Turismo Comunitario Alternativa Para Lograr Emprendimientos Participativos Estudio De Caso: Determinación Comercial De Un Producto Turístico En El Cantón Suscal, Provincia Del Cañar Provincia De Cañar - Ecuador

Abstract

This research involved during a first phase a market study of the implementation of a tourist package in the Suscal County, province of Cañar, Ecuador, followed by a second phase, a Comprehensive Feasibility Study of the package. Using bibliographic research and a field tour, we described the package’s commercial potential, technical, environmental, social, administrative, legal, economic, financial aspects. The study of tourism potential in the area identified the richness of an intangible cultural heritage, the existence of an ancestral collective memory alive in every community, and natural attractions of level I and II. The market study identified acceptance of the tourism package by 84% of domestic tourists and interest among 67% of foreign tourists, whose service whose preferences are: accommodation, food, cultural experience, transportation and information. Depending on the tourist profile, we will define and plan the technical design of tourism infrastructure and will conduct feasibility studies on legal, environmental and economic-financial aspects that will appear in a second phase of the project. Despite its great potential, tourism in the province of Cañar has not achieved an optimal level, as reflected in the minimal fraction of GDP in cultural tourism, which in 2011 was 0.26% (MCPEC, 2011:22), much lower than the national level. In Suscal County, this activity currently generates no income, but interest is recently being generated, while this study illustrates the potential of cultural tourism.