About me

Karla Gabriela Ávila Badilla is a Costa Rican researcher, educator, and tourism professional with expertise in higher education, tourism innovation, and territorial development. Her work focuses on education, community engagement, tourism planning, accessibility, and the development of innovative approaches that connect tourism with local territories and people.

Karla Gabriela Ávila Badilla is a Costa Rican researcher, educator, and tourism professional with extensive experience in higher education, tourism development, community engagement, and territorial planning.
Throughout her career, she has worked in university teaching, research, academic coordination, curriculum development, and community-based projects. Her work has involved collaboration with students, local organizations, tourism entrepreneurs, communities, and public and private stakeholders, connecting academic knowledge with the needs and opportunities of different territories.
Her experience includes tourism planning, the development of tourism products and experiences, local capacity building, educational innovation, and initiatives aimed at strengthening communities through tourism. More recently, her interests have also expanded toward tourism innovation, accessibility, digital transformation, and inclusive approaches to tourism development.
Her work is characterized by an interdisciplinary and practical approach that connects education, tourism, people, and territories, with the goal of contributing to more inclusive, innovative, and resilient forms of local development.

Degrees:

2023
Doctorate
Social and Economic Sciences
2013
Master
Social and Economic Sciences

Publications resulting from Research
Quirós Arias, L., Alvarado Sánchez, M. & Ávila Badilla, K. G. (2025). Turismo y agricultura familiar: perspectivas para el espacio rural. En G. J. Marafon (Ed.), Dinamica do espaço rural [Capítulo de libro en prensa]. Editora Consequencia. https://www.consequenciaeditora.net.br/
Ávila Badilla, K. G., & Alvarado Sánchez, M. (2025). Potencial Turístico de Nandayure: Construcción Participativa de Productos con Identidad Territorial. Ciencia Latina Revista Científica Multidisciplinar, 9(6), 729-738. https://doi.org/10.37811/cl_rcm.v9i6.20895
Ávila Badilla , K. G., & Hernández Ulate, A. (2023). Actividades lúdicas en la
educación superior: un estudio de caso de un curso de estudios generales
el campus Liberia, Universidad Nacional. Ciencia Latina Revista Cientíca
Multidisciplinar, 7(3), 7937-7949. https://doi.org/10.37811/cl_rcm.v7i3.6774
Ávila Badilla, K. G. (2017). Turismo rural comunitario: Una puerta al desarrollo comunitario en Guanacaste casos de estudio Corral de Piedra de Nicoya y Hojancha. En M. Nel-lo Andreu, C. Morera Beita, A. Font Barnet, & J. Andreu Bertran (Eds.), III Congreso COODTUR: Turismo para el desarrollo local y la conservación (pp. 104-111). Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica; Universitat Rovira i Virgili. https://www.coodtur.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Libro-de-actas-III-Congreso.pdf