Ciudades patrimoniales, turismo cultural y perfiles de los visitantes: algunas consideraciones a partir del caso de estudio de Cuenca (Ecuador)

Abstract

Cultural tourism is one of the new forms of tourism growth has increased in recent years at international level. In Latin America, destinations of great importance, such as Machu Picchu, the sites of Aztec culture or Easter Island, have been consolidated in recent years, with the proliferation of emerging destinations, such as Cuenca (Ecuador). Thousands of tourists come every year to this city in search of their heritage, culture and gastronomy. However, no studies inquire such a fundamental issue as the different profiles of these visitors. This article, from the exploitation of the results of a survey of tourists, proposes a division between different types of tourists and analyzes its distinctive features. The results, which open new lines of research, show substantial differences between cultural tourists, circumstantial cultural tourists and not cultural tourists.