Papers by Narcís Bassols Gardella
Journal of Urban Culture Research, 2024
This article aims to explore the application of adaptive reuse as a tool for urban built heritage... more This article aims to explore the application of adaptive reuse as a tool for urban built heritage management through the study of five cases in the city of Singapore, Southeast Asia. At the crossroads of urban strategy, building conservation and heritage management, the cases reveal the complexities of contemporary urban developments in one of the world's leading cities. Five projects are analyzed and compared via thematic and content analysis, drawing from primary and secondary sources. The cases display the potential of adaptive reuse, as well as their connection to the larger context of sustainable urban (re)development, while offering a realistic overview of the possible difficulties associated with this process, such as gentrification and over-commercialization. Ultimately, the authors argue for adaptive reuse as a tool to be considered by built heritage managers and urban developers, as it may strike the right balance between different stakeholders and objectives.
CABI Tourism Cases, 2025
This study presents a recent initiative on nature conservation for tourism development. It discus... more This study presents a recent initiative on nature conservation for tourism development. It discusses a low degree of resilience observed in the Providence and Ketlina Islands, in the Colombian Caribbean, as COVID-19 and subsequently devastating hurricanes have hit them in past years. The extreme magnitude of recent meteorological events has revealed a low degree of community resilience that was due to a lack of solid infrastructures and community cohesion. Consequently, proposals have emerged for community-led tourism, including a bottom-up initiative for scientific tourism, which is outlined here. The project will train and empower the community, who ultimately are the guardians of their environment. As a result, reinforcing the conservation of local endangered species such as sea turtles may be expected. More visitor involvement will also be required in the future, as tourists will temporarily become nature guardians. With a more focused tourism fostering social cohesion and higher revenue, the islands' resilience is expected to improve in the mid-term.
Journal of Heritage Tourism, 2024
Theories and ideas about built heritage produced in Latin America and the Caribbean are rich and ... more Theories and ideas about built heritage produced in Latin America and the Caribbean are rich and revealing. This article lays out and compares the most relevant authors and works to critically appraise them and their influence. By reviewing the literature on theories within the region, as well as practical cases across the continent, three main frameworks are discussed and compared: positivist frameworks (i.e. planning and valorisation), critical theories and imaginaries. The type of heritage researched is built heritage, specifically historic urban areas as they have been extensively studied, and disputed, across the region. Some ground-level practices are also exposed, as they reveal gaps and dissonances among urban planning laws, conservation rules, heritagebased tourism development and the social usage of heritage. The conclusions reveal an extent of common ground among these three different streams of thought, albeit only a few of their ideas are echoed in development plans; so good practices are still hard to find in the region.
Tourism Cases, Nov 13, 2023
Bird watching is an activity that may prompt sustainable tourism development in remote communitie... more Bird watching is an activity that may prompt sustainable tourism development in remote communities. This case study lays out some lessons learned from the entrepreneurship case Explora Caloccita, a young venture offering bird watching to tourists in the Mexican Pacific coast. This case is based on descriptive research, laying out the practitioners’ insights and analysing the supply of experiences related to bird watching. The innovative vision of the entrepreneurs, the financial and logistical backing by the local hotel La Quinta, and the support of residents and local tour operators allow for the conclusion that bird-watching tourism has been, in this particular case, a sustainable economic alternative. Furthermore, the entrepreneurship Explora Caloccita is embedded in a destination that strongly supports accessible tourism, sustainable local development and nature preservation. The venture and the place’s sustainability are both possible thanks to the strong connections among all stakeholders and residents in the area, as locals also support the bird-watching routes and thus contribute to the conservation of the native and migrant bird species.
Tourism cases, Feb 15, 2024
This case aims to look beyond the paradise clichés in the Caribbean through an in-depth explorati... more This case aims to look beyond the paradise clichés in the Caribbean through an in-depth exploration of a beach destination in this region. Extensive research performed on-site reveals the main ‘junctures’ of a place’s history, as far as tourism development is concerned. The once isolated fishing community of Taganga on the Caribbean coast of Colombia is examined via participant and non-participant observation and with semi-structured interviews which uncover the conflicts and negotiations among the community, the local authorities and the tourist industry. The changes in visitor segments are also reported, as they relate to the actions of external and internal stakeholders. The effects of evolution over time are evident in the community’s shifting sets of values as well as in the destination’s environment. The reported changes in Taganga mirror shifts at local, national and international levels, and it will be discussed whether this evolution advances towards more value and higher experiential levels, as posited by the literature.
