Path Dependence and Social Network Analysis on Evolutionary Dynamics of Tourism in Coastal Rural Communities

The studies on the evolution of tourist destinations are not a new issue, however, most of them have been focused on consolidated destinations, whereas only a minimum has been done on tourism transformation in rural areas. The objective of this work is to diagnose the evolutionary process of tourism in Coastal Rural Communities (CRCs). To do this, we propose a model which combines two research approaches, Path Dependence and Social Network Analysis. The methodological approach is divided into three parts: design, application and validation, and it is based on collecting in situ and identifying key informants. In the first part, the stages of a Path Dependence for a CRC are conceptualized and bipartite graphs are constructed to show the relationships between: (1) the identified establishments built in a period of time and (2) positive and negative lock-ins with a greater degree of influence on the evolutionary process. On this basis, the resulting graphs are associated with the stages of the Path Dependence. In the second part, the model theoretically raised is applied as an empirical case at the CRC of Playa Ventura, Guerrero, in the Southern Pacific of Mexico. Finally, we validated the model based on the results obtained, which indicate that the model is suitable for the generation of knowledge about the evolutionary process of tourism in CRC's, and therefore, it opens the possibility of being replicated in other communities with the same characteristics.