Cultural heritage in tourist attraction inventories. Reflections from the province of Carchi-Ecuador

Destination management organizations in the planning and management process consider inventories as a necessary tool to diagnose the tourism offer available in a territory. The objective of this research is to reflect on the registration of cultural heritage in inventories of tourist attractions. The assets considered as cultural heritage of the territory of the province of Carchi in Ecuador were considered as an object of empirical study. Through qualitative research of a descriptive type, the records in the Information System of the Ecuadorian Cultural Heritage (SIPCE), the lists of material and immaterial heritage and the declarations of UNESCO were reviewed, at the same time the inventory records that lead to carried out by the Ministry of Tourism of Ecuador. Among the main results, it is observed that there is a large amount of cultural heritage that is not used by tourism since the inventory handles a methodology that should be updated, therefore, a classification is proposed for cultural tourist attractions, suggestions to the file of inventory and a list of assets considered as cultural heritage in Carchi that could be used under this new reflection.