Abstract

NARANJO LLUPART, María Rosa. COVID-19, Driver of Changes in Tourism Demand in Ecuador. Estudios del Desarrollo Social [online]. 2022, vol.10, n.3  Epub Dec 01, 2022. ISSN 2308-0132.

Ecuador is a tourist destination for the American continent with a predominance of exuberant landscapes and a seductive historical and cultural richness. The direct incidence of COVID-19 has transformed the usual tourist patterns and favoured the identification of new leisure possibilities in rural areas. The aim of the article is to assess the changes in tourism demand in Ecuador and the potential of rural tourism for the revival of the sector. Theoretical, empirical and statistical methods were applied, including analytical-synthetic, hypothetical-deductive and documentary review, in support of the search for information and its systematisation, while descriptive statistics were used to consolidate graphs and trends that reinforce the scientific basis of the research. This it possible to confirm that rural tourism is a high-impact niche market for diversifying the Ecuadorian economy, re-establishing tourist flows and contributing to the development and preservation of indigenous communities and their culture, as it guarantees the protection of existing ecosystems and their value as an attraction.

Keywords : touristic offer; slowdown in tourism; tourism recovery; post-pandemic tourism; rural tourism.

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