Culinary tourism in natural protected areas: The case of the Cuxtal Ecological Reserve in Yucatan, Mexico

Abstract

The Cuxtal Ecological Reserve is located in the urban periphery of Merida. This reserve represents an element of tourist interest due to the diversity of tourist resources, although these have not been recognized yet. In addition, most of the local population has traditional culinary knowledge, which is little explored from a tourist perspective. This article proposes to identify the culinary resources of the reserve to elaborate a culinary map. The study is based on in-depth interviews with residents to assess their culinary knowledge, visitor surveys, and the field´s traditional food and agricultural product mapping. The results show that it has the potential to develop culinary tourism. Gastronomy can play an important role in boosting the local economy and conserving culinary identity among the inhabitants under the pressure of ultra-processed food from Merida.