Community-based Sustainable Tourism Enhancing Project

1. Sustainable tourism offer enhancement through technology: (Throughout year 1) Identify sustainable tourism suppliers in 38 municipalities within the Amazon, Orinoquía and Pacific regions, to empower them by connecting them directly with customers using the online marketplace offered by Awake Travel. Beneficiaries will get access to an online technical support platform (E-learning platform) where they will be able to learn and improve on their business practices through online tutorials on areas such as housekeeping and tour design amongst others. Some will be provided with additional site-specific technical assistance. The deliverables are: 1) 380 hosts with offer developed through the online technical support platform, and access to Awake Travel’s online marketplace, 2) online courses to enhance local capacities for tourism services, and 3) at least 38 hosts given site-specific technical assistance. The activities would include: 1.1. Prospection and later inclusion of 38 new destinations and the offer of local hosts into the Awake Travel online platform. This will include on-site hosts partnership acquisition, initial offer design and marketing content generation (photographs, videos and written information in English and Spanish), hosts validation and commercial agreements put in place. 2.1 Development of the E-learning platform to improve business practices and tourism services. The platform will provide courses in areas such as: quality control, experience design, costing and pricing, inclusion of technology into offered services, marketing and promotion, hospitality and accommodation standards, security and risk management, etc. 2.2 Implementation of an E-learning platform and online workshops for tourism capacities development. Through the offer development team at Awake, the platform will be delivered to all hosts in the project to provide relevant knowledge and to improve practices to enhance the business. 2. Scientific Tourism Programme Design: (End of year 1) Design of a programme for the development of biological stations in areas that cover key ecosystems in Amazon, Pacific and Orinoquia regions. The plan would include: 1. Programme design and identification/early coordination of relevant partners within the private, public and academic sectors in Colombia, the UK and potentially other countries. 2. Developing the business case: financial structure of the programme that ensures its implementation and sustainability as well as funding sources for the project’s development in the near future. 3. The identification of key sites for the research stations in the Amazon, Orinoquia and Pacific regions, taking into account biological and cultural diversity, current developments and community willingness. 4. Identification of capacity building needs of community or hosts in identified sites, and design of a capacity-building strategy for each (an early start activity training will be developed prioritizing one of the identified needs to be supplied during this project’s lifetime – 1 year). 5. Marketing strategy to contribute to the programme’s sustainability. 3. Impact Evaluation: (Throughout year 1) Measurement of the short-term effect of sustainable tourism on household’s income and deforestation in the surrounding areas. Given that we randomize beneficiaries of the programs, we will be able to compare the outcomes in places that were engaged, with those that were not. It would be possible to measure long term effects on future years.