In this context, Travel2latam spoke with Mateo Estrella, Minister of Tourism of Ecuador.
What proposal did you come to present here at FITUR?
We are with 25 Ecuadorian tourism entrepreneurs who are doing good business selling their product. We also brought 10 decentralized autonomous governments from Ecuador; municipalities, prefectures that are supporting us by presenting their cultural and gastronomic offerings and their product itself, which is very important for the country. What we are promoting here is that Ecuador is open and fully operational.
Ecuador has a wonderful sustainable tourism product. With a proposal in the four natural regions that our beautiful country has; Amazonia, Sierra, Pacific Coast and Galapagos. And, in reality, we have a vibrant tourism that is growing advantageously. By 2025 we hope to have significant growth in Ecuadorian tourism. In fact, the Ecuadorian Tourism Development and Promotion Fund is starting to operate this year. This was created by a law last year, and thanks to it there will be more resources for tourism promotion. We are a facilitator of the activity of the Ecuadorian private sector. And we consider tourism not as an end in itself, but as a tool for the development of people, companies, communities and destinations. So, we are very motivated in that sense and Ecuador is shining here at FITUR.
From what you have mentioned, it will also be quite impressive during the year and that guarantees continuity in the country's commitment to the tourism market.
Absolutely. We see tourism as an important development tool, which is why we are going to participate in more than 25 international events this year. We have a very nice internal tourism campaign called “Stop being a foreigner in your own country,” aimed at Ecuadorians so that they also travel within the country. We know that both sources of tourism are very interesting. Inbound tourism brings international visitors and new foreign currency to Ecuador, approximately 2 billion dollars, but internal tourism also generates a movement of more or less 4 billion dollars. That makes tourism essential for the economy of a small country like Ecuador, contributing to the country’s gross domestic product and generating more than 600 thousand jobs. We want that to continue and we want to support the private sector so that it is more competitive and has more clients.
The private sector is doing its best. This year it is launching new products, both in terms of operations and new hotels and infrastructure that will be inaugurated throughout the year. This shows that Ecuador is fully active.
There are airlines and also very strong hotel entrepreneurs here, so you will surely have several meetings. Can you give me a sneak peek into that agenda?
We have a very busy agenda this year. We are negotiating with Air Europa to increase the number of weekly flights to Ecuador by two, but with the particularity that they will be direct flights. Three flights to Quito and three to Guayaquil, but on a direct, weekly basis. In addition, there are a number of Ecuadorian hotel investments that will open this year, such as a boutique hotel in Guayaquil that is about to begin operating in the next few days.
We are also promoting investments in Ecuador. This morning we had a presentation, an event with more than 50 Spanish investors who are looking for opportunities. And Ecuador has great opportunities. We have a very interesting incentive that if you invest or reinvest in existing companies a minimum of 100 thousand dollars, you have seven years of income tax exemption. In the six months since this measure has been in effect, we have achieved investments of 50 million dollars. So we want to project much further beyond that. And we are really very excited about these measures, because ultimately it generates employment, development, and basically makes our tourism grow.
In which destinations do you think these entrepreneurs should invest?
I would say that all of Ecuador is a place for important investments, but I think that there are secondary destinations and intermediate cities that have enormous potential and that in fact need more quality infrastructure to attract more visitors.
What would they be?
Ecuador's medium-sized cities, such as Cuenca, Puerto Viejo, Manta, Ambato, Riobamba, and some Amazonian cities in Ecuador, such as Lago Agrio and Coca, have interesting potential. We must not forget that we are working on a program that will soon be launched on tourism investment in protected natural areas. Ecuador has a spectacular system of protected natural areas, more than 25% of our territory is protected, and we want to encourage tourism.
And what kind of tourism is this?
An absolutely responsible and regenerative tourism that leaves the place in a better state than it was found. A tourism that is adapted to the environmental management plans of each park, because that is clearly what governs us, since our great treasure is the sustainability and biodiversity that we have to protect. We must take care of the center of the world, which concentrates 18% of the bird species and 19% of the orchid species in the world. We call on this responsible and sustainable tourism to come and visit us.