Methodological-touristic proposal to highlight forest production links in Pinar del Río, Cuba

Abstract

The province of Pinar del Río has very attractive landscapes, where forests play an important role in ecosystem services of scenic beauty and others. The forestry sector is in charge of their establishment, maintenance and conservation, whether they are plantations or natural forests. The fact of promoting in these sites of tourist interest, with the presence of forests in their landscapes, particularities of forest production and the actions of agroforestry enterprises, is an interesting potential for attraction and enjoyment. The scientific problem derived was, how to contribute to the national and international promotion of the most significant sites of forest production in Pinar del Río? The objective of this research consisted in proposing methodological elements for the design of a tourist route, which highlights the sites of interest with links to forestry production in Pinar del Río. To this end, a diagnosis was made in search of preferential sites, taking into account whether they were plantations or natural forests of different formations and management categories, logistically organizing how the route should be organized, taking into account different links of forest production (nurseries, different types of forests, harvesting, sawmills, among others); the regulations in force for this purpose were also considered, with a geographic information system with the possibility of information and updating. The preferred sites were Macurijes, La Palma, Minas de Matahambre and Guanahacabibes. According to the respondents, Macurijes was the most representative in terms of elements of the forest production chain and landscape attributes.