Family Relations and Socio-Ecological Resilience within Locally-Based Tourism: The Case of El Castillo (Nicaragua)

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The topic of the submitted manuscript deals with an important and interesting topic of the tourism resilience, regarding its compatibility with the activities and traditional life style of the community living in El Castillo (Nicaragua).  The intention behind is to examine the way, level and benefits of the Family Based Tourism (FBT, as a subcategory Locally Based Tourism, LBT) concept in this locality, mainly regarding its sustainability.

This manuscript is very well written, based on clear idea, however needs major revision.

The main problems are:

1. Methodology chapter: The aim of the study should be clearly formulated there. Regarding the research strategy, it should be written explicitly that it is qualitative research (ethnographic method). However, some quantification is used in the data analysis (Discussion chapter), which is not proper approach in the qualitative research. The algorithm of the analysis and synthesis of the collected data should be described clearly to allow other researches to repeat it in their own research (ground theory method?). Design of some comprehensive scheme illustrating the research strategy, methods, primary and secondary data collection and analysis would be helpful. Also, some simple list od indicative questions given to informants and points which were systematically observed should be provided. It should be also elucidated if both authors were during these years of the longitudinal research always together or the research team changed during the years? How was arranged the community support for the research, how was the research reflected by locals (was there some change in this reflection during the years)?
2. The structure of the manuscript is not appropriate. The Methodology chapter should be followed by the Research Locality chapter (it should include also some brief demography, ethnography / anthropology, physical geography). The majority of data analysis should be replaced from Discussion chapter to the Results chapter.
3. In the Results chapter, it would be very useful to bring some details to the complementarity of the local FBT, which is evidently essential for its resilience and sustainability. It means, to express how deep problem it would (hypothetically) for them to survive without tourism.

If the authors decide for the combined research strategy (the quantitative analysis of the collected quantitative data), I would recommend to improve the sociogram (Graphic 1) in the following way:

• The thickness of the lines indicating intensity of the collaboration
• The size of the square indicating number of family members involved in tourism
• The shadowed part of the square indicating the extent to which the family depends on tourism

4. Some technical points:

• Illustrative photos of the family-based businesses (instead of castle) would be useful.
• Map 1 and 2 – Alfonso Montejo is author of the map (cartography) or just worked with the map? In the second case, it should be rather in following way: Source: OpenStreetMaps, own elaboration.
• Line 117 citation should be just Hairul et al. (more than 3 authors)

Author Response

Thank you very much, we sincerely believe that your recommendations have helped us to improve the manuscript.

Below we will aim to respond to your recommendations.

1. Methodology chapter:

1.1. The aim of the study should be clearly formulated there.

The research project in which this contribution surge aimed to analyze the incidence that tourism development has on the environmental conditions of the San Juan River region and particularly on the socio-ecological resilience of this territory. Different published works are the product of the different aspects that were approached in our project. Throughout the development of the research, it was been confirming the importance that among the characteristics of the type of tourism development the community of El Castillo presents in the context of the region. This is the leading role played by a group of local families that have been the ones that from the beginning of the process in the 1990s and until now have given it consistency.  making us aware of the scarce attention that in the literature on CBT has been paid to the importance of the families and the kinship relations that, we intuit, must be considered as pillars and framework that give consistency to this type of tourism, at least in some cases. This has moved us to take an interest in studying this issue in-depth, taking advantage of the large amount of information collected throughout the fieldwork in the San Juan River, and in particular in El Castillo, which is an example that could serve as a starting point for the development of a line of research to address this oversight. Therefore, this work is not intended to be conclusive, but to suggest and encourage the development of studies on other cases in other contexts that make comparative analysis possible and thus validate this hypothesis, even with the establishment of a subcategory that could be called Family-Based Tourism, or demonstrating the exceptional nature of the El Castillo case and, therefore, making it unnecessary

1.2. Regarding the research strategy, it should be written explicitly that it is qualitative research (ethnographic method). However, some quantification is used in the data analysis (Discussion chapter), which is not proper approach in the qualitative research.

Although information from secondary sources (gray literature) has been used, the methodology used to collect the primary data that supports the analysis has been qualitative, through ethnographic fieldwork.

Tables (Tables 2, 3a, 3b, 4 and Appendix B), and diagram (Graphic 1) have been used for the preparation, presentation, and discussion of the data and to facilitate the understanding of the fundamental points.

 1.3. The algorithm of the analysis and synthesis of the collected data should be described clearly to allow other researches to repeat it in their own research (ground theory method?).

The objective of these tables and graphs is to synthesize the qualitative information obtained from the interviews and from the ethnographic observation, not by means of surveys, algorithm or any other type of quantitative instrument, and they have no claim to statistical validity.

