LAUNCH OF PANAMA’S COMMUNITY TOURISM NETWORK: SOSTUR
The challenges of the tourism industry are more critical than ever due to the climate change crisis, which has exposed new perspectives about the relationship between tourism, communities, and sustainable development.
The Panamanian Sustainable Tourism Foundation (APTSO.ORG), whose mission is to facilitate sustainable development in Panama through tourism, launched the SOSTUR NETWORK on August 3, 2022. A digital platform for rural communities and tourism businesses to share their vision and support the implementation of regenerative tourism strategies.
The SOSTUR network supports the strengthening and development of rural and community tourism enterprises in Panama to promote new sources of employment, value culture and contribute to the sustainability of Panama’s natural resources.
During the launch of the Network, representatives of ten pilot communities located in national park buffer zones and areas of high biological and cultural diversity presented their tourism projects to local and international agencies and provided details of how they hope to achieve successful partnerships to promote their products and services.
The Panamanian Foundation for Sustainable Tourism (APTSO), and other local and international partners have created The Panama Alliance for Community Tourism (PACTO) as a multi-year initiative to build strong and resilient communities in Panama through regenerative tourism. This goes beyond “sustainable tourism” and simply trying to minimize the negative impact of tourists. Rather, the innovative PACTO collaboration utilizes community tourism as a tool to generate new opportunities and achieve measured goals defined by local communities and indigenous groups. PACTO is a process to design and implement a regenerative National Community Tourism Strategy for Panama that delivers many of the goals outlined in the National Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism.
The APTSO team has worked with ten pilot communities, strengthening their leadership and technical skills, co-creating flagship projects, supporting community exchanges and testing new adventure alternatives to connect them with the tourism industry through the SOSTUR network. APTSO continues to support the communities with capacity building in the areas of infrastructure and tourism facilities with potential donors.
Annie Young, the President of APTSO, expressed during the launch that the SOSTUR Network seeks to promote a new and authentic way of traveling in Panama through local adventures that connect travelers with rural and indigenous groups to generate alternative income, sustain the quality of life and pride of the participating communities.
For more information, please contact us at info@aptso.org
Visit: www.sostur.org
El turismo sostenible beneficia a las comunidades rurales y sus ecosistemas, poniendo las necesidades del destino en el centro y promoviendo experiencias auténticas e intercambios culturales.
