The Ministry of Tourism is launching a campaign to show the attractive face of Ecuador and attract visitors; Is this feasible in the midst of an internal armed conflict?

Tourism Minister Niels Olsen called influential personscontent creators, filmmakers (audiovisual production experts) and colleagues from the tourism industry to promote Ecuador’s tourist attractions with social media content using hashtag #ThisisEcuador.

“We have suffered a lot of negative press that has greatly affected our country, this is the time we can take steps forward as a tourism industry, and the first step is to reverse all the negative press our country has received… Ecuador, the most special and beautiful country on the planet, has its doors open to welcome all visitors,” said Olsen in publish published on your profile instagram January 11, 2024

Despite the wave of violence that engulfed the country, Ecuador ended 2023 with the entry of 1,410,926 foreign visitors, 16% more than in 2022. But The 2,427,660 tourists who arrived in 2018 have not yet been reached before the COVID-19 pandemic.}

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Olsen’s announcement comes as the President of the Republic, Daniel Noboa, has declared an internal armed conflict to fight organized crime groups (GDOs) and after the country has been the subject of negative propaganda due to the takeover of power by the People’s Army. TC television January 9, 2024

The influential person Micaela Zapata indicated by publish from

“My posts are not in real time, I let one, two or three days go by, so I had content that we shot in the Galapagos and it seemed very unfair for people to see me enjoying, in quotes, a country that had just entered armed conflict,” he tells EL UNIVERSO.

Zapata points out that although there are highly conflicted areas, there are also low-risk attractions, such as the Galapagos province, which did not register any crimes during 2023.

Likewise, most Sierra provinces that have low intentional homicide rates, such as Carchi, Chimborazo, Imbabura, Tungurahua, Loja, Azuay, Cotopaxi, and Pichincha, have an intentional homicide rate in the single digits.

About 2,300 cruise passengers arrived in Guayaquil in the last quarter of 2023.

“For me, it is safe to visit Ecuador if you have the right recommendations, which places you can go, where you can stay. The previous time my boyfriend came, we went to the Amazon by car from Guayaquil via Guaranda. It was beautiful, he fell in love with the country, I already knew and knew how far I should take him to eat a guinea pig”, explains Micaela.

Just a day before internal armed conflict was declared, Micaela posted what she called the best beach she had ever seen, that of Cerro Brujo on San Cristóbal Island in the Galapagos Archipelago.

Micaela indicates that he will probably follow up with her in a few days or a few weeks posts with Ecuadorian landscapes.

He points out the coast of Santa Elena and the southern part of Manabí with cities like Olón: “What most attracts the attention of foreigners in Ecuador is its nature, they are amazed by the number of trees in the Amazon, being on the beach and that the sea lions in the Galapagos are close, the birds are close, the beach and in an hour I’ll be at the waterfall.”

Diego Vivero, director of the Confederation of Restaurants of Ecuador, indicates that the concern for tourism is medium and long term. The problem, he adds, is that this extreme violence is new to the country and we are not learning how to communicate in crises. “The country is much more than what is shown to the whole world.”

“What we are trying to do is to show shots of what the country is like in everyday reality, not shots that would give us the impression that we are in a hand-to-hand fight between criminals and citizens when the reality is different,” he says.

Increased unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic has created a lot of crime, but the solution is to improve working conditions in the country, according to Vivero. “Intervene in labor legislation to create opportunities. And that these few people make us look bad, by having job opportunities that stop crime from happening.”

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The new state of emergency, which entails a curfew of 11 p.m., has left tourism companies without customers. “There is a lot of fear, the decision to work remotely is disastrous, for example, for restaurants. There are a number of measures that obviously want to protect citizens in their homes, but they don’t realize that they cause unemployment and that this will create a bigger problem in the future than it is now,” says Vivero.

Therefore, the #ThisIsEcuador campaign of the Ministry of Tourism seeks to wash away the bad image that the country has at the international level. “We must all be aware that Ecuador has more good things than the negative news we are replicating.”

The internal armed conflict and the state of emergency that will last for two months could end with the liquidation of domestic tourism, adds Vivero. “We don’t have time, we don’t have two months to be under curfew or to be locked up again because of fear and so on. This is the last chance for many companies to survive. We are coming from a pandemic, strikes, energy rationalization. “Another week could be the last for many companies.”

The government must direct measures, says Vivero, in order to send a message to the world that there is no violence in the entire country. “There are places where you have to take more care of yourself and others where this care is not so necessary.“.

The schedule of promotions abroad will continue

Ecuador will be the protagonist of the International Tourism Fair (Fitur), which will be held from January 24 to 28 in Madrid (Spain), where a new national tourism image is planned to be presented.

Holbach Muñetón, president of the National Federation of Tourist Chambers, indicates that outside the whole country, 2023 ends positively in terms of international arrivals, compared to the number achieved in 2022.

“I think Minister Olsen’s announcement is good. Whatever happened Ecuador must be present at Fituro at the end of January in Spain. The country brand will be launched therethat is good and we cannot remain silent.”

The fight against organized crime and corruption is also reflected in more work and common goals, such as achieving a more competitive country, says the union leader.

“The state failed with certainty and that is why it is not for sale. If you are traveling overland, you encounter a damaged or unsafe road. If I decide to go by air When it was Equair tickets were cheaper, now they are expensive. We need to see the gaps, have more air connectivity and the safety and quality of land connectivity“.

Tourism entrepreneurs have pledged to the governor of Guayas, Alberto Molina, to guarantee accommodation for tourist police officers.

Tourism sector activities generated $4,630.5 million between January and October 2023, according to the latest figures available. The value is higher than in 2022 and 2019, the year before the pandemic.