Landscape and Nature Tourism Activities Evaluation Through Social Networks

Colombia is a megadiverse country with a rich natural beauty; it has simultaneously a historical armed conflict and a peace process. It is proposed that nature tourism can be a sustainable alternative for Valle del Cauca. Therefore, this study aimed at identifying the physical characteristics of the landscape and recreational activities in the nature tourism sites that most attract tourists to the study area based on social networks. An analysis of 1774 geotagged photographs from Flickr, Naturalistabird, and a map server (Google Maps) between 2014 and 2019 was conducted. To identify people’s preferences in the photographs, their spatial location, landscape features, and activities were identified. Recreational features were related using multivariate analysis and density maps. Finally, the photographs were overlaid on the map of armed conflict categories. It was found that the preferred landscape features of very high and high preference are mountains, tropical rainforests, rivers, mangroves, and bays, located above the National Natural Parks and areas previously affected by the armed conflict, where the most outstanding activity is bird watching. The natural wealth of the region, together with the progress of the peace process, contributes to the fact that nature tourism can become an economic alternative for the region. The results obtained serve as a basis for decision-making by environmental authors.