Sustainable tourism is a management model that can easily be applied in the territories declared as “Pueblo Mágico”, promoting economic strengthening, as well as opportunities for environmental and cultural preservation, by means of tourism through the use of the historical–cultural characteristics of these territories. One of the main challenges is to find a balance between promoting tourism and conserving intangible cultural heritage. In July 2024, Guano, located in the province of Chimborazo, Ecuador, was re-accredited within the Magical Towns of Ecuador Program. Within this process, one of the main elements to reach this milestone was creating a meaningful tourism experience based on one of the cultural manifestations certified as part of the intangible cultural heritage of Ecuador: the weaving technique used to create Guano knotted carpets. This article examines how this technique was integrated into tourism development by focusing on knowledge transfer and symbolic and historical value, avoiding tourist overexploitation, which can lead to the erosion of traditions and loss of their cultural significance. The methodology used is a participatory action research methodology. This experience not only offers an opportunity for tourists to connect with local culture, but it can also be a driver of sustainable development. By integrating this tradition into a responsible tourism model, economic, social, and environmental benefits can be generated, which strengthen communities and preserve their cultural heritage. To sum up, sustainable tourism in Guano, Ecuador, can balance tourism promotion and cultural heritage preservation, and the integration of the knotted carpet weaving technique as a tourism experience strengthens local identity and generates economic, social, and environmental benefits, promoting sustainable development and avoiding cultural commodification.

Montecristi´s cultural heritage potential is analyzed to determine the contribution to tourism develop-ment. Tangible and intangible cultural heritage is present in the parish and is part of the cultural identity of its population. The use of cultural heritage as an attraction to generate tourism activities, has allowed a better diversification of the offer and the creation of new tourist products aimed at a demand interested in knowing about history, culture, traditions and having more experiential experiences linking with the community, in turn, it requires an adequate management that regulates the tourist activity and promotes the development in the locality. Montecristi is characterized by having a cultural heritage that is still pre-sent in current generations, its potential is evidenced in historical, architectural, traditions and customs, all these, allow a cultural exchange. From a qualitative, quantitative study and bibliographic review, the information is collected to propose a proposal that promotes tourism development, where the recipient community is involved as the main beneficiary, since tourism development seeks to improve the quality of life of the population taking advantage of its resources and adapting the locality to provide tourist facili-ties [1].