COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM AND WEALTH GENERATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. A STUDY OF CASE IN EL SALVADOR

Community-based Tourism is gaining prestige all over the world as an alternative to traditional tourism. This new type of tourism favours a closer contact with the local community and the experimentation of new sensations. We present in this paper a study carried out in El Salvador about the perceptions that residents have in order to develop, within the own local community, a tourist destination based on the remarkable ecologic resources of the area, and on the hospitality of hosts. The methodology is based on an empirical study realized in the area from September to November 2008. Most outstanding result is the local community perception that tourist development can generate wealth and can create jobs, although it is necessary previous technical training from public and private institutions, especially from NGOs and universities, to fulfill these objectives. Similarly, it also highlights the important role of women in the various tourism projects.