Tourism

According to the thematic approach, Tourism has the following subtopics::

• Systematize tourism information in the Amazon, by assessing the feasibility of creating a regional observatory.
• Creating integrated regional tourism circuits, specifically three integrated circuits as a pilot example of sustainable tourism in the Amazon Region.
• Developing environmentally sustainable community-based tourism, geared to maximizing the benefits for the local communities.
• Strengthen the image of the Amazon as a Geodestination for sustainable tourism
• Discuss the feasibility of creating funding mechanisms to implement the regional tourism agenda. 

In the process of regional cooperation, the main challenges faced in the consolidation of this theme are associated with long-term financing and to the still insufficient interconnectivity infrastructure among Member Countries and its sustainability. According to the first issue, the ACTO Members Countries are developing a long-term financing strategy where the importance of funding from public budgets has been identified. These public funds can be supplemented by funding from the international cooperation requiring joint efforts for its implementation. Regarding the second item, the consolidation of local tourism products is a key issue, but it is associated with other variables that are outside of ACTO´s scope. 

The products obtained in the implementation of the Strategic Agenda for Amazon Cooperation are:

• Draft Technical guidelines to implement the ACTO Tourism Observatory.
• Glossary of terms and touristic terms and concepts.
• Compilation of national experiences in sustainable community-based tourism in ACTO countries protected areas.
• Guidelines for strengthening the tourism image of the Amazon.
• Preliminary proposal for three tourist circuits for the Amazon: Waters Tourism Circuit, Amazon-Caribbean Tourist Circuit and Andes-Amazon Tourist Circuit.