https://doi.org/10.37955/cs.v6i3.275
Received: December 03, 2021 / Approved: January 11, 2022 Pages: 180-210
eISSN: 2600-5743
Tourist Profile in the Urban Parish
of Zaruma, Magical Town of
Ecuador
Perfil del Turista en la Parroquia Urbana Zaruma, Pueblo
Mágico del Ecuador
Gladys Alexandra Suárez Jaramillo
National University of Loja
gladys.suarez@unl.edu.ec
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0558-0863
Yomara Lissbeth Zeas Macas
National University of Loja
yomara.zeas@unl.edu.ec
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2327-7099
Yesenia Alexandra Briceño Luzuriaga
National University of Loja
yesenia.briceno@unl.edu.ec
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1637-4491
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this research was to determine the profile of the
tourist in the urban parish of Zaruma, in order to know their
behavior and motivations. At the same time, it aims to contribute to
the planning and development of a tourism offer that meets the
expectations and interests of national and international tourists
visiting the locality. However, the problem revolves around the lack
of knowledge of the current situation of tourism in the area; in
addition, there is a lack of information on the tourist profile, which
leads to a lack of knowledge about their behavior and motivations for
tourism in the parish; added to this, the scarce supply of new tourism
products created according to the characteristics of the tourist to
improve the supply of the destination. Therefore, in the first objective,
the methodology of Carla Ricaurte's Tourism Diagnosis of
Communities was used, and for the survey of tourist attractions the
Centro Sur Vol. 6 No. 4- October - December – Revista Centro Sur - eISSN: 2600-5743
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methodology of the Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR) was used. As a
result, information was obtained from the tourism system, updating
the inventory of 17 attractions, 82% of which corresponds to
hierarchy III and the remaining 18% to hierarchy II.
SUMMARY
La presente investigación tuvo como finalidad determinar el perfil del
turista en la parroquia urbana de Zaruma, con el fin de conocer su
comportamiento y motivaciones. Al mismo tiempo, pretende
contribuir a la planificación y desarrollo de una oferta turística que
satisfaga las expectativas e intereses de los turistas nacionales e
internacionales que visitan la localidad. Sin embargo, el problema
gira en torno al desconocimiento de la situación actual del turismo en la
zona; además, existe falta de información sobre el perfil del turista, lo
que conlleva a un desconocimiento sobre su comportamiento y
motivaciones para hacer turismo en la parroquia; sumado a esto, la escasa
oferta de nuevos productos turísticos creados de acuerdo a las
características del turista para mejorar la oferta del destino. Por lo tanto,
en el primer objetivo se utilizó la metodología del Diagnóstico
Turístico de Comunidades de Carla Ricaurte, y para la encuesta de
atractivos turísticos se utilizó la metodología del Ministerio de
Turismo (MINTUR). Como resultado se obtuvo información del
sistema turístico, actualizándose el inventario de 17 atractivos, de los
cuales el 82% corresponde a la jerarquía III y el 18% restante a la
jerarquía II.
Keywords / Keywords
Tourism diagnosis, motivations, tourist profile, tourism product.
diagnóstico turístico, motivaciones, perfil del turista, producto
turístico.
Introduction
Globally, tourism provides livelihoods for millions of people and
allows billions to appreciate their own and other cultures as well as
nature. It represents more than 20% of the gross domestic product
(GDP) of some countries and, in general, is the third most important
sector of the world economy in terms of exports. (World Tourism
Organization [UNWTO], 2020, p. 2) In fact, tourism in our country
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stands out for being the third source of non-oil income, after bananas
and shrimp, which evidences the relevance of the sector for the
Ecuadorian economy. Additionally, it is estimated that the sector
contributes annually with about 3% of the total net taxes of the
national economy (Ministry of Tourism of Ecuador [MINTUR], 2019,
p. 3).
Previous studies such as Kotler's (as cited in González, 2010) state
that tourism markets are composed of consumers, who differ in one
or more ways. They may differ in terms of their desires, their
resources, their locations, their distinctive attitudes and their travel
practices, due to which it can be determined that each one presents
distinct profiles. The tourism profile refers to the characterization of
a tourism destination. The characterization is often based on
socioeconomic and demographic variables of tourists. The profile allows
knowing the tastes, preferences, expectations and needs of tourists in
order to improve the management of tourism companies and destinations.
