Guía para la integración de la gestión sostenible y ambiental para los establecimientos de alojamiento y hospedaje turísticos del municipio de Villavicencio

Abstract

This research work focuses on the development of an interactive guide for lodging and accommodation establishments (EAH) in the municipality of Villavicencio with the aim of strengthening the sustainable management system (SGS) that they have been implementing under the sectoral standard NTS-TS 002:2014. It was identified that the sector presented difficulties for its implementation due to the little or no accompaniment of the control entities in advising on this standard. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased disinterest in SGS; however, after the pandemic, tourists are more aware and informed, which reinforces the importance of properly resuming SGS.

Therefore, the quality of the sector is reinforced, and the sectoral technical standard is replaced by the Colombian technical standard NTC 6503:2021, with the sectoral standard becoming part of the regulatory compliance annexes. Together with the internationally recognized NTC-ISO 14001:2015 environmental standard and its high-level structure, they allow the integration of both standards to strengthen and form the Sustainable and Environmental Management System (SGSA) based on the PDCA cycle, with the aim of its permanence for continuous improvement over time as a national and international strategy. The three standards are taken, and the key points for integration are established, such as the numerals and requirements for the selection of the main tools and their design in a simple, practical, and didactic way. The interactive guide is delivered to the EAH with sufficient support material as a basis for the implementation of the SGSA from scratch or from the continuity of the system they were previously developing, subject to the renewal of the national tourism registry (RNT). This is the result of a set of activities such as documentary review, case study research with descriptive scope, sector diagnosis on 55 EAH, observation in information gathering, and content validation by experts on the validity and reliability of the interactive guide.

This led to the design of an interactive guide for EAH using Google Sites to maintain, record, and modify information related to the SGSA according to the specific characteristics of each establishment, with the aim of complying with the requirements of the regulations and responding to the needs and expectations of their stakeholders. Likewise, the interactive guide allows for control of the service in terms of strengthening the establishment's work towards respecting the environment and positively impacting the surrounding area. Currently, sustainability is no longer an initiative but a competitive necessity.