To avoid any erroneous interpretation on this question, we explain these circumstances in the Methodology section (lines 170-174)

1.4. Design of some comprehensive scheme illustrating the research strategy, methods, primary and secondary data collection and analysis would be helpful. Also, some simple list of indicative questions given to informants and points which were systematically observed should be provided.

In order not to overload the section, the field guide is included as an appendix (Appendix A) with the different points that guided the collection of information in the fieldwork. In its section II.C, entitled Analysis of the characteristics of the CBT development model in El Castillo and its impact on the specific resilience of the tourism system and the general socio-ecosystem, it is possible to check the questions that guided the search for information (interviews, observation, data collection from secondary sources) specifically related to the objective of this work

1.5. It should be also elucidated if both authors were during these years of the longitudinal research always together or the research team changed during the years?

The two authors of this article formed the nucleus of the team that carried out the fieldwork of the project, in which other colleagues from the Pablo de Olavide University, Autonomous University of Nicaragua-Managua, of the University of Costa Rica, and of Flacso-Costa Rica also participated in a timely manner throughout the period of its development. However, most of the materials on which this work is based were collected by the two authors in the proportion of 60 and 40% respectively, and their elaboration was carried out between them in their entirety at 50%.

1.6. How was arranged the community support for the research, how was the research reflected by locals (was there some change in this reflection during the years)?

The support of the local population in general has been one of the factors that from the beginning facilitated the development of the research. One of the objectives of the project was to carry out a participatory evaluation of the results of the intervention carried out by the Spanish international cooperation for the improvement of living conditions and the conservation of the natural values ​​of the territory through, among others initiatives, the development of sustainable tourism. The interest, especially by the actors involved in the different activities related to tourism in the town, for the knowledge of El Castillo to be disseminated, was an important incentive for their collaboration. However, the somewhat utilitarian nature that for many of them could have in principle their support, and seen on the other hand that our purpose went far beyond carrying out a conventional evaluation, moving away from any claim of technical audit, and by the Contrary to the desire that the results of the work would be useful for them and for the population as a whole, it was replaced with the passage of time by a much more open and confident attitude on the part of the majority that allowed us to deepen our knowledge. of areas and aspects of their lives and social relationships that are very important to achieve a better understanding of reality. That is why our commitment to confidentiality, especially in a situation as difficult as the current one due to the socio-political conflict that affects Nicaragua, acquires greater importance if possible when it comes to maintaining the anonymity of our informants and the data they may serve to identify them, at least as far as possible

2. The structure of the manuscript is not appropriate. The Methodology chapter should be followed by the Research Locality chapter (it should include also some brief demography, ethnography / anthropology, physical geography). The majority of data analysis should be replaced from Discussion chapter to the Results chapter.

We agree with you. The structure of the manuscript is somewhat forced as a consequence of having tried to adjust it to the sections conventionally used in articles in scientific journals. But the very tentative nature of our work makes this subjection difficult. Indeed, the separation of the Results section from that of the Discussion is too rigid and that is why we have decided to change the organization of the different sections. Firstly, we have created section 3 in which, under the title of

Contextualization, we offer in a first sub-section (3.1 Historical and socio-economic context) synthesized information on the geographical, historical and socioeconomic characteristics of El Castillo, and in a second sub-section section (3.2 Tourism as a driving force for sustainable development) on the background of tourism development in the locality.

In section 4. Results, we include all the base information that we consider important for the description of the case study, with two sub-sections, 4.1 El Castillo: A case of locally based tourism, in which we collect detailed information on related businesses with the existing tourism in the town, and 4.2 The family bases of tourism development in El Castillo, which includes information that highlights the important role played by families and family relations in the implementation and operation of such businesses.

We keep the discussion section, which becomes 5. Discussion: Family, tourism and resilience in El Castillo, in which we start from the information collected in the previous sections and put it in dialogue with the contributions made by different authors on resilience socio-ecological, the social factors that feed it, and the role of the CBT with respect to it, we carry out the analysis from which the main contributions of our work are extracted, particularly the identification of the characteristics of the families that, in the case of the businesses related to tourism, are factors that help to understand the capacity that they in particular and the tourism development model of El Castillo have demonstrated over time.

We consider that this restructuring responds better to the characteristics of the materials used and the proposed objective, making the exhibition clearer.

3, In the Results chapter, it would be very useful to bring some details to the complementarity of the local FBT, which is evidently essential for its resilience and sustainability. It means, to express how deep problem it would (hypothetically) for them to survive without tourism.