(Pat and Calderón, 2012, p. 50) Analyzing the profile of the tourist visiting
a specific place has become necessary to evolve within the sector, since it
allows reaching a strong and competitive position in the market by
launching new tourism products for specialized segments. (Moreno,
2020, p. 2).
The province of El Oro stands out for being a multiregional province,
since within its territory it has three well-defined regions, the Coast,
Highlands and Islands: Coast, Highlands and Insular. In this same
line, Lazo, Bastidas, Aguilar and Calle (2017) point out that "the
province has a privileged geography ranging from the paramo to the
mangrove, with exceptional natural landscapes natural resources
become the main attraction for anyone who visits it". The area of
study of the research is the city of Zaruma, canton of the same name
in the Province of El Oro; its heritage, cultural and natural
characteristics, typical gastronomy, diversity of flora and fauna,
natural landscapes, hospitality of its people with tourists and other
qualities make it a city with high tourism potential. Of the 14 cantons
that make up the province, only Zaruma and Arenillas have been
declared "Cultural Heritage Cities of Ecuador". Calle and Sánchez
(2020) state that "Zaruma is one of the main options to be
considered by national and foreign visitors, when practicing cultural
and heritage tourism in the province" (p. 292). However, despite the
fact that the urban parish in question has a considerable tourist
demand attracted by its heritage assets and cultural tourism, there is
a lack of information on the profile of the tourists who visit it. In fact,
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Lapo and Quituisaca (2019) indicate that in "the urban parish of
Zaruma only manages a basic physical conventional registry, that is,
no digital tool is used that allows for the possession of statistical data
which has caused a lack of real statistical information on visitors" (p.
175). Therefore, it has been considered convenient to carry out this
research.
The general research question for this study was: "What is the profile
of the tourist that visits the urban parish of the Zaruma canton?"; in
addition, three specific objectives were established that will help
answer the researched problem: "Diagnose the current tourism
situation of the urban parish of Zaruma", "Define the tourist profile
and motivations for visiting the urban parish of the Zaruma canton"
and "Propose a tourism product based on the study of the demand".
Through the development of the proposed objectives, the current
situation of the six elements that make up the tourism system
corresponding to governance, demand, host community, attractions,
supply of services and infrastructure was determined; then based on the
information collected, it was possible to structure the instrument in a
better way to measure the profile of tourists and their motivations, so
that the data on which the survey instrument was structured were:
socio-demographic profile of the tourist, structure of consumption of
tourism goods and services, travel organization and motivational
variables. Subsequently, a market segmentation was carried out
where, analyzing the characteristics, needs and reasons for visiting
the identified market, the proposal of a tourist route called
"Sarahuma" was elaborated with a focus on a cultural product line,
which has been included in a tourist package to be marketed.
It is important to mention that this research will significantly help
the local government, the territory and even private enterprise to
know who visits the urban area of Zaruma, as well as who might be
interested in visiting it, which is a key element for planning and
developing a tourism offer that meets the expectations and interests
of national and international tourists who visit the town. At the same
time, it will serve for a better analysis from the academy, since such a
study would contribute to the image of the city as a cultural and
heritage tourist destination. Lastly, this research leaves future lines of
research proposed and constitutes a precedent for future studies to
be carried out in the area or in other sectors.
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Materials and Methods
Theoretical methods of scientific research were used, such as analysis
and synthesis of bibliographic material corresponding to databases
such as: Google Scholar, Dialnet, Redalyc, Scielo, etc; undergraduate
theses; books and digital manuals; physical and digital
documentation of the Unit of Tourism Promotion and Diffusion of
the Municipal Government of Zaruma.
For the first objective, we used the Community Tourism Diagnosis
Form used by Carla Ricaurte Quijano (2009) in her Manual for Local
Tourism Diagnosis, which made it possible to gather relevant
information on four of the elements of the tourism system: tourism
plant, infrastructure, governance and host community. In addition, it
was considered advisable to update the inventory of attractions in the
urban parish of Zaruma using the Ministry of Tourism's 2018 tourist
attraction survey form.
