Administrative capacity of local government and tourism promotion as a source of economic development

Abstract

Tourism as an economic activity in Mexico has a significant share in the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), reaching 8.6% in 2023 and generating 2.6 million jobs, mainly in accommodation services, passenger transportation and restaurant services (INEGI, 2024). In the federal entities, it is a governmental responsibility to design and implement public policies that promote economic development, for which they must have the administrative capacity to solve any type of problem that might arise (Rosas, 2019). According to (Zabala and Baglioni, 2024), local and municipal governments face a series of responsibilities of the federal sphere and within its jurisdictional competence, as well as a low inter-jurisdictional coordination. Tabasco has an economy linked to oil, a non-renewable resource, so it becomes imperative to take advantage of its natural tourist attractions in order to diversify its economic activities. With this purpose in mind, the objective of this paper is to describe and analyzes the administrative capabilities of local governments aimed at fostering tourism in the state, using a qualitative methodology based on data sources from websites and the transparency system of the responsible agencies related to public recognition, competent authority, coordination and collaboration mechanisms and specific financial resources allocated. The results demonstrate the urgent need to strengthen administrative capacity regarding staff specialisation in resource management and generation of channels for collaboration, primarily in the transition from the Secretariat to the Undersecretary.