Characterization of Business Capabilities: Results of theSWOTAnalysis of Green

The development of this research seeks to strengthen green tourism in the municipality of Ibagué-Tolima, to impact the economy of small productive units in the areas of influence of these places and mitigate the negative impact of unemployment in the municipality, since in recent years the department of Tolima has been among the highest in the country with an indicator of 14%, although it is below the department of Tolima which is 15.7%, it is still above the national average which is 12.7% (DANE, 2024) and consequently the municipality of Ibagué.

This research has social, disciplinary, and institutional relevance, as it aims to contribute to the mission of the Tolima Department's tourism directorate, which is to promote and foster tourism development by carrying out planning, training, monitoring, and tourism protection actions, as well as coordinating the participation of private initiatives and various levels of government to optimize the quality of services and increase tourist traffic to the department (Government Portal 2022); this product is linked to the research line of sustainable development and competitiveness of the ECACEN school.

This paper presents the characterization and a SWOT analysis of the sample of productive units in the rural sector of the city of Ibagué, applying descriptive research through a structured instrument that was applied to the productive units of the community of Ibagué Tolima, which allowed the identification of business capacities to be strengthened, which contribute to the sustainability of the green or nature tourism providers in the municipality; revealing deficits in skills in strategic planning, financial management, use of brand positioning tools and digital marketing in their daily work.

Furthermore, the research reveals a finding that limits the entrepreneurial capabilities of these production units, identifying structural gaps in territorial integration. This is evidenced by the absence of collaborative networks and comprehensive digital ecosystems that would synchronize them as a competitive green tourism community. Thanks to this finding, the strategies resulting from this research aim to strengthen not only the production units themselves, but also to generate strategic integration into sustainable value chains and the implementation and use of digital platforms and/or channels that facilitate visibility, positioning, and cooperation among local actors. This will foster a sectoral identity within green tourism, resulting in economic growth for the community and empowering the territory, ultimately leading to a better scenario of sustainable development for all actors involved in these production units and those who benefit directly and indirectly.