is a continent living amidst strong inequalities, and the region's cities reflect this in a disti... more is a continent living amidst strong inequalities, and the region's cities reflect this in a distinct way. In order to analyse and explain urban inequality in the region, this article studies the case of Cartagena de Indias, on the Colombian Caribbean coast, from the points of view of different historical studies about the racial gaze, gentrification, racial capitalism, and the research connecting urban planning and racial segregation, among others. By applying the historical method, the authors delve into institutional primary and secondary sources from the contemporary historiography, which relate urban development to racial issues. The main outcome is a deeper understanding of the urban and racial phenomena in the context of current theories, with some re-weighing of their impacts. Much of the discussion about racial segregation in Latin America has revolved around metropolises and forgotten medium-sized cities. To remedy this, an overview of studies and theories is offered and subsequently applied to a medium-sized city such as Cartagena, with examples from this city's planning history in conjunction with its social history and tourist development.
Journal of Place Management and Development, Dec 18, 2024
Purpose: This research finds out to what extent companies’ names are influenced by the place’s at... more Purpose: This research finds out to what extent companies’ names are influenced by the place’s attributes versus the official branding policies of a place and, consequently, whether and how local companies “buy into” the place’s strategies put forth by official bodies.
Design/methodology/approach: This paper is both conceptual and empirical, as a mixed quantitative and interpretive approach is used. The companies’ names of a tourist industry (the tour and guiding companies) in three destinations are compared and pitched against the branding of these cities. The companies' names are classified into categories to ascertain whether they reflect (or diverge from) the official strategies. Finally, a conceptual model is developed to explain the findings: the strategic naming model (SNM).
Findings: Our main finding is that the overall business features of a place being stronger determinants to the naming strategies than tourist destination branding initiatives. The intrinsic features of a place seem thus to be “above” destination branding policies. The researched features account for different naming strategies, such as highly original names, flat names or non-strategic names.
Research limitations/implications: As the work is based on a convenience sample, it cannot claim strong representativity. The fact that each of the three data sets was processed by a different researcher might bring up personal biases. Practical implications This work is a call for a more intensive use of naming strategies to the companies’ advantages, as naming is found out to be strategy used to a very low degree. Thanks to this research, companies will understand the different naming possibilities and be able to apply them to their strategies by choosing names which express “uniqueness” or “belonging”. Practitioners will also be aware of whether they are communicating towards the industry or towards the market.
Originality/value: No works were found that empirically pursue our research goals. Therefore, this research might be considered as a novelty. The proposed SNM model explains and relates the most usual company naming techniques, which were unrelated up to date.
Tourism Cases, Nov 26, 2023
Clusters are beneficial to tourist companies in a number of ways as they have been found to promo... more Clusters are beneficial to tourist companies in a number of ways as they have been found to promote innovation of both product and market. The case of Fundación Batis, located in the Colombian Caribbean, will be examined as a best practice in terms of adding tourism to a company’s supply to achieve diversification and supplemental revenue. After a successful incubation in a cluster, this foundation opened its doors to tourists, and its employees now engage in an open dialogue with visitors about conservation issues. As a result, the region gains an upscale offer in natural tourism, which helps to upgrade and diversify the local tourism product.
CABI Tourism Cases, 2024
This case aims to look beyond the paradise clichés in the Caribbean through an in-depth explorati... more This case aims to look beyond the paradise clichés in the Caribbean through an in-depth exploration of a beach destination in this region. Extensive research performed on-site reveals the main ‘junctures’ of a place’s history, as far as tourism development is concerned. The once isolated fishing community of Taganga on the Caribbean coast of Colombia is examined via participant and non-participant observation and with semi-structured interviews which uncover the conflicts and negotiations among the community, the local authorities and the tourist industry. The changes in visitor segments are also reported, as they relate to the actions of external and internal stakeholders. The effects of evolution over time are evident in the community’s shifting sets of values as well as in the destination’s environment. The reported changes in Taganga mirror shifts at local, national and international levels, and it will be discussed whether this evolution advances towards more value and higher experiential levels, as posited by the literature.
