Characterization of the Population Segment Dedicated to the Retail Trade of Religious Souvenirs

The increasing popularity of religious tourism in the last century is undeniable. This type of tourism presents a complex conceptualization process due to the religious, spiritual, and cultural connotations. From this perspective, the main objective of this chapter was to develop a characterization of the population dedicated to the retail trade of religious souvenirs in the parish of El Cisne, where the pilgrimage of the Virgin of “El Cisne” takes place every year, in the canton Loja. The methodology used for this study centered on a socio-economic characterization of the owners of these retail stores. These retailers were classified into two comparative groups, which were used to determine the variables that had the greatest impact on the quality of life for them and for their families. Among the main results, it was highlighted that this retail activity came from a traditional practice, from whom a very large number of them were not affiliated to any social security system. There was also evidence of the high participation of women as owners of these businesses.