We are the roots!' Decolonial practices of local tourism

Bibliographic Data

ID5761995
AuthorsVanessa Leon-Leon (0000-0003-1691-0837, College of Social Siences and Humanities, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Guayaquil, Ecuador, corresponding author), Luis Coronado Yagual (Former President of the Libertador Bolivar Cabildo Council and Folk Novel Writer, Santa Elena, Ecuador), Isabel Cando Velasco (Fundación Coastman Ecuador, Guayaquil, Ecuador), Yorgi Ramírez Arauz (Fundación Coastman Ecuador, Guayaquil, Ecuador), Samantha Martínez Chancay (Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, Guayaquil, Ecuador)
Year2024
Volume26
Issue6
Pages935-952
Publication date2024-08-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueTourism Geographies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1461-6688 • E-ISSN: 1470-1340
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14616688.2024.2380316
OpenAlexW4401230344
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited42

The roots of ancestral legacy persist entangled with the currents of modern globalisation. While the global tourism market promotes corporate ventures and international travel, rural and Indigenous communities confront the challenge of adapting amidst hegemonic influences. In coastal communities of Ecuador, the juxtaposition of pre-colonial belonging and contemporary tourism development exemplifies this tension. Drawing on decolonial perspectives, this paper investigates how rural Indigenous communities on the Pacific coast of Ecuador have navigated their tourism ventures, negotiating notions of private property, access to credit, and business administration formalities, while upholding traditional Indigenous values and collective land property needs—what we term decolonial practices of local tourism. Moreover, the emergence of proximity tourism offers a promising avenue for advancing decolonial practices within the global tourism market, prioritising geographical and cultural closeness over conventional distance-focused approaches. Employing a collaborative approach, the research integrates Indigenous methodologies with conventional research methods, bridging diverse backgrounds within the research team, including academia, consultancy, and Indigenous leadership. The analysis underscores the pivotal role of collective land ownership in preserving cultural identity and fostering resistance to capitalist encroachments. The study concludes with a call to amplify Indigenous voices, cultivate solidarity, and advocate for more inclusive and equitable approaches to tourism development. This imperative stems from the need to decolonise and promote culturally sensitive local tourism practices, urging a reconfiguration of the tourism industry towards a more equitable and respectful engagement with Indigenous communities

Globalization · Hegemony · Indigenous · Political science · Sense of place · Social science · Sociology · Solidarity · Tourism · Tourism geography · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · Law · Tourism, Volunteerism, and Development

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