In the second objective, the application of an online survey aimed at
tourists over 18 years old who have visited Zaruma during the last 3
years was carried out. To obtain the size of the population, the
existing records in the Tourism Promotion and Diffusion Unit were
taken into account, referring to the number of tourists who visited
the urban parish Zaruma between 2018 and 2019, from which a
projection of tourists for the year 2022 was obtained.
The projection for the year 2022 was 6,038 tourists. Based on this
data, the finite population formula was used, where the sample size
was 261 validated questionnaires.
On the other hand, the survey was formulated based on the
methodology used by the Centro de Estudios Superiores en Turismo
(CESTUR), which proposes several items for the study of tourist
profile and satisfaction; therefore, a questionnaire of 24 questions
was designed and modified according to the research to be developed.
Of these, 8 were based on the study of the sociodemographic profile,
7 on the study of the structure of consumption of tourist goods and
services, and 9 on the study of trip organization and motivational
variables. Microsoft Excel was used for the tabulation and analysis of
the data because it is much easier, takes less time and is more
efficient.
In the last objective, a market segmentation was elaborated to
generate the proposal of a tourism product based on the study of the
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demand. The intention was to address elements or tourist facilities,
as part of the components that allow the generation and constitution
of the tourist product, in order to ensure that the tourist's stay has
the expected quality and is as pleasant as possible.
Among the techniques used are:
Direct observation, which provided evidence of the current state of
the tourist attractions that were part of the inventory update.
Interviews with key informants from the tourism sector in the city of
Zaruma, such as tourism service providers, managers of some tourist
attractions, and personnel from the Department of Socioeconomic
Development and Tourism of the GAD Municipal de Zaruma,
provided a context for the characterization of demand, and the surveys
made it possible to systematize information on the tourist profile in a
qualitative and quantitative manner.
Results
The parish under study has 2 hotels, 1 inn and 4 hostels. There are a
total of 7 lodging establishments with 129 rooms and 255 beds
available. Similarly, there are 23 restaurants, 2 cafeterias, 5 soda
fountains and 6 bars. Having in total 36 food and beverage
establishments with 278 tables and 1112 available seats. On the other
hand, during 2019, 13 new establishments were registered, whose
owners in that period were processing the respective permits in
entities such as the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of
Tourism.
The area also has the INXS Punto Caliente and Barón de la Cerveza
nightclubs; the Tierra Linda mi Zaruma spa; Fidel Eventos and Villa
Urcu reception and banquet halls. The tour operator "Oro Adventure
Tour Operator" is available for the operation and intermediation
service. At the same time, there are only two local guides in the city
who are registered in the National Tourist Guide Registry of
MINTUR.
The basic infrastructure of the study area in terms of transportation,
accessibility, communications, and energy is considered a strength;
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however, there is a weakness in the potable water service, which
directly affects the community and tourism service providers.
Governance in the study area is headed by the Municipal
Decentralized Autonomous Government of Zaruma, an authority that,
through the Tourism Promotion and Dissemination Unit, is
responsible for directing the canton's tourism activity. In addition, to
ensure the tourism development of the beautiful Sultana of El Oro,
the local authority has been working together with the National
Government through the Ministry of Tourism; likewise, with the
Prefecture of El Oro and the Chamber of Tourism at both the local
and provincial levels.
The Municipal GAD has the Territorial Tourism Development Plan
prepared in 2018, additionally there are regulations between MINTUR
and GAD Municipal de Zaruma that are applied for the development of
tourism activity throughout the canton such as:
Ordinance regulating tourist establishments: LUAF:
Single Annual Operating License.
Ordinance that regulates tourism activities in the Zaruma
canton.
Ordinance for the Promotion, Development and Development
of Tourism in the Zaruma Canton.
Ordinance that regulates the Cantonal Tourism Council of the
canton.
