Gastronomic heritage of Jipijapa Canton: Characterization and tourism diffusion strategies

Abstract

This research aimed to characterize the gastronomic heritage of the Jipijapa canton, Manabí province, and to propose strategies for its tourism diffusion. A qualitative approach with a descriptive scope and an ethnographic orientation was adopted; direct observation and semi-structured interviews were applied to six groups of key stakeholders, farmers, livestock keepers, fishers, restaurant owners, gastronomes and historians, comprising twenty-four purposively selected informants, and a recording sheet based on the catalogue of the Decentralized Autonomous Government of Jipijapa was used. The results revealed a rich and diverse culinary offer, based on products such as maize, cassava, peanut and hydrobiological resources, as well as on representative dishes such as greñoso, roast pork and peanut fish ceviche, prepared with ancestral techniques. However, the erosion of culinary identity, the informality and lack of categorization of establishments, sanitation deficiencies in markets and inadequate tourist service were identified. It is concluded that Jipijapa holds a gastronomic heritage with high tourism potential, whose valorization requires safeguarding, regulation, training and sustained diffusion.