Regenerative tourism

Starlight Iberá: Promoting astrotourism and local economic development

Visit the project

Area

Regenerative tourism

Client

AECID

Year

2021 - 2023

Impact

Turn the starry sky into an opportunity to undertake

Can astrotourism create new economic and cultural opportunities for local communities?

We launched the Starlight Iberá project, funded by AECID, in the Iberá National Park (Corrientes region, Argentina) in partnership with the Starlight Foundation, Global CAD, and the Yetapá Foundation, with the aim of making the destination a benchmark for astrotourism.

Among the activities carried out, the Iberá Emprende process took place to mobilize the local entrepreneurial ecosystem and thus enhance local development and a valuable natural resource such as the starry Corrientes sky.

A total of 56 monitors from 10 Corrientes towns received their corresponding Starlight certifications, who will promote the culture of Iberá with stories from the Sky, based on the Guarani worldview. In this way, they will be able to start marketing this product that is incorporated into the tourist offer of Corrientes.

Supporting the development of local communities, seeking to create an innovative tourist and cultural experience, mobilizing the local entrepreneurial ecosystem, protecting and certifying a natural resource as valuable as the starry sky of Iberá has been the key to the project.

Can astrotourism create new economic and cultural opportunities for local communities?

Our role

Final report and research
Organization and production of events
Implementation of the Pentagrowth CARE methodology for the development of destinations
Citizen participation and co-creative processes
Project replicability guide
Development of the Iberá Emprende model to enhance local social and economic development

Team

Javi is recognized as one of the most innovative strategists and thinkers in open and contributory business models, the collaborative economy, institutional and civic innovation, and network society. At Ideas for Change, he inspires the team to achieve excellence by blending analytical rigor with strategic creativity.

javicreus@ideasforchange.com

Javi Creus

Founder and CEO

A consultant with over 12 years of experience, he has collaborated with organizations such as Adigital and Airbnb. He is the author of the book From Hospitium to Tourism 4.0 and multiple academic publications. A guest lecturer in several innovation master's programs, he holds a degree in Tourism, a Master’s in Business Management, a Master’s in Tourism Planning, and is a PhD candidate in Tourism.

franciscorodriguez@ideasforchange.com