The World Tourism Organization predicts that countries will finally recover from the pandemic in 2024. So far, Ecuador has done so in 90% of international tourist arrivals. This, in general, since visits from the countries in which investments are made to attract them have recovered. If you compare this first quarter with that of 2019, the arrival of tourists from the United States of America increased by 20%, from Spain by 9%, as well as from the United Kingdom. And the sales of the sector exceeded the turnover before the pandemic by 1%. The balance sheet is made by the Minister of Tourism, Niels Olsen, who tells how the work went.

What actions produced these results?

With the cooperation between the private and public sectors, we managed to get the industry to recover at an excellent speed… When the pandemic started, there was talk about how expensive it was to fly between Guayaquil and Quito, and today we can already get flights for $35 one way. We abolished the Foreign Exchange Exit Tax (ISD) for airlines, which enabled us to sign open skies agreements with different countries like the United States… At state-run airports, we reduced the Ecodelta rate from $50 to $5 and Price Tourist Power from $10 to $1. On the flights that will start departing from Manta to Panama – starting June 27 – if the ticket cost $300 at a $50 exchange rate it ended up being $350, it would now be $305. Direct savings in the pockets of Ecuadorians. Next week, two frequencies are allocated to an airline to connect Manta with the Galapagos, and we should have that route between June and July.

Copa, the foreign airline with the most flights in Ecuador, aims to move 12,000 passengers in its first year on the Panama-Manta route

We reached a second ministerial agreement to reduce prices at Guayaquil and Quito airports according to a different formula: Ecodelta will be 5% of the net value of the ticket from June 1. It is the creation of a favorable environment. This new formula has an upper limit of $50, anyone flying first class to Amsterdam or Madrid will see no change, they will continue to pay $50, but an Ecuadorian traveling on the airline low price to neighboring countries or Miami – where the price is cheaper – you will see the difference in the price of your direct ticket.

A series of actions forced airlines currently flying in Ecuador to increase their frequencies. There are also monumental efforts in promoting the country, Ecuador is participating in 19 international events this year, and the vast majority are accompanied by a delegation from the private tourism sector representing each of the country’s regions. They are mostly tour operators, and in a smaller percentage hoteliers. We also give the opportunity to ships or hotels to present their offer.

They have applications for these missions, how can you participate?

On the page ecuador.travel/es/promocion there is a complete schedule of promotional actions that the Ministry of Tourism will carry out so that they can register their interest and participate in the presentation of their products. It is completely transparent and democratic, but it is also competitive. At the international events we participate in, there are between 25 and 30 places and we always have 200 applicants, it must be an innovative proposal with sustainability policies, you must speak the language of the market in which we will participate, have websites, up-to-date social networks that Ecuador as a destination goes with a quality offer.

What are the loans that the government initiated for that sector used for?

We have two loan products with interest subsidized by the Government. At 1% for 30 years, terms with a one-year grace period and loans up to $5,000, perfect for micro-entrepreneurs and community tourism centers to improve infrastructure, purchase new equipment. You don’t even have to be in the cadastre of the Ministry of Tourism, just register as an entrepreneur with the Ministry of Production. The second is exclusive to the tourism industry with 5%, a 10-year term and a one-year grace period, and is up to $20,000. One of the most important requirements is that you have collected between $20,000 and $100,000 in the past year. We have accommodation services, hostels, restaurants, cafeterias, we last delivered in Salinas to the boat that takes tourists to see whales, buy new vests, change pillows and make improvements. For a hostel that needs a pool or a change of bed linen to be ready for a holiday in the Sierra, for micro, small and medium.

In the 5% loan for tourism, 1.2 million dollars have been delivered, and another 19 million dollars are available

The $7.5 million promotion plan, how is it distributed?

Of the $7.5 million budget for this year, 70 percent will be invested in the international promotion of the country, and 30 percent in the continued promotion of domestic tourism. We have 19 international fairs. last year came National Geographic to produce a 50-page Ecuador feature which is already being distributed across the UK. (Click here to see the magazine from Ecuador).

How much did it cost the country to appear in that magazine?

$275,000, approximately. It is an investment, what the country is paying for is that Ecuador has an allowance. It is attached to the magazine they publish monthly, on 50 pages with more than 40 stories and articles from different tourism entrepreneurs in Ecuador from small to large. It is not only a magazine, but it is complemented by Ecuador’s participation in National Geographic Food Festival with a stand now in June which is the most important food fair in the UK, several articles are also included in the digital media National Geographic globally, magazine content on website, physical magazine delivery to 80,000 UK subscribers.

With security issues, how do you try not to see only the negative?

The Ministry of Internal Affairs is working on a policy and strategy to improve the country’s security. As the Ministry of Tourism, in articulating and working, for example, with the tourist police, which will be almost two years old since it was reactivated in our administration. The second part is work on the promotion and reputation of the country’s brand. We live in a complicated context where the news goes out to the public, what I have to do is try to share the good news from Ecuador, like the publications National Geographic, in it The New York Times.

My job is to take care of the country’s brand reputation, Ecuador has much more positive than negative news and I know it is complicated and cold to say ‘let’s see the numbers’, but if we compare the arrival of American tourists compared to 2019, we are 20% above In 2019. tourists from the United Kingdom arrived 9% more than in 2019, from the Spanish market 9% more arrived.

What is the next step?

Three things are coming. The first is the launch of the international campaign, which will be on July 1. 1.8 million dollars will be invested in the Ecuadorian advertising campaign in digital media in our priority markets, which are USA, Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain. Then we have the launch of the country brand in January 2024. The country brand is being developed, it is in the first phase, which is market research… Ecuadorians easily recognize the country brand of Peru, but how difficult it is to recognize which one it is. It is the brand of your country, we have been making mistakes for years and with every change of government, the country’s brand changes because it is politicized. A country brand must follow a technical process. We want it to be a brand of a country that manages to transition from government to government. The supplier who works on the country brand is the same one who worked on the country brand of Peru, Costa Rica and Australia, we are in good hands.

How much does it cost us?

Creating a country brand, the contract was awarded for just over $600,000.

And what is the guarantee that the next government will not change it?

Unfortunately, there are no guarantees. What I can say is that from our Government, the Ministry of Tourism, we have to make it completely apolitical, so that Ecuadorians feel that it is their brand and not a politician in power so that the next Government does not decide to create a new one. My guarantee is that we will do things right.

What is the third action you mention?

We are working with tourism sector unions, shared economy hosts, positive builders unions, all actors related to hosting service providers on shared economy platforms to come up with a super simple and easy regulation so that hosts can use all the benefits of the Ministry of Tourism, such as access to credit from 5% to 1%, so that they can participate in international promotional events. There is a negative perception among citizens, but we have a good relationship with the managers of sharing economy platforms and we are on the same page, we share the same vision, what we need is that Ecuadorians can work freely and have all their rights to rent their home and host on sharing economy platforms , but we, the state, are obliged to give them the legal certainty and benefits that we give to the rest of the industry so that they can formalize, continue to grow and improve the quality of their offer. We hope that in a month or two we will have a regulation that will provide you with numerous benefits.