
e-ISSN: 2576-0971. April - June Vol. 7 - 2 - 2023 . http://journalbusinesses.com/index.php/revista
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INTRODUCTION
Tourism is an activity that is constantly changing and evolving, the study of the company Trekk
Soft cited in the "Global Trends in Consumer Technology and Tourism Report 2019" cited by.
(MINTUR, 2019)The most demanded experiences are, among others: unique experiences,
where tourists want to be the first to explore exotic destinations, local experiences and
destinations that reflect a strong cultural heritage. It should also be noted the tourism trends as
a result of Covid-19; as the same company made the "Report tourism trends 2020/2021. In this
report regarding tours, activities and attractions, the "return of local and national tourism before
international tourism" is demonstrated; as well as the new companies dedicated to the market
of tours, activities and attractions have focused on new categories such as escape rooms, guided
experiences, cultural experiences, wellness activities and culinary experiences. (Treek Soft;
Arival , 2021). In Ecuador, tourism activity is very important; according to a study conducted
by the MINTUR tourism revenue in 2018 was USD 2,398.1 billion, representing 5.51%
contribution to GDP (MINTUR, 2019). And in relation to the realization of tourism through the
perception of cultural heritage, the report of the profile of foreign tourists made by MINTUR
shows that most of the tourists visiting Ecuador with a percentage of 58.9% are mainly interested
in performing cultural tourism (MINTUR, 2018).
Sensory tourism is aimed at that tourist who expects to get to know new authentic destinations,
in addition to connecting in an affective way with them, their enjoyment is based on interactive
sensory learning (Landeta, Váquez, & Ullauri, 2018).. In addition to this (Sotomayor, 2012)
expresses in his work ", that the more senses are stimulated in the tourist when in contact with
the destination or attraction the memory will be greater as well as the tourist experience.
The International Festival of Living Arts of Loja is an event in which artistic and cultural events
of great importance for the cultural identity of both Ecuador and the world are presented. In
this space the maximum representations of culture and heritage of different nationalities and
places are shown; including the cultural heritage of our city. The FIAV represents a strong
influence for the development of tourism in our town, according to data that show that during
the 10 days of the 4th edition of the FIAV there was an income of more than 1'200,000 dollars
and 500,000 attendees. (MINTUR, 2020). The problems that are sought to be solved through
the development of an art and culture route for the FIAV of the City of Loja is the fact that
according to the last report of the 4th edition of the FIAV the artistic category with the highest
preference in both the IN and OFF Festival was the theater, activities such as dance and music
had low percentages ranging from 5.7% to 13.8%. (UTPL, 2019)This means that the cultural and
artistic heritage of the city of Loja is not being represented in its majority during the FIAV.
Some works related to the creation of cultural tourism routes have been taken as a basis, such
as the one by (Arredondo, Hernández, & Mendoza, 2013) and their work "Propuesta para el
diseño de rutas turísticas culturales: El caso del sur del estado de Jalisco, México" (Proposal for
the design of cultural tourism routes: The case of southern Jalisco, Mexico); work from which
the route design methodology was modified and adapted, in conjunction with the work of
(Villadiego, 2013). In addition, works related to routes and sensory experiences such as:
(Landeta, Váquez, & Ullauri, 2018) and their work: "Sensory tourism and agrotourism: An
approach to the rural world and its ancestral knowledge"; research work that was very useful
because it was developed in Ecuador, in the province of Santa Elena; in addition, international
works such as that of (Van Hoven, 2011) and his work "Multi-sensory tourism in the Great Bear
Rainforest"; among others.