Those local, national and international institutions from which the
community receives or has received support for its tourism
development and growth include:
Zaruma Chamber of Tourism
El Oro Chamber of Tourism
Quito Tourism
Ministry of Tourism
National Institute of Cultural Heritage, INPC
Government of Taxco de Alarcón of the State of Guerrero,
Mexico
According to information provided by the Department of Planning
and Land Management, during the administration of Jhansy López
Jumbo, current mayor of the Zaruma canton, the following
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development plans have been prepared for the benefit of the
community:
Development and Territorial Planning Plan, year 2015
Development and Territorial Planning Plan, year 2018
Development and Land Management Plan, year 2020 - 2030
(Phase III: Proposal)
Sustainable Urban Plan of Zaruma
Mobility Plan
Historic Center Management Plan
Host community
According to INEC, in the 2010 Population and Housing Census, the
main economic activities of the canton are agriculture and livestock,
followed in order of importance by mining and quarrying activities.
Other activities that boost the canton's economic activity are wholesale
and retail trade, followed by education, manufacturing (the most relevant
activities are the gold jewelry stores in the canton) and public
administration.
The GAD Municipal de Zaruma (2018) mentions that the city has
important tourism infrastructure; for this reason, this sector benefits
301 people with jobs. However, according to the 2010 Population and
Housing Census by EAP occupation in accommodation and food
service activities employ 172 people; and arts, entertainment and
recreation to 22 people.
The tourism skills found in the community are related to cooking,
since the area has a rich and typical gastronomy. For example, the
tigrillo zarumeño has become an iconic gastronomic dish in the city
of Zaruma, which is why all the local restaurants offer it on their daily
menu. There are also two local guides certified by MINTUR who
provide guiding services. Finally, depending on the population's level
of education, it is possible that they have skills such as English
language skills and knowledge of accounting and administration.
The declarations that the city of Zaruma has as a City of Tourist
Interest, Cultural Heritage and Magical Town of Ecuador, cause the
community and especially the owners of tourist service
establishments to consider tourism as an important instrument for
the socioeconomic development of the city.
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Finally, it is pointed out that there is little citizen participation and
involvement in the search for solutions to social, cultural, economic
and political problems of the canton by local organizations and
institutions.
For the identification of potential natural and cultural tourist
attractions, Mgs. Lucy Matamoros, technician of the Tourism
Promotion and Dissemination Unit, was asked which of the 17 tourist
attractions inventoried in - situ with the respective inventory sheets
according to the format granted by the MINTUR year 2018, would be
of interest to the GAD Municipal de Zaruma having as a result the
following hierarchical ranking sheet:
Table 1. Ranking card of natural and cultural tourist attractions.
N°
Category
Type
Subtype
Location
Hierarch
y
1
Cultural
Manifestati
on
Cultural
and
Popular
Heritage
Gastronomy
City of Zaruma
within the
colonial city
III
Cultural
Manifestati
on
Cultural
and
Popular
Heritage
Gastronomy
City of Zaruma
within the
colonial city
III
Cultural
Manifestati
on
Cultural
and
Popular
Heritage
Religious
Festivals,
Traditions and
Beliefs
Popular
City of Zaruma
from the
Sanctuary of
the Virgen del
Carmen to the
Cerro El
Calvario (El
Calvario Hill)
III
Cultural
Manifestati
Cultural
and
Religious
Festivals,
City of Zaruma,
the tour starts at
III
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on
Popular
Heritage
Traditions and
Beliefs
Popular
the Sanctuary
and goes
through the
main streets of
the city.
5
Cultural
Manifestati
on
Technical
and
Scientific
Achievem
ents
Industrial
Centers
Sector "El
Sexmo" of the
city of Zaruma
III
Cultural
Manifestati
on
Architectu
re
Cultural
Infrastructure
GAD
Municipal de
Zaruma, at 9 de
Octubre Street
and Plaza de la
Independencia.
III
Cultural
Manifestati
on
Architectu
re
Historical /
Vernacular
Next to
Independence
Square
III
Cultural
Manifestati
on
Architectu
re
Historical /
Vernacular
San Francisco
neighborhood
in the city of
Zaruma
III
Cultural
Manifestati
on
Architectu
re
Historical
Area
It is distributed
along Sucre,
Bolivar, 10 de
Agosto and 9
de Octubre
streets.
