Environmental sustainability at coffee agro-tourist units in the department of Quindio

Abstract

In the department of Quindio, Colombia, coffee crop has represented the economic and social basis for many families for more than five decades, although in the last periods of time, agro-tourism has been incorporated as a new alternative for income, which has strengthened coffee culture, and achieved UNESCO recognition as a Cultural and Tourist Patrimony of Humanity. The new challenge for coffee sector is to design strategies to improve sustainability, and environmental management; however, there are no clear studies on environmental situation of agro-tourist activities at these units; therefore, this study explored and collected information on environmental sustainability management of coffee rural business units dedicated to agro-tourism in this department, by means of a matrix of environmental indexes designed to promote sustainable development of tourism in Colombia. Results revealed proper use of water resource, and at the same time, it was found the need of adjusting indexes in order to differentiate “fixed†consumption during low tourism seasons, and high seasons. Likewise, the discussion surged on the need of learning mental representation of individuals in front of cost-benefit relationship of environmental management, rescue humanism within strategies, and the role of Universities in order to strengthen sustainable development in the regions.