Tou Island is a project based on collaborative tourism, adventure tourism and low impact Eco Tourism. It is presented as an alternative of sustainable development for the island of Toas and Almirante Padilla Municipality of Zulia State, Venezuela.

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Tou Island is the sustainable tourism concept developed by our team. Which is derived from the ANU ancestral language. This is what the aborigines called the Island of Toas in pre-Columbian times. ¨TOU¨ means high gaze, since this location represents the highest observation point in the bar of Lake Maracaibo and the Gulf of Venezuela.

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Currently this municipality is sustained by the income generated by mining activity (exploitation of limestone) natural resource exhausted by 80%. Its other source of income are the resources granted by the central government.

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60% of the population of this municipality, are employees dependent on the municipality, which at the moment is in fiscal deficit. Leaving no income to a large number of families.

 

This situation has generated a number of social problems, the increase in unemployment and crime rates.

 

The remaining 40% of the population lives from fishing, commerce, and irregular activities.

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In this scenario, the exploitation of the landscape resources and the topographical advantages offered by the municipality to generate a low impact tourism oriented towards the experience and experience of the local culture.

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For this we have developed a concept that was evaluated in 2017 by a multidisciplinary panel of experts in sustainable development. Being recognized among the 500 best initiatives in 25 countries and 519 cities by the Latin America Green Awards.

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Our goal is to generate an alternative income through collaborative tourism and adventure tourism as a mechanism to earn income in the local population. At the same time attract qualified international volunteers as doctors, engineers, architects, adventurous teachers who enjoy our municipality and at the same time provide different services necessary for the development of this community with a high degree of vulnerability.

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