III
Cultural
Manifestati
on
Architectu
re
Public Space
Historical
Center, on
Rocafuerte
street
III
Cultural
Manifestati
on
Architectu
re
Public Space
Sector of the
Municipal
Coliseum,
specifically on
Pichincha
Street via
Salvias.
II
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Natural
Attractions
Mountain
s
Low
Mountain
Located 1
kilometer
northeast of the
city of Zaruma.
II
Source: Own elaboration.
Tourist profile
The study presents the analysis of the results of data obtained from
261 sample elements applied through an online survey, by means of
Google forms to those people who have visited the urban parish of
Zaruma canton during the last 3 years. Since the increase in
coronavirus and omicron infections, in addition to the situation of
the sinkhole caused in the central area of the canton by illegal mining,
have caused an even greater decrease in tourist visits to the city. The
data on which the survey instrument was structured were:
sociodemographic profile of the tourist, structure of consumption of
tourist goods and services, travel organization and motivational variables.
The results are shown below:
Socio-demographic profile
Tourists visiting the urban parish of Zaruma, regardless of whether
they are nationals or foreigners, are mostly male, relatively young,
mainly traveling with children, between the ages of 25 and 44, with a
predominantly single marital status. They come mainly from
provinces such as Guayas, El Oro and Pichincha, have mostly higher
university education, their most common current occupation is
employee of a private company and have a monthly income ranging
from $601 to $1,400.
Consumption of tourism goods and services
Within the essential components, the average daily tourist
expenditure is between $21 to $40, the breakdown of their budget is
mostly for food and beverages, followed by the lodging service whose
predominant form of payment is in cash. The most common means of
transportation used to travel to the urban parish of Zaruma is their
own vehicle; they prefer to stay in hotels. At the same time, the type
of food and beverage establishment preferred by tourists during their
visit are restaurants, since, within the urban parish of Zaruma,
according to the Tourism Plant Registry of MINTUR, 23 restaurants
are registered as tourist services. On the other hand, tourists prefer to
visit the different natural and cultural attractions on their own, since
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they do not hire any tourist services such as local guides or tours
from any travel company. The main reason for the lack of tourist
services in the destination is that when tourists need information,
they go to the Tourism Promotion and Dissemination Unit of the
Municipal Government of Zaruma, where they are given a tourist
brochure about the city.
Travel organization and motivational variables
The frequency with which tourists visit the urban parish of Zaruma is
mostly monthly, although there is a very similar percentage that visits
every six months and on national holidays; they also prefer to travel
in the company of their family; the average length of stay in the city is
2 to 3 nights and when organizing their trip they do not make any
reservations. Regarding the relevant sources of information used to plan
their visit, the internet is the most important, followed by social
networks and advice from their "family and friends". As for the aspects
that play an important role in the choice of Zaruma as their tourist
destination are the interesting history, typical gastronomy (tigrillo and
Zaruma coffee), variety of attractions and tourist activities, pleasant
climate and safe city.
The main reasons for visiting are related to the cultural tourism
offered by the city, and visitors are also attracted by the declarations
that the destination has as a city of tourist interest, cultural heritage
and magical town of Ecuador.
At the same time, the tourist attractions for which he is very
interested are the historical center, typical gastronomy, "El Sexmo"
mine, Zaruma Urcu Hill, Batea Rumi Viewpoint (Municipal
swimming pool), El Calvario Hill, Sanctuary of the Virgen del Carmen,
Selva Indígena Museum, Holy Week Festival in "El Calvario" Hill and
San Francisco Church.
Finally, the data indicate that tourists consider 2 days to be the
appropriate length of time for a tour in the urban parish of Zaruma,
where the proposed tourism products should focus on the cultural
tourism offered by the city.
Market segmentation for the route
The most predominant age group is 25 to 44 years old with 63%,
which corresponds to the number of 164 respondents, therefore, this
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segment has been identified as the target market for the tourist
product offer in the urban parish of Zaruma.
