The canton of Cevallos, which belongs to the province of Tungurahua, is 90.5 % rural. The designation of the canton of Cevallos as a growing zone indicates an insufficient study of the tourist and recreational potential of the region and the lack of awareness of natural and cultural resources on the national market. The purpose of the study is to analyze the tourist and recreational potential of the canton of Cevallos for the development of rural tourism. The article used quantitative, documentary, bibliographic, field, descriptive, experimental methods and a survey. The results show the tourist wealth of the canton of Cevallos and its positive image among the population due to the presence of tourist attractions (60% in good condition), tourist base and objects of industrial and agricultural tourism producing high-quality shoes. More than half of the tourists who arrived in the canton of Cevallos prefer rural and gastronomic tourism, 97% of tourists are Ecuadorians. 46.95% of tourists come from the neighboring canton of Ambato. They usually come on weekends. The least number of tourists comes from Latakung – less than 1% of the total number. 55% of tourists travel with the whole family, and 39.4 % of the total sample of the survey prefer rural tourism in the canton, and 31.6 % want to have direct contact with the local community by getting acquainted with the typical gastronomy, agro-tourism, outdoor recreation. Thus, the development of rural tourism in the canton of Cevallos is possible thanks to its rural tourist offers.