What constitutes a local cluster - a field study of Santa Catalina, Panama

Abstract: Several academics, geographical economists and policy makers have sought to investigate the interplay between business clusters and tourism development. This dynamic is significant in emerging nations and less developed rural areas where tourism emergence may affect economic growth, society and environment. While previous studies tend to investigate well established tourism destinations, few have targeted less established destinations investigating the existence of a cluster and its dynamics. The local tourism cluster of Santa Catalina is characterized by a competitive advantage arising from the interplay between shared entrepreneurial goals and values, ease of doing business and the entrepreneurs’ utilization of Coiba National Park. Moreover, a “locational development entrepreneur” and foreign entrepreneurs’ function as global pipelines connecting the local buzz of Santa Catalina to actors outside of the cluster.