LAS NUEVAS FRONTERAS DEL TURISMO
capitals. They used the opportunity of working for others to gain additional human, financial, and social capital. Most, however, planned to eventually shift strategies and begin their own enterprises. Conclusion This study viewed local tourism initiatives in AysĂŠn, as agents acting and competing for resources within the larger context of potential development agents, who held rights and powers to stake a claim. This perspective enabled a clearer understanding of tourism, as an agent for livelihoods development, and the potential for sustainability of this form of livelihood, long-term. For alternative forms of tourism to be considered a viable developmental tool in rural communities, it is not enough that they be designed with sustainability in mind and managed using a sustainable approach. Initiatives must also be implemented within an external environment that contains low enough levels of vulnerability to permit sustainability within the larger contextual space of competing development initiatives. It is critical for locals, hoping to develop their own tourism-based livelihoods, (whether entrepreneurial or through employment), to open a global portal and understand the opportunities and vulnerability associated with differing realms of capital, and with differing levels of geopolitical power and scale. One of the interesting patterns that appeared in the data of this study was the suggestion that, for individuals participating in tourism-based livelihoods, unique exchanges take place; across cultures, across geographies, across differing socioeconomic and geopolitical situations. These exchanges between hosts and guests provided exposure to differing aspects of geopolitical scale in the form of a sort of “portalâ€? which opened onto a larger world; a mechanism by which locals could interact with a world they had only seen on television and the internet; a point of entry that they could access in a relatively inexpensive and safe way; one that could be closed at the end of the day upon entering their homes. In the process of the exchanges described in this study, participants emphasized they felt a renewed appreciation for their own natural and cultural capital which added meaning and satisfaction to their lives and their work. Alternative forms of tourism, which encouraged local participation and respected local culture, also seemed to lead to possibilities for locals to transfer their skills to new markets and geographies, if they desired. Through experience with new markets and geographies, they gained social, human, and financial capital that often returned home to benefit their livelihood pursuits, their families, and their communities. Additionally, persons who had taken advantage of opportunities for learning through exchange and through transferring their skills to new markets and geographies, expressed greater confidence and ability to address vulnerabilities they faced, and seemed more resilient and better equipped for responding to shocks. The themes of this research suggested a number of specific priorities for reducing
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