Infrastructure and Sustainable Tourism in Colombia: Key Determinants and Regional Gaps

Abstract

Sustainable tourism allows communities to access a source of income without compromising their natural resources or culture, avoiding practices associated with mass tourism. Furthermore, this type of activity requires adequate infrastructure to facilitate the connection of territories to essential services, such as public utilities and transportation. However, there is still no consensus on the infrastructure variables related to sustainable tourism, which has limited intellectual production in this field. Therefore, the objective of this research is to analyze the evolution of infrastructure variables linked to sustainable tourism in Colombia, for the years 2018 and 2023. First, an expert judgment is conducted to identify the variables associated with this phenomenon. Second, a Principal Component Analysis is performed. It is concluded that, compared to 2018, fewer components and variables are needed to explain the greater variability of the data. Additionally, the main identified variables correspond to basic health infrastructure, land connectivity, and essential services, such as water supply and sewage systems.