RECONFIGURACIONES TURÍSTICAS EN CONTEXTO DE PANDEMIA. IMPLICANCIAS PARA LA SOCIEDAD LOCAL EN UN DESTINO DE LA COSTA ATLÁNTICA BONAERENSE (ARGENTINA)

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has reoriented tourist demand towards places with natural and landscape wealth, accentuating the development of alternative tourist modalities. In this sense, the town of Chapadmalal (Buenos Aires, Argentina) had been leading a process of growth and diversification of tourist services and a greater presence of tourists seeking an environment of environmental quality and distance from urban centers. This is how, framed in the analysis of the residents of tourist destinations, this article aims to investigate the perceptions of the inhabitants of Chapadamalal about their locality, the neighborhoods that compose it, the neighbors and tourism. Quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis strategies are combined, specifically surveys and semi-structured interviews with local residents.
The main results show that Chapdmalal is characterized as a quiet place, sparsely populated and with wide natural spaces. Residents generally define themselves as supportive, with a sense of community and committed to their locality. Regarding the visions about tourism, these are diverse, although there is a unifying criterion of the discourses given by the awareness about the socio-environmental impact of spontaneous tourism growth and the possibility of getting involved in the development of an alternative offer.