Tourism with Meaning: Advances and New Challenges in the Western Highlands

Por María Recinos

Traslated bt David Hörhager

The good continues! As civil society organizations, we are convinced that we all have something to contribute to society from our different spaces. That is why we are proud to announce that we continue adding efforts and extending our support to more communities in the Guatemalan highlands. Our project continues to advance, and now we have incorporated three new ventures focused on responsible and sustainable tourism. From ENTREMUNDOS we will accompany them to continue growing, promoting their initiatives and generating local and community development.

Between 2022 and 2024, ENTREMUNDOS implemented the project “Strengthening community and tourism capacities in the western highlands of Guatemala”, supporting six communities with tourism ventures. During these three years, the project was consolidated as a space for collective learning and collaboration between organizations. For this new cycle 2025-2027, ENTREMUNDOS will again accompany six community organizations through the project “Strengthening community organizations for the development of responsible and sustainable tourism” with the objective of improving and optimizing their organizational and tourism capacity.

This support will include training in key areas such as leadership, natural resource management, marketing, spokespersonship and service improvement. In addition, the project will be supported by university interns who will provide technical assistance to the enterprises and help generate inputs to strengthen their development. The project will also provide small grants to enable the enterprises to make improvements or purchase goods related to their tourism services. The project will also develop activities for the exchange of experiences to foster partnerships and shared learning in the area of responsible and sustainable tourism. Finally, support will be provided for the visibility and promotion of each venture through our dissemination channels, such as our printed/digital magazine and podcast.

Process for new initiatives

With the start of the 2025 activities, the ENTREMUNDOS team focused on defining the evaluation criteria for tourism initiatives, considering aspects such as tourism potential, social, environmental and economic impact, organizational capacity and sustainability. In addition, the capacity of the organizations to actively involve and integrate young people and women was also taken into account, as these are two key strategic lines to guarantee sustainability, equity and the integral development of the ventures. As a result of this process, three new organizations were selected to benefit from actions to strengthen and develop their tourism initiatives.

One of the first actions implemented this year was the holding of community workshops to prepare a participatory diagnosis to determine the current situation of each new venture. Below, we share some of the progress made.

The Maya Association of Small Farmers promotes community-based historical tourism. Through the life stories of its members and the events related to the guerrilla war in Guatemala, they have created a museum where they exhibit belongings and photographs of people who lost their lives during the armed conflict. Within the farm, they also offer a coffee tour and work in the conservation of the forest, where there is a waterfall that is also a natural attraction. All of these tourist elements are located in the community of Santa Anita La Unión, located in Colomba, Costa Cuca, Quetzaltenango.

The Association of Farmers and Ecotourism for Integral Development Chicúa (ASAEDICH). Located in the department of Quetzaltenango, ASAEDICH promotes ecotourism through the conservation of natural and cultural heritage in a territory considered a sacred place. The community is surrounded by a pine-oak forest and its main attraction is Cerro La Muela, from where you can enjoy breathtaking panoramic views of the city of Quetzaltenango and the Santa María volcano. 

Caxaj community, Caballo Blanco, Totonicapán. The community promotes the Caballo Blanco Ecological Park, a natural space that covers four hectares of coniferous forest. The park has trails for hiking and biking, giant slides, soccer fields, tables and outdoor barbecues. It is an ideal place for visitors to enjoy a connection with nature and family life.

Successful projects

With the project “Strengthening community and tourism capacities in the western highlands of Guatemala”, we continue to accompany three organizations that were also part of the previous project. These tourism ventures have had a valuable journey during the last three years. We congratulate these organizations for their good management, their strengthened organizational capacity and their progress in tourism development; factors that have made it possible to continue working together in this new stage.

The Asociación Sostenible Para el Desarrollo Integral y Turístico de Loma Linda (ASODILL) promotes community development through ecotourism, with a focus on biodiversity conservation in the village of Loma Linda, El Palmar, Quetzaltenango, and its main tourist attractions include pools and waterfalls, a bird-watching trail, areas for extreme sports such as canopy and suspension bridge, and tours from Loma Linda to the Chicabal volcano lagoon. One of its most significant achievements has been the construction of a training room, where workshops focused on environmental conservation, bird watching, entrepreneurship, and community tourism are taught.

The Mesoamerican Institute of Permaculture (IMAP) promotes sustainable tourism through its project “Bird Sanctuary”, a forest conservation area located in San Lucas Tolimán, Sololá. Here it is possible to see the Slender Sheartail hummingbird, an emblematic species of the region. The sanctuary also offers an ideal environment for practicing yoga and has a dock on the shores of Lake Atitlán, making it a perfect place for connecting with nature and integral wellness.

The Asociación de Desarrollo Agroforestal Integral Sostenible (ADAFIS), promotes sustainable rural community-based tourism of forest resources in Unión Reforma, Sibinal, San Marcos. This community has managed to consolidate the development of its tourism project thanks to its organizational capacity and the boost it has given to the local economy. Unión Reforma is recognized as one of the best places for turkey watching. It has a lookout point that offers impressive scenic views of the Tajumulco and Tacaná volcanoes. Currently, the community is in the process of building cabins to provide lodging services, allowing visitors to live a more complete and immersive experience within the community.

As we continue to move forward with these beautiful tourism projects in the region, we will be sharing more details in our next editions of the magazine. We invite you to visit and support these local ventures, which promote community development and the conservation of our natural and cultural heritage.

As an association, we are very excited to begin a new phase full of challenges but also opportunities. This new cycle allows us to accompany tourism ventures, communities and local stakeholders to strengthen ties and continue building communities and bridges between us. All of us, businesses, communities and the organizations we accompany, have a lot to contribute and learn from each other in this process of mutual growth and sustainable development.