Resumo

ORTIZ PANIAGUA, Carlos Francisco  e  AREVALO PACHECO, Georgina Jatzire. Turismo termal en la Ruta de la Salud, en Michoacán: potencial de desarrollo regional. Región y sociedad [online]. 2016, vol.28, n.65, pp.149-186. ISSN 2448-4849.

The Ruta de la Salud [Health Route] in Michoacán is a tourist corridor whose main attraction is the use of hot springs. Currently, only a fraction of them is exploited, mainly in thermal baths, and it is assumed that there is regional potential for development. To prove it, this article presents the results of a case study where quantitative methods were used to estimate the economic value of the hot springs using a travel cost method, and qualitative methods were used to carry out a regional diagnosis. The results suggest that implementing a strategy of local and regional sustainable development is viable, using the hot springs as a detonating factor, and a regional model for building social capital is proposed.

Palavras-chave : hot spring tourism; local-regional development; health route; ecosystem services and travel cost.