Journal of Place Management and Development, 2023
Purpose
This research finds out to what extent companies’ names are influenced by the place’s att... more Purpose
This research finds out to what extent companies’ names are influenced by the place’s attributes versus the official branding policies of a place and, consequently, whether and how local companies “buy into” the place’s strategies put forth by official bodies.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is both conceptual and empirical, as a mixed quantitative and interpretive approach is used. The companies’ names of a tourist industry (the tour and guiding companies) in three destinations are compared and pitched against the branding of these cities. The companies' names are classified into categories to ascertain whether they reflect (or diverge from) the official strategies. Finally, a conceptual model is developed to explain the findings: the strategic naming model (SNM).
Findings
Our main finding is that the overall business features of a place being stronger determinants to the naming strategies than tourist destination branding initiatives. The intrinsic features of a place seem thus to be “above” destination branding policies. The researched features account for different naming strategies, such as highly original names, flat names or non-strategic names.
Research limitations/implications
As the work is based on a convenience sample, it cannot claim strong representativity. The fact that each of the three data sets was processed by a different researcher might bring up personal biases.
Practical implications
This work is a call for a more intensive use of naming strategies to the companies’ advantages, as naming is found out to be strategy used to a very low degree. Thanks to this research, companies will understand the different naming possibilities and be able to apply them to their strategies by choosing names which express “uniqueness” or “belonging”. Practitioners will also be aware of whether they are communicating towards the industry or towards the market.
Originality/value
No works were found that empirically pursue our research goals. Therefore, this research might be considered as a novelty. The proposed SNM model explains and relates the most usual company naming techniques, which were unrelated up to date.
CABI Tourism Cases, 2023
Clusters are beneficial to tourist companies in a number of ways as they have been found to promo... more Clusters are beneficial to tourist companies in a number of ways as they have been found to promote innovation of both product and market. The case of Fundación Batis, located in the Colombian Caribbean, will be examined as a best practice in terms of adding tourism to a company’s supply to achieve diversification and supplemental revenue. After a successful incubation in a cluster, this foundation opened its doors to tourists, and its employees now engage in an open dialogue with visitors about conservation issues. As a result, the region gains an upscale offer in natural tourism, which helps to upgrade and diversify the local tourism product.
CABI Tourism Cases, 2023
Bird watching is an activity that may prompt sustainable tourism development in remote communitie... more Bird watching is an activity that may prompt sustainable tourism development in remote communities. This case study lays out some lessons learned from the entrepreneurship case Explora Caloccita, a young venture offering bird watching to tourists in the Mexican Pacific coast. This case is based on descriptive research, laying out the practitioners’ insights and analysing the supply of experiences related to bird watching. The innovative vision of the entrepreneurs, the financial and logistical backing by the local hotel La Quinta, and the support of residents and local tour operators allow for the conclusion that bird-watching tourism has been, in this particular case, a sustainable economic alternative. Furthermore, the entrepreneurship Explora Caloccita is embedded in a destination that strongly supports accessible tourism, sustainable local development and nature preservation. The venture and the place’s sustainability are both possible thanks to the strong connections among all stakeholders and residents in the area, as locals also support the bird-watching routes and thus contribute to the conservation of the native and migrant bird species.
International Journal of Tourism Cities
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to widen the understanding of the shifts the tourism industr... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to widen the understanding of the shifts the tourism industry experienced as it went though the Covid-19 pandemic. To contribute to this question, an empirical comparison is made between the supply of guided tours and sights at an urban destination in the pre- and postpandemic eras, thus gauging the changes in the guiding tours industry after the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach By conducting a convenience data gathering and a double-level analysis (tours analysis and sights analysis) on the tours and attractions supply at an urban destination, underlying trends come to light, related to the changes in the postpandemic era. This empirical comparison (2019 vs 2022) allows the authors to assess what has and has not changed in the postpandemic context. Findings Guided tours and attractions supply are evolving in the researched destination, but at a slow pace. Therefore, we conclude that long-term processes in destinations prevail over short-ter...
