Tourism as geopolitical strategy: the institutional trajectory of tourism public policies in Ecuador

This paper analyzes how tourism has been used as a geopolitical strategy by the Republic of Ecuador throughout the last century, gaining remarkable relevance in the recent period, being considered as an alternative source of development in the context of the restrictive capacities and resources of the National State. In particular, we analyzed the institutional trajectory of tourism public policies in Ecuador, between 19902020, focusing on the role and form of state action in this process. To this end, an empirical study was carried out, based mainly on secondary data collected from the official press of the Republic of Ecuador, in its three branches (executive, legislative and judiciary). From a total of 19,026 documents initially identified, we reviewed and found a total of 223 normative acts specifically dedicated to the tourism issue. This material was analyzed using the institutional model of public policy analysis elaborated by Pimentel (2011; 2014), structured in 3 dimensions and 5 categories, which deals with the normative, regulatory and cognitive dimensions, drawn upon a synthesis of several categories identified by Scott - among others - on institutional theory. The data showed that: a) there is a clear growth in the volume of national normative acts in the period in question, which suggests that tourism has become a State policy, b) the policies are “initiated” and have the executive as the main participating actor, c) however, they are mostly generic acts and poorly linked to operational actions (with plans, projects and measurement instruments) what suggest that extraofficial actions have been taken in order to promote and operate the sector, and d) they are characterized by the absence of resources to make them feasible. We conclude tourism has become a state policy, in terms of the discursive and also institutional level of official actions taken by the national government, as well as the practice we can see in relation to inbound and domestic flows. However, the way the subject is handled lacks support, especially material and financial one, for its effective execution, which suggests that it may have any other - no official and/or institutional - different force driving the sector, while public policies appear as a shadow on the sector's performance.