Intangible heritage as a tourist resource: it is possible a sustainable tourism model? Proposals for the mennonite colony "La Nueva Esperanza".

Cultural tourism is a complex phenomenon that goes beyond simple economic transaction. Especially when the "attractive" exceeds the precise localization of a monument or a sanctuary and involves a community. This is the case of the Mennonite settlement "The New Hope" in Guatrache, province of La Pampa, Argentina. Their strict religious doctrine, based on early Christianity, manifests it self in unique cultural practices that attract the interest of visitors, who arrive at the settlement interested on "knowledge". The various economic crises, have led some Mennonite to participate in tourist circuits with the goal of helping their poor family economies. However, the analysis makes clear that the type of current tourism exploitation, places the Mennonite community in a situation marked by the vulnerability to develop their activities, requiring the implementation of short-term measures for their protection. Thus, after a thorough desk and empirical research, a series of proposals are developed intended to contribute to a future tourism plan for the development of "The New Hope" which is to be designed by the actors involved.