Tourism resilience in a mining-industrial destination: Cuenca Carbonífera Río Turbio, Santa Cruz, Argentina

Abstract

The residents of the Carboniferous Basin communities in the Province of Santa Cruz have experienced some economic and social crises along their eight decades of existence. Recovery capacity becomes an essential element in the development of resilient tourist destinations. The objective of this work was to evaluate tourism resilience in a destination attached to the mining mono productivity (coal extraction). Some private actors’ initiatives together withthe Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral have raised awareness and understanding of the adaptability of tourism as a generator of added value. The methodology used was based on the background study and analysis of private initiatives within the tourism field, such as MYPES and PYMES. They are in an emerging process, seeking to achieve an economic-sectoral differentiation, converting the region into multiproductive destinations through the offer of varied services. COVID-19 has an impact on the social imaginary of the region, when observing the scarce development of their tourist elements. The need to have functional and accessible spaces led to their adaptation and improvement, appreciating their potential and future function according to the trends of proximity tourism and the search for sites with low demographic density in a peripheral rural context. Public deficiency is also considered within the tourist resilience for reasons ranging from poor management of the destination, to the lack of cooperation networks between different actors and an insufficient preparation and reaction to the sequential crises of the Yacimiento Carbonífero Río Turbio (YCRT).