Ecoturismo comunitario-étnico: ¿Activación del patrimonio cultural identitario o parques temáticos étnicos?

Abstract

Due to the new and challenging socio-economical circumstances of the world, particularly on the “developing” countries, we are facing the massive emergence of alternative economical development projects oriented mainly towards peripheral regions; they intend to improve the economical situation of the poor. In Ecuador, and all over Latin America, the alternative for communitarian-ethnic ecotourism is becoming more and more popular, but in many cases this alternative is undermining and oppressing the sense of community and local identities in order to respond to the demands of the international tourist markets provoking the emergence of what we might call: “ethnic theme parks”. We present a critical academic critic from the cultural patrimony stand point so we may explain this hegemonic-market centered tendency.