Turning the starry sky into an opportunity for regenerative tourism
By the editorial team. (Originally published in Spanish)
Imagine a starry night, absolute silence and good company. Sounds good, doesn't it? And it sounds even better if, in addition to enjoying this experience, you are contributing to the local development of the place. With this in mind, we present the project that has made it possible: Starlight Iberá.
The Iberá Park landscape as a protagonist
We are located in the region of Corrientes (Argentina), specifically in the Iberá Park, the largest nature and biodiversity reserve in the country. Currently, the territory has become an economic engine that drives sustainable progress in the region, generating more than 20,000 jobs and positively impacting the Guaraní community living in the area. This is the context of the Starlight Iberá project, which aims to promote local development of the destination through the creation of an innovative sustainable tourism offer.
The Starlight Foundation, in charge of the certification of the destination and training in astro-tourism, Global CAD, responsible for training small businesses, the Yetapá Foundation, in charge of the management of the territory, and Ideas for Change, which will participate in the development of innovative projects, join forces in this initiative subsidised by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECID).
Last December, calls were opened for interested people to join the project in the three localities where the action will take place: Chavarria, Concepción and Loreto. Three municipalities with great tourist potential with the landscape of the Great Iberá Park as a protagonist. In February 2022, one of the most beautiful actions of the project began: the Starlight training to turn tourist guides and providers into astro-tourism monitors, run by the Starlight Foundation.
New business models that make a positive impact
Developing a Regenerative Tourism Destination requires integrating and articulating all the agents that make it up and, at the same time, accompanying the local community to create and strengthen their enterprises. For this reason, Ideas for Change is taking action together with Global CAD and the Yetapá Foundation with the Iberá Emprende initiative, a space for tourism innovation for the co-creation of the destination with the communities. The objective is to help participants, through training, workshops and mentoring, to create the Iberá tourism route where localities work in a coordinated and collaborative way, strengthening their capacities and providing the traveller with a memorable experience. Working together with a team of tourism and innovation specialists from Ideas for Change, the potential of local assets to develop new business models in the framework of regenerative tourism will be evaluated.
But why astro-tourism? Because it has a double impact. On the one hand, it has an impact on the local economy, increasing overnight stays, breaking seasonality, decentralising the offer and creating new spaces. On the other hand, it has an impact on the identity of the destination, adding value to the cultural and historical heritage, recovering the Guaraní worldview, protecting and preserving biodiversity, empowering communities and contributing to the SDGs.
Thus, the creation of new tourism experiences related to stargazing, which are emerging as a result of the project, will increase the number of visitors in a sustainable and destination-friendly way, and will directly and indirectly benefit thousands of people. In late October and early November, the launch of the destination will take place to publicise the work being done at provincial, national and international level to make Iberá the first Starlight destination in Argentina.
Keep an eye on the progress of the project, don't lose track of us ;)
Keep reading:
Did you like this article?
Receive more content like this in your inbox!
