Abstract:

San Pablo del Monte is a municipality located in the state of Tlaxcala, in central Mexico. Population is about 70,000 inhabitants of which over 50% are said to be economically active. In addition to cattle and agriculture, many of its inhabitants work as artisans for their livelihood: talavera pottery, onyx and wood handcrafts, furniture and metal pieces are some of the goods produced. Many of the talavera and onyx workshops have been inherited and run by families through generations, representing to this day their only source for a living.

Despite the productive and thriving artisan workshops in the place, the city’s reputation has fallen and the overall perception is low due partly to images, videos and news on the internet showing dirt and violence, thus hindering potential visitors and tourist from considering it as a trip destination.

The analysis carried out in this paper aims at measuring the perception of potential visitors and tourist through images, videos and news concerning San Pablo del Monte while promoting it as a potential destination levering on the hard work its inhabitants do in their handcraft workshops. Helping them to improve the city’s reputation may bring as consequence the revaluation of their local traditions and customs and thus attract visitors, which may ultimately lead to improve the population’s quality of life.

Keywords:

Talavera and onyx workshops, artisan, Internet, community image, tourism.