Turismo funerario como alternativa en el Museo Catedral Vieja y Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción de Cuenca-Ecuador

Abstract

The present research project entitled "Funerary Tourism as an alternative in the Old Cathedral Museum and Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Cuenca-Ecuador" aimed to analyze the feasibility of Funeral Tourism as a cultural alternative for the diversification of the tourist offer of the Historic Center of the city of Cuenca, Ecuador, specifically in the Old Cathedral Museum and Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. With this premise, and for the execution of this research topic, the study was developed through a mixed approach of exploratory scope where interviews were carried out in the Department of Tourism of the Archdiocese of Cuenca and surveys to three groups with different characteristics that were in the Historic Center of Cuenca and that helped to know the interest of each group both for the Cathedrals and for this new typology of tourism. In addition, the situation of the Department of Tourism and Culture of the Archdiocese of Cuenca before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic was put into perspective, knowing the opinion regarding opening its spaces for activities related to Funeral Tourism. Concluding that the implementation of this tourism alternative is viable for the diversification of the cultural tourism offer in the city of Cuenca, specifically in the Old Cathedral and the New Cathedral through the evaluation of the information in the cross-SWOT tool, thus leaving a precedent for future research related to Funeral Tourism in the city or region. Keywords: funerary tourism, culture, cathedrals