Sustainable Ecotourism: Strategy and Digital Autonomy for the Birds and Jaguars Green Corridor
CUDECA (Cultures and Development in Central America)
Country (ies): Costa Rica
Scope: National | Global
Year: 2025-2026
01
CONTEXT
ASOCOVE (Birds and Jaguars Green Corridor Association) brings together families protecting the biological corridor that connects the Rincón de la Vieja and Cacao Volcanoes. The project's challenge was not just to "promote a destination," but to build a community-based ecotourism offering with its own identity, capable of operating digitally and distributing benefits across the territory.
02
CHALLENGE
Positioning a destination with a "community soul" in a competitive global market. This required optimizing resources to build a bilingual digital infrastructure that translates conservation and restoration into an operable, attractive offering, ensuring self-management (without technical dependency) and preparing the destination to convert interest into visits as the team consolidated its learning curve.
03
SOLUTION
A participatory design and implementation process was carried out, where the community and local actors co-defined the narrative, products, and priorities. The result was an operational ecosystem of digital autonomy (not just communication):
- Co-created positioning and marketing strategy: A consensus-based roadmap to attract conscious travelers and organize channels, messages, and offerings.
- Bilingual digital platform as the operational core: A website structured into five key sections and five routes, featuring reservations/forms and a directory connected to WhatsApp Business.
- Local linkages: A directory of over 40 businesses to activate the community economy and facilitate direct contact.
- Capacity transfer: Training and user manuals provided so ASOCOVE can manage the site and maintain updates without technical intermediation.
- Visual and content autonomy kit: Editable templates (Canva) and 5 audiovisual capsules for multi-channel promotion (Spanish with English subtitles).
04
IMPACT
ASOCOVE transitioned from having scattered assets to possessing a participatory, bilingual, and self-manageable system, ready to drive conversions once the team fully adopts the tools.
- Real autonomy: Site management and communication enabled through training and manuals.
- Structured and sellable offering: Five defined routes presented as a sustainable tourism experience.
- Activable local economy: A directory of +40 businesses acting as the foundation for the community's productive linkages.
- Professional destination standard: Identity, visual coherence, and narrative developed to strengthen reputation and competitiveness.
