Evaluación de recursos naturales y culturales para la creación de un corredor turístico en el altiplano de San Luis Potosí, México

The San Luis Potosí plateau is located in the northern portion of the state; it comprises 15 municipalities with a territorial extension of 28122 km 2. This area includes the municipalities of Cedral, Matehuala and Villa de la Paz, which stand out for their economic development throughout history. Such is the case of trade that has made of Matehuala an important regional distribution center, supplemented by agricultural activities as key elements of the economy of the municipality of El Cedral, and mining, which in the colonial collection of some relevance in Villa of Peace, where copper is mined, lead, silver and gold.

The incorporation of new territories to tourism, as part of a national policy, has allowed the economic diversification in arid zones of Mexico.

These municipalities have natural and cultural resources that are suitable for tourism development, based on their physical-geographical attributes, the cultural heritage from pre-hispanic groups, architecture and gastronomy. The failure to recognize these natural and cultural resources, as well as the little interest in tourism development on the part of local governments and local inhabitants, has restrained the diversification of this activity.

Therefore, the objective of this research is to evaluate the tourism resources available in these municipalities based on the multicriteria evaluation methodology. This methodology comprises a set of techniques which allow estimating various alternatives based on various criteria and priorities, and assessing those sites with the greatest tourism development potential, as well as the intrinsic characteristics of the activity, such as accessibility, equipment and infrastructure, for the identification of tourist attractions. Interviews were carried out with the governments of the municipalities involved, the Ministry of Tourism of the State of San Luis Potosi, and with the different social stakeholders of the localities studied.

As a result of this methodological process, 10 areas with tourism potential were identified based on the detection of suitable sites, to be included in a tourist corridor that would include the most important attributes of the region, where there is an emerging tourism potential that would boost the local and regional tourist economy.

In this sense, it can be stated that tourism will be beneficial for the municipalities to the extent that it meets the needs of tourists, is economically profitable, socially fair for the local community and environmentally friendly. The proposal of the corridor, in the planning stage, incorporates environmental, social and economic aspects and implications that foster the mobilization of goods, services, merchandise and tourists in the area, and promote the political integration and the participation of the stakeholders involved.