Tourist Behavior for Sustainable Development in the Cumbres de Majalca National Park, Mexico: Challenges in a Post-pandemic Context

Abstract

According to The General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection of Mexico, National Parks are landscapes of scenic beauty and scientific, educational, recreational, historical, floristic, and faunal values. They constitute highly protected spaces in which only activities related to the conservation of ecosystems, research, recreation, tourism, and environmental education are allowed. Therefore, this chapter's objective is to project management strategies for tourism with low environmental impact based on sustainability and responsible environmental behavior of visitors in the Cumbres de Majalca National Park, located in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico. The research problem is based on the fact that the sources of environmental impact for this park are the presence of forest pests and diseases; forest fires; uncontrolled grazing; use of off-road vehicles; the opening of unestablished roads that destroy vegetation, cause soil loss, accelerate erosion, and generate dust pollution and harmful noise; as well as the overtourism associated with vacation periods. The massive flows of visitors increase the number of arrivals, occupation of houses located within the park, uncontrolled vehicular traffic, firewood extraction, solid waste generation, degradation of rock formations, and damage to the built infrastructure. Based on this problem, the following research questions were formulated: What strategies to implement for a low-impact tourism model in Cumbres de Majalca National Park? How to promote responsible tourism behavior for sustainable development? What are the learning experiences for better sustainable ecotourism management in other National Parks? The research significance is associated with developing a proposal that: contributes to the conservation of wild flora and fauna and the care and preservation of forest vegetation, as well as maintaining the recharge of aquifers and the functionality of the hydrological cycle, protecting the upper parts of the basins where the streams that feed the Chuvíscar, Sacramento, and Santa Isabel rivers are born. At the same time, the reconditioning of the site, whose scenic beauty and geological formations satisfy the visitors' leisure needs in the context of the new normal of post-pandemic tourism. The study method was based on qualitative-quantitative, multidisciplinary, and transversal research principles, using mixed information sources. Empirical methods such as observation, surveys, interviews, and work in groups, as well as theoretical methods such as analytical-synthetic, historical-logical, geospatial, and conceptual modeling, were used. The methodological procedure consisted of data collection, analysis and interpretation, and elaboration of conclusions. The main findings correspond to the diagnosis of the current scenario and the projection of the desired one, as well as the development of strategies for tourism with low environmental impact based on the principles of sustainability and the responsible environmental behavior of visitors of Majalca. This proposal allows the operationalization and instrumentation of the Park Management Program. In it, environmental education and interpretation axes are prioritized as a basis for forming the culture of the environmental traveler in National Parks, considering a new scenario of tourism recovery in a post-pandemic context.