Design of a tourist route as a contribution to the local development of the Montecristi canton. Playa San José – Montecristi - La Pila route

Abstract

The objective of this article is to highlight and publicize tourist spots that favor the Canton of Montecristi and its surrounding sectors, through a route that enhances various tourist, gastronomic and cultural attractions. The methodology used is a qualitative and quantitative approach, a descriptive study that allows knowing the characteristics of the cultural attractions that the study area has to facilitate the design of the tourist route. As a result, it was obtained that the tourist route has San Jose beach as its main natural attraction, having a large territorial extension and several fables, which further fuel the attraction to this tourist resort of Montecristi, known as “San José” beach. One of its characteristics is the mangrove swamp and an extensive beach. The next tourist attraction is the “La Pila” Historical and Craft Museum, a project that seeks to keep the local memories of this town alive, through the conservation and dissemination of the cultural heritage and the crafts that are made in said community, where pre-Hispanic figures are found that represent settlements of our ancestors.  As a third tourist attraction, which starts from history and tradition. Its greatest historical figure is General Eloy Alfaro Delgado, one of the country's greatest revolutionaries, finding his remains that rest in the Alfaro City museum, located at the top of the Montecristi hill, and in turn within the headland where We can find a series of crafts made from toquilla straw and other materials.

Keywords: Heritage, culture, tourist route, tourist attractions.