Aporte al desarrollo turístico en la región Brut- a través de una estrategia de comunicación

Abstract

This research work was carried out in the northern area of Valle del Cauca in the municipalities of Bolívar, Roldanillo, La Unión and Toro, which are named the BRUT subregion, a territory stigmatized and marginalized by violence due to the territorial dispute between drug traffickers and paramilitaries, who were also involved in the commercialization of drugs in the 60s and 70s. Despite this reality, this area has also become a tourist potential due to its geographical location and the different attractions in terms of history, art and culture: it consists of important historical landmarks; emblematic places of Vallecaucano heritage. However, this territory does not have a good commercial and communication strategy that encourages to develop and to be recognized as a tourist area becouse the efforts made by tourism corporations, operators, culinary and cultural networks in this area, have not managed to take over as a tourist area. For these reasons and based on the qualitative research in the same area, the construction of a communication strategy that looked to make the BRUT region visible was carried out; as a tourist area nationally and internationally, that culminated in the realization of a website, where you can find a cultural agenda for each municipality and will show each tourist site of the municipalities, leaving potential visitors a wide range of gastronomy , emblematic places, cultures, extreme sports, among others. The goal is to be a space where visitors, both local and foreign, are able to find all the necessary information and tourist offer of an area, until now less recognized of

the Valle del Cauca, through the Internet, as a contribution of social communication and of ICT's, to the tourist strengthening of an area of the department. In the course of this research process or methods of information gathering such as observation, interviews and participation and direct interaction with the community were used, in order to recognize the social, cultural, economic and media mass of the population in greater the subregion. The approach to the corporations that shape the subregion allowed us to recognize the most outstanding and historical places in these territories. Different interviews were also done with: operators, population in general, managers and associates of each of the municipalities' corporations.