concert with Vantage Strategy Consulting. (2008) Presentation at The George Washington University. Oh, H. (2001). Revisiting importance-performance analysis. Tourism Management , 22, 617-627. Perreault, W., McCarthy, J. (2002). Basic Marketing – A Global Managerial Approach. McGraw Hill. Perreault, W., McCarthy, J. (2002). Basic Marketing – A Global Managerial Approach. McGraw Hill. Rainforest Alliance Website. (n.d.). Retrieved June 12, 2008, from Rainforest Website: http://www.rainforestalliance.org/locations/guatemala/rawork.html Retrieved May 22, 2008, from Ries, A. (2006, February 20). Why Guatemala ’s new tourism slogan doesn’t work. SAVE Travel Alliance. (2008). SAVE Travel Alliance. Retrieved July 3, 2008, from http://www.save-travel.org Scheyvens, R. (2002). Tourism for Development: Empowering Communities. Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited. The Mountain Institute (2000). Community Based Tourism for Conservation and Development: A Resource Kit. The World Tourism Organization: A Guide to Destination Management, Destination Management Organization Tzutujil - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. (2008). Retrieved 06 10, 2008, from Britannica: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/612137/Tzutujil UNDP (2007). Human Development Report, 2007/2008. Palgrave Macmillan: New York. UNESCO (1979). Tikal National Park World Heritage Nomination, IUCN Review. UNWTO (2006). Tourism Market Trends 2005 - Americas. UNWTO: Madrid. USAID (2002). Guatemala Biodiversity and Tropical Forest Assessment. Report developed by EPIQ and funded by USAID. WEF (2008). The Travel and Tourism Competitive Report 2008. World Economic Forum: Geneva. World Lakes Website. (n.d.). Retrieved June 13, 2008, from World Lakes: http://www.worldlakes.org/projects.asp?projectid=45 WTTC (2008). The 2008 Travel & Tourism Economic Research: Guatemala. Xavier, B. "Ecotourism - the Way Forward." 3 June 2008 http://www.da-academy.org/ecotour.html.

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