Smart Agritourism Route Design for Rural Destinations: Application to Píllaro Canton

Abstract

The article analyzes the design of two proposed agritourism routes for Píllaro—Chacra Viva Píllaro and Raíces de Píllaro—and outlines their evolution toward smart routes supported by low-cost digital tools. It integrates itineraries, maps, costs, productive resources, and demand preferences with an architecture that incorporates geolocation, QR codes, booking systems, capacity control, and route analytics. The proposal preserves the territorial and cultural structure of the original routes while adding a technological layer designed to improve orientation, interpretation, and management. It argues that digitalization should enhance the rural experience and stakeholder coordination without turning the product into a purely virtual experience.