Ecuador unveiled its potential to the meetings industry at FIEXPO Latin America

In this context, Travel2latam spoke with Silvana Ramírez, Vice Minister of Tourism of Ecuador.

What expectations did you come here with and how is Ecuador's activity performing within Fiexpo? 

We arrived with many expectations, especially to publicize all the work we have been doing to promote our destination Ecuador, through articulated work between the different actors; the public part with the different levels of government, the private part through businessmen, entrepreneurs, as well as a significant contribution from academia, it is important to join forces to achieve great things.

If you had to describe the current situation of the Ecuadorian tourism market in brief words, what would it be like? 

We have quite a great potential, we have a culture, a heritage that for me is incomparable worldwide, and we have a lot to make known. I want to tell you a scoop that we have achieved with a country brand, yesterday our president Daniel Noboa finished issuing the decree where we are with an apolitical brand that lasts over time, which will practically be our letter of introduction to arrive and make known the topic of exports, investments, tourism, so with respect to all these aspects we have a lot to give. So I think that the markets that we can continue to promote have to be certain that Ecuador has a lot to give in all areas. 

Today many regions and the private sector accompany you, I would like you to make a comment on that. 

Ecuador is a country of the four worlds, we call it that because there are the four regions. Here specifically are the destinations of Guayaquil which corresponds to the coast, Quito in terms of the mountains, we also have Manta which is a beach and the General province of Guayas also wanted to double efforts to make its destination known. 

In Ecuador you find beaches, valleys, snow-capped mountains, and great diversity in short distances, right? 

An hour away, you are in a snowy mountain, then on a beach and also in the Galapagos Islands. 

What is your vision of what is happening in the MICE segment and the outlook for the coming years?

We have set ourselves a clear objective to bring this type of events to our country, so today I am going to have a meeting with the organizers because we want to know what requirements must be met to be able to receive these events. In Ecuador we have a diversity of destinations that can provide quality care, infrastructure services and, above all, incomparable gastronomy and warmth of people, which I believe is what adds to this meetings industry. 

Panama has set the bar very high and it is a great challenge for other countries to be able to host and organize this type of event. 

What is the connectivity situation and what are the main developments?

In a strategic way we are working with the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works on issues of air, land, and maritime connectivity, to be able, through the law that was approved a few months ago, to create incentive benefits and thus achieve there is greater connectivity. Although we have taken a fairly considerable step, there is much more to do through work where we can show the different airlines in the case of air connectivity, and the benefits of incentives that they can benefit from and in this way also increase our connectivity.

What are the strategic markets that Ecuador has at a global and regional level? 

We have important markets such as the US and Europe, and we are also working with the Netherlands. At the Latin American level, it is also very important to increasingly explore different destinations that have also increased our currencies, as well as encouraged investments. It's hard but we are on the right track. 

And in terms of event participation, how is the season going for you? 

It is a quite busy year, we start planning in 2024 where we contemplate participation in around 20 fairs. Logically, the dynamics and needs as well as expectations are formed along the way. We also have many fairs ahead of us where we want to participate to be strategic partners in each of the events that are held.

And what's next that will keep you busy in the next few days, in the next few months? 

I can highlight that we are the headquarters of TravelMart, a very important activity where we want to publicize the potential of Ecuador in different aspects.