International Journal of Tourism Cities, 2023
Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to widen the understanding of the shifts the tourism industr... more Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to widen the understanding of the shifts the tourism industry experienced as it went though the Covid-19 pandemic. To contribute to this question, an empirical comparison is made between the supply of guided tours and sights at an urban destination in the pre-and postpandemic eras, thus gauging the changes in the guiding tours industry after the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach-By conducting a convenience data gathering and a double-level analysis (tours analysis and sights analysis) on the tours and attractions supply at an urban destination, underlying trends come to light, related to the changes in the postpandemic era. This empirical comparison (2019 vs 2022) allows the authors to assess what has and has not changed in the postpandemic context. Findings-Guided tours and attractions supply are evolving in the researched destination, but at a slow pace. Therefore, we conclude that long-term processes in destinations prevail over short-term disruptions, no matter how strong these disturbances are. Practical implications-The results are of interest to practitioners as they facilitate a better assessment of the impacts of a crisis and greater awareness of the evolution of attractions in urban tourism. While the ''staple tours'' in a destination are always there, practitioners should keep an eye on new spaces in the city which the sector is opening up and also new touring trends. Originality/value-This study is one of the few to empirically compare a pre-and postpandemic situation, as far as city-guided tours are concerned. It helps practitioners and authorities in urban destinations to assess the new trends that have emerged in the postpandemic era, and offers a two-level tool for tour analysis that could be applied to any urban destination.
Historia (Chile), 2023
is a continent living amidst strong inequalities, and the region's cities reflect this in a disti... more is a continent living amidst strong inequalities, and the region's cities reflect this in a distinct way. In order to analyse and explain urban inequality in the region, this article studies the case of Cartagena de Indias, on the Colombian Caribbean coast, from the points of view of different historical studies about the racial gaze, gentrification, racial capitalism, and the research connecting urban planning and racial segregation, among others. By applying the historical method, the authors delve into institutional primary and secondary sources from the contemporary historiography, which relate urban development to racial issues. The main outcome is a deeper understanding of the urban and racial phenomena in the context of current theories, with some re-weighing of their impacts. Much of the discussion about racial segregation in Latin America has revolved around metropolises and forgotten medium-sized cities. To remedy this, an overview of studies and theories is offered and subsequently applied to a medium-sized city such as Cartagena, with examples from this city's planning history in conjunction with its social history and tourist development.
Planning Perspectives, 2022
This work studies urban form and function in Hispanic American colonial port cities. By combining... more This work studies urban form and function in Hispanic American colonial port cities. By combining different research questions and points of view, new insights are given into matters such as the origin of their urban grids, the development of their fortifications throughout the colonial era, and the military versus trade function they accomplished. The focus is on Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, with other Hispanic colonial cities also included in the discussion. The field work is based on primary literature about colonial laws and ordinances and the reports of several viceroys in the eighteenth century as well as a wide array of secondary literature in different languages. The results show that, while these cities fulfilled an important role as trade nodes, this function was second to their military role. However, both functions are found to be interdependent in a number of ways.
Enlightening Tourism: A Pathmaking Journal, 2022
This article proposes a model to measure Community-Based Tourism
(CBT). Its starting point is the... more This article proposes a model to measure Community-Based Tourism
(CBT). Its starting point is the need to better quantify and explain CBT in
emerging countries. The authors build it by drawing a connection between
local competitiveness and CBT frameworks, therefore calling the proposed model C-CBT. By grounding this measurement model, the pushers for this type of tourism, as well as its deterrents, are established and grouped. This model is then used as a comparative tool and applied to two territories in Colombia that have suffered from civil unrest in the last decades and have subsequently developed CBT. As for the field work in the two areas, it is based on interviews and participative observation carried out in the context of tourism projects. The outcome is a clearer measurement system for CBT initiatives by connecting these to competitiveness frameworks, with the added interest that the cases presented come from a severely conflictburdened country.
Service Business, 2021
Destination image has become a crucial topic in tourism studies. However, research has scarcely c... more Destination image has become a crucial topic in tourism studies. However, research has scarcely considered multiple online content sources when studying the image of destinations. This paper examines different types of user-generated content in order to evaluate whether and how this content reflects the evolution of a destination's image, and its congruence therein. The research focuses on a multi-asset tourist destination, i.e., one which draws different market segments. The results show a relatively high degree in congruence and evolution of the destination's attractions, but also questions bits of theories on communication congruence as well as attractions' evolution theories.
