Components of the Tourist System in Micro, Small and Medium Tourist Companies of the Department of Atlántico, Colombia

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the components of the tourism system in tourist MSMEs of the Department of Atlántico, Colombia, stressing that not all the potential in tourism is focused on Barranquilla. Therefore, alternatives to promote tourism according to its components in other municipalities of the Department of Atlántico are sought. The methodology consists of a descriptive, non-experimental, and field study. The popu-lation was of 144 MSMEs managers that provide tourist services, to which the STATS® program was applied to select the sample, resulting in a final group of 105 managers. The results indicate that the tourist offer consists of goods translated into products, as well as market services for consumers; it provides economic benefits within the framework of sustainability, impacting indicators such gross domestic product or employa-bility, among many others. In conclusion, the components of the tourism sector are exposed (tourism supply, infrastructure elements, superstructure and tourism demand) which are part of the knowledge that the service providers who carry out their organizational work within the so-called micro, small and medium enterprises have about the tourism system.