The complementary nature of tourist businesses (accommodation, restaurants, torus and guide services) in family economies is highlighted in the text (lines 379-384, 457-462, 563-564, 598-612, 642-647). Although the relative weight of income from the tourism business varies between some cases and others, in none, except in the case of transport entrepreneurs, is the main economic component. And even in these latter cases, the transportation business appears combined with other economic activities and, particularly, with land ownership, which serves not only as an additional source of income (mainly livestock), but as a capital reserve (lines 681-690). That is why we confirm the complementarity of tourism as one of the most important factors on which the resilience of these families is based, of the local tourism system and, by extension, of the community as a whole.

However, to reinforce this idea, we have included a quote from one of our informants who, from a technical perspective, confirms this complementary character (lines 613-634), and also a reference in the conclusions section (lines 894-95)

4. If the authors decide for the combined research strategy (the quantitative analysis of the collected quantitative data), I would recommend to improve the sociogram (Graphic 1) in the following way:

• The thickness of the lines indicating intensity of the collaboration
• The size of the square indicating number of family members involved in tourism
• The shadowed part of the square indicating the extent to which the family depends on tourism

We consider that this diagram is useful to synthetically visualize the information objected to through the qualitative tools used in research on the existence of a dense network of collaboration and alliance relationships between certain families that constitutes the sector involved in tourism development in El Castillo. Your recommendations seem to us to improve the achievement of the objective pursued and that is why we have tried to incorporate them with the modifications made in the new version of the graph that we include in the manuscript.

5. Some technical points:

5.1 Illustrative photos of the family-based businesses (instead of castle) would be useful.

You are right, although in order to maintain the anonymity of our informants (for the reasons explained above) we decided not to include images that could be used for their identification, it is true that, on the other hand, the incorporation of images about their businesses and activity that it develops in them (in the same way as the landscape and the maps) are elements that undoubtedly contribute to a better understanding of the context and the characteristics of the case study. That is why we have incorporated some photos, taking care to maintain anonymity as much as possible. (Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5)

5.2. Map 1 and 2 – Alfonso Montejo is author of the map (cartography) or just worked with the map? In the second case, it should be rather in following way: Source: OpenStreetMaps, own elaboration

We include the information requested in the two maps

5.3. Line 117 citation should be just Hairul et al. (more than 3 authors)

This error has been corrected

Reviewer 2 Report

In what concerns to readability, the manuscript it is well written and there is clarity on the contents. Although, the language used in the abstract should be changed (lines 19, 24 and 25) to a more formal style, as well as along all the article, where the use of the first-person plural ("we" / "us") should be replaced for a more impersonal discourse (lines 19, 75, 99, 117, 140, 232, 240, 285, 291 ..., 514, 515, etc.). Also the findings of the study could be better reflected in this first moment.

In what concerns to the topics of of the paper, the manuscript follows an adequate and well organized structure and purpose. Nevertheless, a more exhaustive Literature Review should be developed, helping to build a more solid body of research on this topic. In what to the presentation, Figure 1 is not mentioned in the body of the text and it should be removed from the body of the paper, because it does not illustrate any relevant information. 

A full stop is missing in the paragraph that ends on line 205.

The methodology conclusions are mostly well supported by the results. Although, authors should make clear the intended practical application of the research. However, new approaches for future studies are referred. 

Author Response

Thank you very much for your comments

Below we will aim to respond to your recommendations

1. Regrading to the personal tone of the speech can be explained by the deep empathy with the population of El Castillo that has generated in us the long time (more than ten years) in which we have maintained close contact with the population. However, you are right, the use of the first person may give the impression of an inappropriate subjectivity for an academic writing and therefore we have changed it to a more impersonal style, as he recommends, with the modifications made in the lines that you point us.
2. 2. Regarding your recommendation to point out the possible application of the results of our research already in the same presentation of the article, even at the risk of exceeding the limit established by the editors, we have added the following paragraph with which we consider this requirement is covered (lines 27-31)

“The confirmation of the importance of families and family relationships as key elements in the robust development of tourism in El Castillo, and of the specific characteristics that its local society presents for this, must be taken into account in order to support tourism from community-based by institutions and organizations interested in promoting sustainable local development”.

3. In what concerns to the topics of the paper, the manuscript follows an adequate and well organized structure and purpose. Nevertheless, a more exhaustive Literature Review should be developed, helping to build a more solid body of research on this topic. In what to the presentation,
4. Regarding the recommendation of a more exhaustive literature review, we must point out that the topic on which we intend to make our contribution focuses on the role of the family and family relationships in the origin and development of CBT businesses and the influence that this type of business has in the resilience of the tourism system, in particular, and of the local society of which they are part, a theme on which, as we pointed out, we have found little production.

