Valorising imaginaries: Seizing opportunities in the Colombian Coffee Region
Authors
Schaltz, Theresa Marie Harrestrup ; Kristensen, Frederikke Korsgaard
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2018
Submitted on
2018-05-31
Pages
99
Abstract
Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan Colombias Kafferegion er blevet formet og iscenesat som turistdestination. Den fokuserer på, hvordan stedsidentitet bliver til, når nationale og internationale aktører forhandler om, hvad “kafferummet” er—de landskaber, praksisser og betydninger der knytter sig til kaffe. Casen er Kafferegionen i det centrale Colombia: Risaralda, Quindío, Caldas og Valle de Cauca. Datagrundlaget omfatter tre ugers feltarbejde i januar 2018 i Bogotá, Kafferegionen og Medellín, suppleret af desk research. Metodisk bruges deltagerobservation, interviews og dokumentanalyse. Tilgangen er socialkonstruktivistisk og lægger vægt på, at viden om steder skabes i sociale processer. Analysen bygger på begreber fra kulturarvsturisme, imaginærer (fælles billeder og fortællinger), postmodernitet, autenticitet, rum og sted, mobilitet, kapitalformer (social, kulturel og symbolsk kapital) og magt. Afhandlingen viser, at den Colombianske Kaffeavlerfederation (FNC) har omformet regionens identitet gennem brandet Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia (CCLC). Ved at trække på sin sociale, kulturelle og symbolske kapital—relationer, ekspertise og omdømme—positionerede FNC sig over for Colombias turismeministerium og opnåede UNESCO-verdensarvsstatus for den CCLC-definerede Kafferegion. Formålet var at udnytte markedsmuligheder til at tiltrække flere turister og øge forbruget af colombiansk specialkaffe både i og uden for landet. Før UNESCO-certificeringen blev regionens kulturarv udvidet, så nydelse af kaffe af høj kvalitet blev en del af arven sammen med traditionelle kendetegn som arkitektur, kunst og regionens beboere. CCLC præsenterer en ensartet identitet for hele regionen. Feltarbejdet viser, at lokale turismeaktører kun delvist omsætter denne fortælling i praksis, hvilket peger på, at flere forståelser af kaffeidentitet eksisterer side om side. Det understreger, at stedet er socialt konstrueret og konstant forhandlet. Afhandlingen konkluderer, at FNC gennem strategisk brug af kapitaler kunne etablere en ny fortælling uden at ændre de fysiske omgivelser i Kafferegionen. Modellen for regional turismeudvikling og dens langsigtede bæredygtighed peges ud som et felt for videre forskning.
This thesis examines how Colombia’s Coffee Region has been shaped and presented as a tourist destination. It focuses on how place identity emerges as national and international actors negotiate what counts as ‘coffee space’—the landscapes, practices, and meanings linked to coffee. The case is the Coffee Region in central Colombia: Risaralda, Quindío, Caldas, and Valle de Cauca. Primary data comes from three weeks of fieldwork in January 2018 in Bogotá, the Coffee Region, and Medellín, complemented by desk research. Methods include participant observation, interviews, and document analysis. The approach is social constructivist, emphasizing that knowledge about places is created through social processes. The analysis draws on concepts from heritage tourism, imaginaries (shared images and stories), postmodernity, authenticity, space and place, mobility, different forms of capital (social, cultural, symbolic), and power. The study shows that the Colombian Coffee Growers’ Federation (FNC) reframed the region’s identity through the Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia (CCLC) brand. By leveraging its social, cultural, and symbolic capital—relationships, expertise, and reputation—the FNC positioned itself with Colombia’s Tourism Ministry and secured UNESCO World Heritage status for the CCLC-defined region. The purpose was to seize market opportunities by attracting more tourists and increasing consumption of Colombian specialty coffee both inside and outside the country. Before UNESCO certification, the region’s heritage was broadened so that the consumption of high-quality coffee became part of the heritage alongside traditional features such as architecture, arts, and local residents. The CCLC promotes a homogeneous identity for the whole region. Fieldwork shows that local tourism actors only partly put this narrative into practice, indicating that multiple coffee identities coexist. This highlights how place is socially constructed and continuously negotiated. The thesis concludes that, by strategically using its capitals, the FNC established this new narrative without making physical changes to the Coffee Region. It points to the need for further research on whether this model of regional tourism development is sustainable in the long term.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
Keywords
Documents