Week 8 - Jaselle Abuda

Jaselle Abuda

Professor Valverde

ASA 189F

12 November 2017

In the reading Entrepreneurs and the Co-Creation of Ecotourism in Costa Rica by Geoffrey Jones and Andrew Spadafora, it notes the factors that developed the growth of ecotourism in the country of Costa Rica and the consequences of its development. Factors that helped the growth of ecotourism in the country is its natural resources, entrepreneurs, government, and business companies. More importantly, entrepreneurs were the catalyze of positive action in making sure of the protection and sustainability of maintaining these natural paradises. However, in maintaining most of Costa Rica’s produce, known as one of the most valuable aspect of the country, the practice of using pesticides for most of its produce deludes and endangers the ecosystem. The consequences of keeping this practice may benefit the country in its developmental growth of ecotourism, but it may also destroy the ecosystem of its country, a sacrifice that the country seems to be willing to take.

In relation to our project, the most valuable aspect of our city San Jose is the cultural diversity. San Jose is valued for its cultural and ethnic diversity from all around the world, making the city a go-to tourist attraction for tourists and locals to have a taste from an array of music, food, and cultures from around the world. However, in all this cultural diversity, the importance of cultural identity is then lost in discussion because of the act of homogeneousing of its ethnic diversities. Precautions that can be made in response to this problem is to avoid over-generalizing communities and perpetuating the same act of parent-to-child approach that U.S. imperialism has given to other countries. 

Question: How may other developing countries see this approach of being conscious of its exploitation of labor/natural resources while holistically maintaining it's positive approach of national branding for the sake of its people?