As an illustration, simply point out that the search carried out in the WOK database combining the topics "Community-based tourism" and "resilience" and "family business" only records three references, although only one of them provides relevant elements on the matter (Ghapar et al. 2015), while expanding the limits of the search we use the topics "Community" and "resilience" and "family" and "tourism", there are 13 references, although only three of them make relevant contributions: again Ghapar et al. 2015, and Ismail et al. 2019, already included in the bibliography, and Kavaru et al 2017 that although it makes a limited contribution, we have thought it convenient to include it now as well.

Finally, by broadening the search to the maximum with the topics "CBT" and "Resilience", 196 references appear, most without relevant contributions to our topic of analysis, which goes beyond the interest of our work but the possibility of maintaining the article in reasonable margins of extension.

However, if you know any reference that you consider necessary should be taken into account, we will be happy to consult it and, where appropriate, include it.

5. Regarding to Figure 1, thanks for this indication. We have entered the reference in the text of Figure 1 (line 198). In addition to information about the place where El Castillo is located and the environmental characteristics of its surroundings that are part of its tourist attraction, it gives an idea of the significance for the identity of the town that has the fortress that not only gives it its name, but constitutes its main tourist product. That is why we consider the usefulness of its inclusion as an illustration of the brief description we make in the text.
6. Regarding the missing full stop in the paragraph that ends on line 205, we have corrected this lapse
7. Regarding the recommendation of a more clear explanation of the intended practical application of the research, we have included a final paragraph in the conclusions section, which insists on what type of application the results of the research could have in the field of planning and implementation of actions to support local-based projects for sustainable tourism development (lines 900-904)

“On the other hand, in relation to the usefulness that the results of this work may have, the confirmation of the importance of families and family relationships as key elements in the robust development of tourism in El Castillo, and of the specific characteristics that its local society presents for this, must be taken into account in order to support tourism from community-based by institutions and organizations interested in promoting sustainable local development”.

Reviewer 3 Report

Dear authors,

Your article is interesting.

However, it requires major improvements in research methodology.

What are the objectives of this research?
What is the novelty element?

Is the sample representative for this study?

These are just some of the questions I haven't found in your article.

Best wishes!

Author Response

Thank you very much for your comments

Below we will aim to respond to your recommendations

1. What are the objectives of this research?

Our objective in this paper is to present the results of the analysis on one of the aspects addressed in the research that we have been carrying out throughout ten years in the San Juan River (Nicaragua) and particularly in the community of El Castillo over the relationships between CBT and the socio-ecological resilience of communities and the territories in which they develop. This aspect is the key role played by family groups and the relationships established between their members in the relative success of businesses linked to tourism that emerged during the experience carried on in El Castillo and how this family character of tourism businesses has contributed to resilience, not only in the tourism system (specific resilience), but also in that of the entire socio-ecosystem that constitutes the local society of El Castillo and the environment in which it is located.

Our findings lead us to consider the usefulness of establishing a subcategory within the CBT that could be called FBT Family-Based Tourism, which could facilitate the deepening of knowledge of this type of tourist development

For further clarification of this objective, we have introduced a paragraph in the abstract of presentation (lines 27-31) with which we hope this request will be addressed.

2. What is the novelty element?

In our opinion, the results of this work constitute a contribution to the knowledge of the role of families and family businesses as key agents in the development of CBT, a topic that until now has hardly been addressed in the literature. Although much of the published works on CBT refers to families, they do so in a non-central way and it is very rare that they delve into the forms and factors through which they contribute to the success of this type of tourism  (lines 112-138), what which we understand is essential to guide their support as a sustainable local development strategy (lines 27-31, 900-904)

3. Is the sample representative for this study?

The scarcity of specific research on the object of study described above does not allow a selection of cases whose comparative study can corroborate or complement the knowledge obtained through them. Although we intuit that El Castillo's example is not exceptional and we have direct and indirect information on other cases in which families and family businesses play a relevant role, we do not have a solid enough basis to be able to select cases that allow to contrast this knowledge to expand or deepen it. In this sense, the case of El Castillo should be considered an exploratory or prospective study case, a category defined as that which aims to define a problem to allow more precise research or to formulate first and second degree hypotheses; but also as a descriptive type that aims to analyze what a phenomenon is like, what are its components, and how are they configured through the description of one or more of its attributes.

We have included an explanatory paragraph on this subject in the methodological section (Lines 145-154)

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Good job! Good luck for future writing!

Reviewer 3 Report

Dear authors,

Your article is interesting and meets the requirements to be published in Sustainability.

Best wishes!