With the presence of Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO); the ambassador of Ecuador in Germany, Diego Morejón; the Minister of Tourism, Niels Olsen and his peers from Argentina and Peru; 30 Ecuadorian businessmen and a series of world tourism professionals, the Ecuadorian stand was inaugurated this Tuesday at the ITB Berlin 2023 International Tourism Fair, thanks to the support of the President Guillermo Lasso, after a four-year absence from this event that brings together more than 10,000 exhibitors from 184 countries.
The space was adapted so that, in addition to facilitating business meetings for national tourism representatives, visitors can get up close to various samples of Ecuador's gastronomy, culture, and nature, for example, with an orchid exhibition, or the activation prepared for the tasting of products made from cocoa, whose domestication of origin is Ecuadorian, specifically from the area of Santa Ana - La Florida, in the Palanda canton, in Zamora Chinchipe, and which dates back 5,500 years. This was in charge of the chocolatier Nathalie Areco, who together with the sous chef, Christian Villalba, owner of the Ecuadorian restaurant "Casa Mía" in Berlin, presented delicacies such as chocolate bars with Ecuadorian toppings, as well as a pairing of two chocolates with two wines. ,
On the first day, Minister Olsen held a meeting with Luis Fernando Helguero, Minister of Tourism of Peru, to analyze the situation of the sector in the region, strengthen ties to promote tourism in both nations, and exchange positive experiences on the country brand of Peru and the development of the Ecuador Travel fair. Likewise, Minister Helguero expressed his country's interest in being part of Remote Latin America, which this year will be held in Cuenca, from October 16 to 19.
On the other hand, the owner of Ecuadorian tourism received the special printed edition of the National Geographic Traveler magazine, dedicated to Ecuador in a 50-page supplement where the ancestral gastronomy, wildlife and culture of the country are presented. This material will be distributed in print to more than 60,000 subscribers in the United Kingdom, as well as to Ecuadorian embassies around the world, and it will also be available in digital format from June 2023.
The German market is of great importance for Ecuador, remembering that the arrival of travelers from this country in January of this year increased by 7% in relation to January 2020, before the pandemic, so it is expected to continue increasing the number of arrivals in 2023, through promotional actions planned throughout the year by the National Government to advance in the line of attracting world travelers.