sustainability Article Community-Based Tourism in Ecuador: Community Ventures of the Provincial and Cantonal Networks Claudia Patricia Maldonado-Erazo 1 , María de la Cruz del Río-Rama 2,* , Patricio Noboa-Viñan 1 and José Álvarez-García 3 1 Facultad de Recursos Naturales, Escuela de Ecoturismo de la Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo–ESPOCH, Riobamba 060155, Ecuador;
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[email protected] (P.N.-V.) 2 Business Management and Marketing Department, Faculty of Business Sciences and Tourism, University of Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain 3 Financial Economy and Accounting Department, Faculty of Business, Finance and Tourism, University of Extremadura, 10071 Cáceres, Spain;
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[email protected]; Tel.: +34-988368727 Received: 14 June 2020; Accepted: 31 July 2020; Published: 3 August 2020 Abstract: The aim of this work is to identify community the initiatives anchored to community-based tourism (CBT) in Ecuador with the aim of providing an overview of the current reality of community tourism in the country, in addition to publicizing the product lines under development within community initiatives. The methodology used is a descriptive analysis based on the review of secondary sources, which reflect the reality of the different tourism initiatives related to the Plurinational Federation of Community Tourism of Ecuador (FEPTCE) at the level of continental Ecuador. FEPTCE groups indigenous, Afro–Ecuadorian, Montubian and mestizo communities, who depend on their territory and