The new product to be offered is a tourist route that starts at the
Plaza de la Independencia and ends at the Batea Rumi viewpoint
(Municipal Swimming Pool). The itinerary lasts 2 days and 1 night
and includes transportation (internal), lodging, food and guide
services. The name "Sarahuma" Tourist Route is due to the fact that
the toponymy of the Zaruma canton determines that its name is
derived from the native voices: Sara = corn and huma = head. That is,
it comes from the contraction of these two voices and began to be
written with the Z taking the Spanish word Zaruma. In addition, its
name is attributed to the existing corn and gold mines, whose color
resembles that of an ear of corn. In other words, by choosing this name
we are valuing the origin and meaning of the canton's own name.
The competitive advantage of this circuit is based on the main attractions
that are Cerro El Calvario, municipal swimming pool; as well as tours of
several cultural attractions such as the central square, museums, "El
Sexmo" mine, viewpoints, El Cafetal store where the famous Café
Don Marcelo is sold and the central church, and other attractions
that complement the offer of the destination for a better enjoyment of
visitors.
To establish the price, the best service providers, both hotel and food
and beverage, were taken into account in order to provide a quality
service and comfort according to the possibilities of the environment.
The price per person is $91 and $731 for a group of 8 people.
The place where the tourist product will be negotiated and sold will
be in the office of the Tourism Promotion and Diffusion Unit of the
Municipal Government of Zaruma, and at the same time in the tour
operator "Oro Adventure Tour Operator", located in the
Independence Park next to the Bank of Machala. In addition, it is
considered convenient to make alliances with different travel
agencies and tour operators in the main cities where the identified
market segment comes from, such as the cities of Guayaquil, Machala
and Quito.
The main means for the promotion and dissemination of the
"Sarahuma" Tourist Route are the official social networks Facebook
and Instagram of the Tourism Promotion and Dissemination Unit of
the Municipal Government of Zaruma. In fact, Facebook is used for
the promotion of tourist destinations as it has a greater number of
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followers; while Instagram generates greater interaction with users
worldwide.
Currently the GAD Municipal de Zaruma, as the government and
main authority of the city has some logos that have been well received
and therefore continue to be used in tourism promotion; in addition,
due to the existence of souvenirs with these brands, it has been
decided to adapt to them and not create a new one. Nevertheless, it is
expected that each of these brands corresponding to graphs 1, 2, 3, 4
and 5 will be positioned in the minds of visitors:
Tourist brand "Zaruma heritage city".
Source: Tourism Promotion and Diffusion Unit of the Municipal
Government of Zaruma.
Tourist brand "Visit Zaruma heritage city".
Source: Tourism Promotion and Diffusion Unit of the Municipal
Government of Zaruma.
Tourist brand "Visit Zaruma heritage city".
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Source: Tourism Promotion and Diffusion Unit of the Municipal
Government of Zaruma.
Figure 4. Tourist brand "Pueblos Mágicos Zaruma Ecuador".
Source: Tourism Promotion and Diffusion Unit of the Municipal
Government of Zaruma.
Figure 5. Tourist brand "Pueblos Mágicos Zaruma Ecuador".
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Source: Tourism Promotion and Diffusion Unit of the Municipal
Government of Zaruma.
Below, we have three maps that reflect the route in general and by
day of the itinerary:
Figure 6. General Map of the "Sarahuma" Tourist Route
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Source: Own elaboration.
Figure 7. Map of the "Sarahuma" Tourist Route - Day 1
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Source: Own elaboration.
Figure 8. Map of the "Sarahuma" Tourist Route - Day 2
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Source: Own elaboration.
This study shows that the tourism diagnosis conducted in the urban
parish of Zaruma served to contextualize the territory, i.e.,
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information was studied and collected in relation to the six elements
that make up the tourism system, which according to Ricaurte (2009),
"group all the social actors of tourism, as well as the attractions,
tourist and basic services that are necessary for the functioning of the
activity" (p. 16). The key informants were interviewed using the
Demand Characterization Form used by Carla Ricaurte in her Manual
for Local Tourism Diagnosis, but four open-ended questions were
added to obtain more detailed information on the current tourism
situation and the reasons for visiting the community.
