XIII Congreso Internacional sobre la Imagen

Abstract

Tourism is a powerful tool, capable of shaping territories in countless ways, but its effects are not always positive, neither for the environment nor for local communities. In addition to the environmental problems linked to tourism activity, destinations may face serious social problems: gentrification, lack of housing, infrastructures, ghettoization to accommodate migrant tourism workers. It is then important to design and implement sustainable and responsible “living practices” and participatory, flexible and iterative methodologies, starting by fostering effective commitments between tourism stakeholders, including hotels, which are key drivers of the tourism phenomenon. Within this framework, the aim of this study is to consider how social methodologies can be combined to define hotel CSR strategies, aiming to confront the negative effects of tourism activity. To do so, we discuss an applied model: the “Método RIU”, developed by RIU Hotels & Resorts and ESCP Business School, from analyzing and blending different methods and concepts from social disciplines such as social sciences, project management and development cooperation: Logical Framework Approach, Total Societal Impact, Spanish cooperation methodology, and Social Return on Invest. This poster present how the combination of diverse methodologies was useful to build the “Método RIU”, a vector of application of the hotel social investment strategy of the company, to draw a better present and future for the tourism territories and its communities. In short, through this applied presentation and its case study argues how interdisciplinarity of social sciences and interdisciplinary methodologies are fruitful and actionable mechanisms to bring prosperity to the community.