Paper short abstract:

This communication discusses the feasibility of using the socio-economic strategies and community practices of new households (which we call generational perspective) in a socio-ecosystem mainly defined by community-based tourism activities, as indicators of social-ecological resilience.

Paper long abstract:

Community-based tourism (CBT) seeks alternatives to the business-as-usual way of planning and managing tourism. These alternatives are characterized by a communal logic and the local control of tourism activities. This is likely to have particular effects and influence on the general socio-ecological resilience of a socio-ecosystem, although it is difficult to evaluate them consistently. The usual approach for this kind of assessment would be the analysis of the influence of CBT with regards to (1) the main drivers that regulate the functioning of the socio-ecosystem; or (2) the balance and environmental impact of other economic activities. However, we would like to develop a more phenomenological perspective, by directly analysing the tactics and strategies of the new domestic groups (generational perspective) formed in a socio-ecosystem that is fundamentally defined by tourism activities. These new households are considered contexts of micro analysis in which to investigate the macro socio-ecosystem trends, and illustrate its resilient capacity. Thus, we propose the study of the socio-economic strategies and community practices of these new households, as they will have a leading role in the evolution of the whole socio-ecosystem. This methodological and analytical proposal will be illustrated with the results obtained from a specific case study: the community of Agua Blanca (Ecuador), a successful case of CBT where I have carried out ethnographic research for 12 years.