Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Abstract

Objective: To analyze sustainable tourism development as a perspective of local development in the department of the Colombian Guajira. Materials and Methods: This research is located within the descriptive studies; this is a field design, non-experimental correlational research. The population consisted of two hundred and twenty-two subjects from the companies “Caja de Compensacion Familiar de la Guajira” (Comfaguajira) and “Luna Guajira”. For the collection of information, a questionnaire was designed with 36 items as well as reliability through the AlphaCronbach coefficient, which was 0.97. Findings: Tourism companies in the Department of Guajira formulate their tourism plans; however, they do not generally go through their implementation. Their sustainability is determined by the incorporation of different interests, groups and sectors. It results in bringing as consequences not answering the needs of the tourism sector immediately and at the same time losing the opportunity to take advantage of the tourism potential of the Guajira’s department. Results: Global strategies for tourism development were formulated as a perspective of local development in the Department of the Colombian Guajira, with the goal of positioning the Guajira nationally and internationally as the first destination specialized in nature tourism and cultural tourism, with services that meet high quality standards, promote sustainable development and contribute to the improvement of quality of life and decrease of the poverty of its inhabitants.

Keywords: Colombia, Local Development, Quality of Life, Sustainable Tourism, The Guajira