Abstract
Changes occurring in tourism activity allow the creation of new tourism products. Increasingly, tourists choose to move away from their place of residence to gain new experiences related to nature and culture. The objective of this research is to design a tourist route in the parish of Seis de Julio de Cuellaje, located in Cotacachi, Ecuador. The study requires identifying supply, demand, and designing the route. The research adopts a mixed approach. For the inventory, the methodology for the Ranking of Attractions and Generation of Tourism Spaces from the Ecuadorian Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR, 2018) was used. Sociodemographic characteristics, travel organization, and motivations were identified through surveys applied to visitors at the main tourist attractions in the study area. The route was designed following the MINTUR Manual for the Development of Routes and Itineraries. The results show that the parish mainly has attractions of hierarchy I and II. Visitors arriving in the area seek activities in contact with nature. Based on the collected data, the route called “Parajes del Toisán” was structured, including activities such as hiking, flora and fauna observation, tubing, and waterfall rappelling. It is expected that this tourist route will become an economic driver for the parish, contributing to the improvement of the population’s living conditions.
