Heritage Cooking as Tourist Motivation: Ambato Case Study

Abstract

The act of eating meets the biological need to ingest nutrients that can sustain the life of the organism. The type of food ingested has defined the evolution and habits over time allowing us to know products and cooking techniques of food. The settlement of man and his and her subsequent physical inactivity gave way to heritage cooking within a given area as the cultural manifestation and simultaneously represents the wealth of the land which produces the raw material as a product of tradition Indian-mestizo of the agro centrism. In the city of Ambato, gastronomic qualities have been studied from the tourist’s perspective or hospitality industry; however, they are important in the tourist motivation when choosing a destination to spend leisure time. The objective of this study is to present an analysis of the supply and demand of dishes that are considered heritage cuisines in the city of Ambato. Results were obtained with field research using records of registration and inventory of the intangible cultural heritage. The authors came to the conclusion that the level of tourist satisfaction is increased if a destination has heritage cooking that is a historical reference and above all if the flavors carry a legacy of knowledge of the culture of a society.