Percepción de los recursos turísticos-patrimoniales de un territorio. Habitantes, turistas y funcionarios del circuito “El alma de Don Vasco”, Pátzcuaro, México

Abstract

The proper management of a tourist territory includes among its key premises an understanding of how heritage resources are socially conceived. This is why the present text addresses the perception of these assets from both the heritage and the tourist sphere, emphasizing the methodological approach to study the meaning of these resources in the real everyday life of the communities. The study was applied in populations of the circuit “El alma de Don Vasco”, located in the region of Lake Patzcuaro, Mexico, through an open exploration with a mixed questionnaire, taking as a reference the representation of heritage resources in official tourist im‑ ages. As a result, it was possible to identify the perception of the inhabitants about the cultural elements that are shown as a tourist attraction; what they wish to show to the visitor or only preserve for their community and for their next generations; as well as the divergences with the vision of tourists and officials. This makes it possible to establish key elements for the management of cultural assets offered to tourism