Abstract

LARRIVA AMPUERO, Gabriela; HINOJOSA MONCAYO, Juan Pablo  and  GUTIERREZ NORTHIA, Aline. Good practices in ecotourism. Case study: province of Guayas, Ecuador. Universidad y Sociedad [online]. 2018, vol.10, n.1, pp. 150-155.  Epub Mar 02, 2018. ISSN 2218-3620.

Due to the nature and philosophy of ecotourism, it is an activity that seeks a balance between the interaction of people with natural spaces, and the preservation of the resources that inhabit those spaces. Ecuadorian law establishes the touristic use of protected areas in agreement with their environmental management plans. In the previous years public institutions have worked in the promotion of these natural areas and have published a methodology to manage them in a sustainable way. Guayas province has been used as a case study in order to diagnose the current fulfillment of the proposed criteria, as well as the requirements and expectations of ecotourist. Has been concluded that the province has a variety of products which achieve those expectations and are developed in destinations with an important accomplishment of the sustainable management criteria.

Keywords : Ecotourism; diagnosis; good practices; sustainability; trekking; accessibility; management; product.