Acandi is a community on the Caribbean Coast of Colombia. Until a few years ago its inhabitants depended only on an autosufficient rural economy, based on fishing and agriculture. Year after year they were visited by a specie in danger of extinction: The biggest sea turtle (Dermochelys Conacea), also know popularly as the Canaa turtle. They cohabited with these animals, without giving them much importance. Except for their eggs, which served the people as alimentary source. Eight years ago, the community, with the accompaniment of the ngo “Fundacion Darien” (among others), became conscious of the need to conserve the specie. In addition, the local people became interested in combining or replacing their economic activities with the tourism activity, taking advantage of the arrival to this region of tourists with an interest in the turtles.This paper describes the role various organizations play in the development of tourism, as well governmental as nongovernmental organizations. Furthermore, it describes the expectations and the participation of the local population in this process, and the impacts it brought along in the conservation of the turtle, which was taking place. This paper is a synthesis of an investigation, realized as a thesis to obtain the title of “Administration of Tourism Business”.