Instituto de Patrimonio y Turismo Sostenible

College of Hospitality, Culinary Arts, and Tourism
Acerca de nosotros

The Institute of Heritage and Sustainable Tourism is a non-profit organization whose objective is to promote scientific or creative research in the tourism, gastronomy, hospitality, food, or beverage sectors. The main purpose is to generate the necessary tools to enhance culinary identity, food heritage, and sustainable gastronomy.

Objectives:

  • Promote scientific or creative research in the tourism, gastronomy, hospitality, food, or beverage sectors to strengthen identity, promote culture, or create spaces for economic development.
  • Identify, promote, and manage good practices in sustainable tourism. Additionally, drive and encourage sustainable development in fragile and biodiverse ecosystems.
  • Generate social and economic impact based on the Sustainable Development Goals, fostering quality and sustainability processes throughout the value chain of companies focused on tourism activities.
  • Contribute to the professional growth of students by involving them in the institute's activities.

The Institute of Heritage and Sustainable Tourism will promote and lead projects that are relevant to academia, industry, or the community, thereby addressing the scarcity of research in this field. Through these projects, tools can be evaluated, generated, and disseminated to drive socioeconomic development.

Intereses de investigación

Sustainable tourism: climate change, conservation, environmental management, protected area management, cultural resource management, visitor site management, and destinations.

Food and beverages: nutrition, agribusiness, sustainable gastronomy.

Management: marketing and promotion, trends and innovation, service quality, hotel management.

Culture: local development, cultural studies, gastronomic heritage, inclusive tourism.

Misión

Develop research, consulting, or projects that promote mutual benefit between academia, industry, and communities, proposing tourism as a tool to safeguard heritage and foster sustainable development.

Visión

Be the country's leading institute in development, innovation, and sustainability, driving socioeconomic progress in the hospitality, tourism, food, or beverage sectors. Generating models of responsible resource use and management based on the principles of conservation and revaluation of heritage.

Staff

Juan Carlos Valdivieso
Director
(+593 2) 297-1700, ext. 1234
jcvaldivieso@usfq.edu.ec

Esteban Tapia
Collaborator
(+593 2) 297-1700, ext. 1930
etapiam@usfq.edu.ec

Sebastián Navas
Collaborator
(+593 2) 297-1700, ext. 1385
snavasb@usfq.edu.ec

Research Lines

  • Food: properties, technology, and gastronomy.
  • Service and Quality in Hospitality and Tourism.

Alliances

Entity Name: Slow Food
Country: Italy
Type of Collaboration: Alliance

Entity Name: University of South Alabama
Country: United States
Type of Collaboration: CHAT Agreement

Entity Name: COSPE
Country: Italy
Type of Collaboration: Joint Project

Proyectos

Hierbas medicinales del Ilaló


Descripción:

La Plataforma Primero de Mayo es la mayor feria popular de hierbas medicinales de Quito. Está ubicada en San Roque, reúne a 300 agricultoras, comuneras, comerciantes populares, cultivadoras, recolectoras que acopian y redistribuyen plantas medicinales mediante los 54 mercados populares de Quito. Su trabajo teje conexiones entre las ruralidades y la ciudad, entre la memoria y los desafíos contemporáneos. 

Territorios que Sanan es una iniciativa del Museo de la Ciudad, además de un proceso de investigación y acción comunitaria, un programa educativo y propuesta expositiva que intenta contribuir al reconocimiento de estas mujeres como trabajadoras esenciales de la salud en Quito, defensoras de territorios y ecosistemas, re-creadoras de memorias y saberes de raíz andina.

En el Valle de Tumbaco están ubicadas 12 mujeres que son parte de la Plataforma Primero de Mayo y que realizan sus actividades de recolección y/o cultivo de plantas medicinales en las quebradas, espacios públicos y en sus casas, donde algunas tienen pequeños huertos.

Con este proyecto se pretende visualizar el trabajo de las hierbateras en la conservación de las fincas de cultivo, los espacios de recolección, la salvaguarda de los conocimientos, visualizar los usos y aplicaciones, destacar historias de vida y dar a la ciudadanía una fuente práctica de consulta.

Academic staff
contact image
Contact