Meanwhile, for the characterization of tourist attractions and
resources, the form used by Ricaurte was not considered because it is
an outdated format corresponding to the year 2004, therefore, the
form for the survey of tourist attractions of the MINTUR year 2018 was
chosen, since it establishes the technical guidelines for the identification,
classification and valuation of the attractions that present the best
conditions for the development of tourist products. After updating the
inventory of natural and cultural tourist attractions, it is deduced that
82% correspond to hierarchy III and the remaining 18% to hierarchy II; it
is evident that most of these tourist attractions are cultural
manifestations of hierarchy III, which gives them a very high
importance and valorization within the tourist activity, in this regard
the Ministry of Tourism (2018), mentions that the attractions with
category III have exceptional features, capable of motivating alone or
in conjunction with other contiguous attractions a current or
potential flow of domestic or foreign visitors, in addition, they
present the appropriate conditions for the development of tourism
products focused on the national and international market. (p. 15)
The results obtained in the first specific objective present similarities
with the previous study by Lapo and Quituisaca (2019) who
determine that the urban parish of the Zaruma canton contains
mostly the entire offer of cultural-heritage attractions of the city,
highlighting among one of them the historic center, being the one
that attracts the greatest tourist influx motivated by knowing the
attractions that are located contiguously to it, this urban area
encompasses the tourist facilities required for the execution of
tourism. (p. 170) With respect to the statements of these authors, it is
true that the historic center includes a good number of attractions,
but in order to update the inventory of this study, all the attractions
located within the area were taken into account, regardless of
whether or not they are included in the planning of the Tourism
Promotion and Diffusion Unit of the Municipal Government of
Zaruma.
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In the "Methodology of the tourist profile and satisfaction study",
CESTUR (2012) characterizes the sociodemographic profile in terms
of nationality, place of residence, gender, age and level of education.
However, in the present study, other variables such as marital status,
current occupation and monthly income were also considered, since
they allow for further information. Another area presented by this
methodology is the consumption structure that determines the set of
tourist goods and services consumed at the destination, the planning
and organization of the trip describing the purpose of the trip,
activities carried out at the tourist destination, length of stay, travel
company, type of lodging, transportation used to reach the
destination, previous visits to the destination, among others.
Likewise, this research presents the results obtained in three areas:
study of the sociodemographic profile, structure of consumption of
tourist goods and services, organization of the trip and motivational
variables. It is important to mention that some questions posed by this
methodology had to be adapted according to the reality of the territory.
The tourist profile study reveals that the urban parish of Zaruma has a
high influence of national tourists, represented mostly by the male
sex, who are relatively young, mainly traveling with children,
between the ages of 25 to 44 years old, with a predominantly single
marital status. They come mainly from provinces such as Guayas, El
Oro and Pichincha, have mostly university education, their most
common current occupation is employee of a private company and
have a monthly income ranging from $601 to $1,400. However, there
are other studies such as the thesis of "Analysis of the profile and
degree of satisfaction of the cultural tourist visiting the Historic
Center of Quito", where Molina (2018), determined a profile of the
young tourist represented mostly by the female gender between the
ages of 18 to 35 years, whose most usual current occupation is that of
a student, for which she has a low monthly income unlike the tourist
visiting the urban parish Zaruma.
Regarding the consumption of tourist goods and services both in the
present research and in Molina's study (2018) the breakdown of their
budget is mostly destined to food and beverages, at the same time,
the basis of the average daily tourist expenditure ranges from $20
and in both studies of the tourist profile it is evident that these prefer
to visit the attractions on their own, since they do not hire tourist
services such as private guides or excursions from any travel
company. This lack of tourist services in both cases is justifiable,
since in Quito the tourist attractions are located next to the historic
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center and in Zaruma, when tourists need information, they go to the
Tourism Promotion and Dissemination Unit of the Municipal
Government, where they are given a triptych of the city.