Service Business, 2021
Destination image has become a crucial topic in tourism studies. However, research has scarcely c... more Destination image has become a crucial topic in tourism studies. However, research has scarcely considered multiple online content sources when studying the image of destinations. This paper examines different types of user-generated content in order to evaluate whether and how this content reflects the evolution of a destination's image, and its congruence therein. The research focuses on a multi-asset tourist destination, i.e., one which draws different market segments. The results show a relatively high degree in congruence and evolution of the destination's attractions, but also questions bits of theories on communication congruence as well as attractions' evolution theories.
Investigaciones Turísticas, 2021
Intentar explicar las preferencias de turistas a la hora de elegir un alojamiento en un destino, ... more Intentar explicar las preferencias de turistas a la hora de elegir un alojamiento en un destino, y qué elementos son más influyentes en esta decisión, es un tema que ha sido investigado desde diferentes marcos de referencia y con distintas herramientas de campo en los últimos años. El presente artículo se añade a este corpus investigativo analizando las preferencias de los visitantes en las ciudades de Santa Marta y Cartagena de Indias, los dos principales destinos turísticos del Caribe colombiano. En particular, se considera si las valoraciones online de hoteles emitidas por los turistas pueden estar influenciadas por la oferta presente en el destino (atractivos turísticos, ubicación, actividades ofrecidas, restaurantes, playas, etc.) combinadas con las características propias del establecimiento hotelero (servicios ofrecidos, ubicación, precios, categoría del hotel, etc.). Los dos destinos mencionados son estudiados aplicando el modelo de árboles de decisión CHAID, una herramienta...
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Papers by Narcís Bassols Gardella
Design/methodology/approach: This paper is both conceptual and empirical, as a mixed quantitative and interpretive approach is used. The companies’ names of a tourist industry (the tour and guiding companies) in three destinations are compared and pitched against the branding of these cities. The companies' names are classified into categories to ascertain whether they reflect (or diverge from) the official strategies. Finally, a conceptual model is developed to explain the findings: the strategic naming model (SNM).
Findings: Our main finding is that the overall business features of a place being stronger determinants to the naming strategies than tourist destination branding initiatives. The intrinsic features of a place seem thus to be “above” destination branding policies. The researched features account for different naming strategies, such as highly original names, flat names or non-strategic names.
Research limitations/implications: As the work is based on a convenience sample, it cannot claim strong representativity. The fact that each of the three data sets was processed by a different researcher might bring up personal biases. Practical implications This work is a call for a more intensive use of naming strategies to the companies’ advantages, as naming is found out to be strategy used to a very low degree. Thanks to this research, companies will understand the different naming possibilities and be able to apply them to their strategies by choosing names which express “uniqueness” or “belonging”. Practitioners will also be aware of whether they are communicating towards the industry or towards the market.
Originality/value: No works were found that empirically pursue our research goals. Therefore, this research might be considered as a novelty. The proposed SNM model explains and relates the most usual company naming techniques, which were unrelated up to date.
This research finds out to what extent companies’ names are influenced by the place’s attributes versus the official branding policies of a place and, consequently, whether and how local companies “buy into” the place’s strategies put forth by official bodies.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is both conceptual and empirical, as a mixed quantitative and interpretive approach is used. The companies’ names of a tourist industry (the tour and guiding companies) in three destinations are compared and pitched against the branding of these cities. The companies' names are classified into categories to ascertain whether they reflect (or diverge from) the official strategies. Finally, a conceptual model is developed to explain the findings: the strategic naming model (SNM).
Findings
Our main finding is that the overall business features of a place being stronger determinants to the naming strategies than tourist destination branding initiatives. The intrinsic features of a place seem thus to be “above” destination branding policies. The researched features account for different naming strategies, such as highly original names, flat names or non-strategic names.
Research limitations/implications
As the work is based on a convenience sample, it cannot claim strong representativity. The fact that each of the three data sets was processed by a different researcher might bring up personal biases.
Practical implications
This work is a call for a more intensive use of naming strategies to the companies’ advantages, as naming is found out to be strategy used to a very low degree. Thanks to this research, companies will understand the different naming possibilities and be able to apply them to their strategies by choosing names which express “uniqueness” or “belonging”. Practitioners will also be aware of whether they are communicating towards the industry or towards the market.
