Efectos de la certificación turística en la gobernanza territorial: el caso del Sello “Biosfera”, Olmué (Chile)

Abstract

Resumen: Aglomerar para innovar parece ser la principal palanca que utilizan los estados para mejorar la competitividad de las empresas y los territorios. En 2008, el gobierno de Chile implementa una política de cluster. Treinta empresarios de turismo de Olmué (región de Valparaíso), desarrollan un proyecto de certificación agrupándose para mejorar la competitividad. Como estudio de caso, entrevistamos a los gerentes de las empresas de turismo, funcionarios públicos encargados de implementar la política de clusters. Nuestros resultados muestran que en el caso del cluster «Sello Biosfera», la proximidad geográfica no es suficiente para crear nuevas prácticas y que es necesario trabajar la proximidad organizacional. Los aprendizajes que se generaron son alentadores y muestran que los actores se apropiaron del nuevo instrumento y han aprendido a elaborar juntos nuevos proyectos; menos ambiciosos que el cluster pero que les permitan generar las condiciones organizacionales, confianza y lenguaje común para un trabajo colectivo. Palabras Clave: Proximidad; Certificación; Gobernanza territorial; Turismo; Chile; Aprendizaje.Effects of tourism certification in territorial governance: the case of the "Biosfera" label, Olmué (Chile) Abstract: Grouping to innovate seems to be the main lever used by states to improve competitiveness of enterprises. In 2008, the government of Chile implements a clusters policy. A tourism enterprises association located in Olmué (Valparaíso region), got involved into a certification project, grouping them to become more competitive. As a case study, we interviewed managers of the selected enterprises (hotels, restaurants, tourist operators), public officials and in particular those who are encouraged to implement cluster policies. Our results show that for the cluster initiative named «Sello Biosfera», spatial proximity is not enough to create new organizational practices, and it is necessary to strengthen the latter. Organizational learning generated during the certification process is encouraging and evidence that despite difficulties, local actors assimilated the new instrument (cluster) proposed by the Government, and they have learned to work together in smaller projects than cluster itself, allowing them in a medium term to generate organizational conditions, trust each other and common language for collective work.

Analysis of Hospitality, Leisure, and Tourism Studies in Chile

“…In addition, relational analysis is added to previous evaluations, studies, and qualitative review articles that are mainly based on observations and reflections. A good part of tourism research has been developed by universities that do not have undergraduate and/or postgraduate training programs on hospitality, leisure, and tourism, but rather research teams that work on various areas of the regional reality and that tangentially cover research from this economic sector-such is the case of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso and its Institute of Geography [106,107], Universidad del Bío Bío in Concepción [108], and Universidad Autónoma de Chile [109][110][111][112][113][114].…”