On the other hand, some differences are determined as the most used
means of transportation, for example, in Quito public transportation
is preferred, for its low costs and the lack of parking at the
destination; while, to travel to the urban parish Zaruma the tourist
chooses his own vehicle and the biggest advantage is that the
destination has a Municipal parking lot that provides parking service
24 hours a day to locals and tourists. The preferred place to stay in
the destination taking into consideration the occupational situation
of both profiles varies, the university student prefers to stay with
family or friends, to avoid lodging expenses; on the other hand, the
private employee prefers to stay in hotels since it is within his economic
possibilities.
Knowing the relevant sources of information used to plan the visit is
fundamental because it helps us to determine the means of promotion of
the tourism product, in this research tourists point to the internet as
the main source of information, followed by social networks and
advice from their "family and friends", something similar is evident
in the article "The cultural tourist in World Heritage Cities in Latin
America. The case of Cuenca (Ecuador)", where the authors Pérez,
Torres, Muñoz and López (2018) point out that the tourist is based
on the recommendation of friends and family; their own experience
of a previous visit and the information found on the internet;
everything mentioned above indicates that people who have visited
such places have a significant degree of satisfaction and that,
therefore, they recommend them; without leaving aside the
information provided through ICT's (information and
communication technologies) which are key elements in the
promotion of tourist destinations.
For the development of the tourism product proposal based on the
study of the demand, a market segmentation by age was carried out,
of the 261 sample elements applied, the most predominant age range
is 25 to 44 years old with 63% corresponding to the number of 164
respondents, therefore, this segment has been identified as the target
market for the supply of the tourism product in the urban parish of
Zaruma. According to Ferrell and Hartline (2012), market
segmentation is defined as the process of dividing the total market
for a particular product or category of products into relatively
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homogeneous segments or groups. To be effective, segmentation
must create groups where its members have similar hobbies, tastes,
needs, desires or preferences, but where the groups themselves are
different from each other. (p. 167) Within the present research, the
segmentation method is consolidated as a marketing strategy because
it allows directing resources to attract the right audience, in order to
effectively adapt to their needs and reasons for visiting, increasing
their satisfaction and generating a unique experience with the new
tourism product. It is then verified that the new tourist product to be
offered is a tourist route focused on a cultural product line, starting
from the Independence Square and ending at the Batea Rumi
Viewpoint (Municipal Swimming Pool), which has been included in a
tourist package to be marketed. The National Council for Culture and
the Arts (2011) states that a cultural product is based on and stands out
for its strong link to the local community; it is also composed of five
basic elements: tourist resources and attractions, tourist plant,
complementary services, infrastructure, and urban equipment (p. 27).
Therefore, the development of the route is feasible, since Zaruma has
these five basic elements and has a good tourist demand that is
mainly motivated by the destination's cultural tourism offer.
Conclusions
The study of the tourist profile provides ample information for the
local government, the territory and even the private enterprise, to
manage tourism services and, in this way, positively impact the
visitors' experience. At the same time, the "Sarahuma" tourist route
has been designed based on the tourist profile, which has been
analyzed in three areas: sociodemographic profile, structure of
consumption of tourist goods and services, travel organization and
motivational variables. The development of the route entails several
benefits such as the revaluation of the cultural and natural heritage,
increase in the flow of visitors, reactivation of the local economy,
occupation of the available places in the low season of the lodging
and restaurant services. At the same time, this research will allow
national operators to identify Zaruma as a competitive destination
and position it within the national market, making it stand out from
other localities with similar characteristics.
On the other hand, future lines of research include the expansion of
the study of the tourist profile and their motivations in the 9 rural
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parishes that make up the canton, with the aim of identifying
common links and differentiating features among visitors, to
generate a complete study of the tourist profile of the canton. At the
same time, future studies could identify tourist facilities and signage
needed to enhance the value of tourist attractions in a comprehensive
manner, as well as actions to strengthen the host community in terms
of training, investment promotion, competitive improvement,
innovation and quality, among others. Finally, expand the creation of
circuits, based on the prioritization and current relevance of the
canton's attractions, infrastructure, equipment and facilities, which
contribute to the expansion of the destination's offer.
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