Originality/value
No works were found that empirically pursue our research goals. Therefore, this research might be considered as a novelty. The proposed SNM model explains and relates the most usual company naming techniques, which were unrelated up to date.
(CBT). Its starting point is the need to better quantify and explain CBT in
emerging countries. The authors build it by drawing a connection between
local competitiveness and CBT frameworks, therefore calling the proposed model C-CBT. By grounding this measurement model, the pushers for this type of tourism, as well as its deterrents, are established and grouped. This model is then used as a comparative tool and applied to two territories in Colombia that have suffered from civil unrest in the last decades and have subsequently developed CBT. As for the field work in the two areas, it is based on interviews and participative observation carried out in the context of tourism projects. The outcome is a clearer measurement system for CBT initiatives by connecting these to competitiveness frameworks, with the added interest that the cases presented come from a severely conflictburdened country.
Design/methodology/approach: This paper is both conceptual and empirical, as a mixed quantitative and interpretive approach is used. The companies’ names of a tourist industry (the tour and guiding companies) in three destinations are compared and pitched against the branding of these cities. The companies' names are classified into categories to ascertain whether they reflect (or diverge from) the official strategies. Finally, a conceptual model is developed to explain the findings: the strategic naming model (SNM).
Findings: Our main finding is that the overall business features of a place being stronger determinants to the naming strategies than tourist destination branding initiatives. The intrinsic features of a place seem thus to be “above” destination branding policies. The researched features account for different naming strategies, such as highly original names, flat names or non-strategic names.
Research limitations/implications: As the work is based on a convenience sample, it cannot claim strong representativity. The fact that each of the three data sets was processed by a different researcher might bring up personal biases. Practical implications This work is a call for a more intensive use of naming strategies to the companies’ advantages, as naming is found out to be strategy used to a very low degree. Thanks to this research, companies will understand the different naming possibilities and be able to apply them to their strategies by choosing names which express “uniqueness” or “belonging”. Practitioners will also be aware of whether they are communicating towards the industry or towards the market.
Originality/value: No works were found that empirically pursue our research goals. Therefore, this research might be considered as a novelty. The proposed SNM model explains and relates the most usual company naming techniques, which were unrelated up to date.
This research finds out to what extent companies’ names are influenced by the place’s attributes versus the official branding policies of a place and, consequently, whether and how local companies “buy into” the place’s strategies put forth by official bodies.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is both conceptual and empirical, as a mixed quantitative and interpretive approach is used. The companies’ names of a tourist industry (the tour and guiding companies) in three destinations are compared and pitched against the branding of these cities. The companies' names are classified into categories to ascertain whether they reflect (or diverge from) the official strategies. Finally, a conceptual model is developed to explain the findings: the strategic naming model (SNM).
Findings
Our main finding is that the overall business features of a place being stronger determinants to the naming strategies than tourist destination branding initiatives. The intrinsic features of a place seem thus to be “above” destination branding policies. The researched features account for different naming strategies, such as highly original names, flat names or non-strategic names.
Research limitations/implications
As the work is based on a convenience sample, it cannot claim strong representativity. The fact that each of the three data sets was processed by a different researcher might bring up personal biases.
Practical implications
This work is a call for a more intensive use of naming strategies to the companies’ advantages, as naming is found out to be strategy used to a very low degree. Thanks to this research, companies will understand the different naming possibilities and be able to apply them to their strategies by choosing names which express “uniqueness” or “belonging”. Practitioners will also be aware of whether they are communicating towards the industry or towards the market.
Originality/value
No works were found that empirically pursue our research goals. Therefore, this research might be considered as a novelty. The proposed SNM model explains and relates the most usual company naming techniques, which were unrelated up to date.
(CBT). Its starting point is the need to better quantify and explain CBT in
emerging countries. The authors build it by drawing a connection between
local competitiveness and CBT frameworks, therefore calling the proposed model C-CBT. By grounding this measurement model, the pushers for this type of tourism, as well as its deterrents, are established and grouped. This model is then used as a comparative tool and applied to two territories in Colombia that have suffered from civil unrest in the last decades and have subsequently developed CBT. As for the field work in the two areas, it is based on interviews and participative observation carried out in the context of tourism projects. The outcome is a clearer measurement system for CBT initiatives by connecting these to competitiveness frameworks, with the added interest that the cases presented come from a severely conflictburdened country.