Additional measures required by the tourism sector to complement the Promotion Plan of Ecuador

Increasing the flow of tourists to the country and that, in turn, this represents better income for the country, in addition to improving the labor market indicators of the tourism sector are the main goals of the Promotion Plan for 2022 and goals until 2025, released last Wednesday by the Ministry of the branch.

The ambitious project includes a budget allocated for investment from 2022 to 2025 of $47.3 million, distributed over the four years. Of this amount, $41.6 million will be for the promotion of the country in that same periodwhile $5.6 million will go to innovation and new products.

The Tourism Minister Niels Olsen explained during the launch of the plan that the planned work takes into account the new trends in international tourism. In this way, the strategy is focused on attracting tourism with a high environmental, economic and social return, with a focus on nature, gastronomy, culture and rurality, without forgetting the segment of meetings, events and conventions.

For Holbach Muñeton, president of the National Federation of Provincial Chambers of Tourism of Ecuador (Fenacaptur), Although the presentation of the roadmap for the tourism sector is applauded since it was a pending issue, there are certain points that must be taken into account to finish promoting activity within the country and abroad. For example, he cited, it is necessary to analyze a tariff reduction to inputs used by the hotel and restaurant sector, establish soft credit lines and reduce the value added tax (VAT) to cities that require tourism promotion.

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“Not only do we have to work on promotion, but also within the country. It is necessary to promote training and additional measures that allow the Ecuadorian tourism sector to be competitive and its operation to be less expensive,” said Muñeton.

Douglas Dillon, tour operator in Ballenita, added that the current Minister of Tourism must “act as the head of management” to articulate the solution of problems that still persist in tourist destinations such as lack of signage, for example. “In order to make a strategic plan, an adequate diagnosis had to be made and the observations and experience of the actors who live tourism day by day had to be counted on”.

Another point to consider, Dillon pointed out, is that a budget should have been considered for the preparation of the destinations. “Visitors must arrive at a destination with a reality similar to that observed in advertising campaigns. marketing“, he claimed.

United States as the main country for international promotion

Only for 2022, The Tourism Portfolio will have a budget of $3.3 million for investment in international promotion. As established in the Promotion Plan, 70% of the efforts will be focused on markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe, with the aim of attracting more foreign currency and injecting it into the Ecuadorian economy.

For U.SFor example, $1.6 million will be allocated for promotion, equivalent to 50% of the total budget. The amount is expected to finance fairs and events, roadshow, digital campaigns, among other tools. One of the reasons for directing the greatest number of efforts to that country, according to Olsen, is because there are factors such as greater direct air connectivity, fewer restrictions in terms of facilities for entering the country and a representative average expense.

Meanwhile, for Europe, the United Kingdom and Latin America, more than $1.4 million, which is around 45% of the budget.

For the Fenacaptur, Although this destination was considered a priority, we must turn our eyes to non-traditional and new nations such as China, Mexico and Central America. “Where Ecuador enters to do business, you should also enter for tourism,” explained Muñeton.

Regarding the fairs that Ecuador will attend such as Adventure Elevate, Virtuoso, Signature, Remote, USTOA, LATA Expo, IFTM Top Resa and WTM, the former president of the Association of Receptive Tourism Operators of Ecuador (Optur) Richard Dávila He pointed out that it is necessary to set up a committee that is in charge of defining the protocols that the tourist operators that attend must adhere to. Also, who or how will be regulated the selection of people for the Press and Fam trip. “It is necessary to know what the process will be like to choose and qualify the companies that attend these international meetings,” he pointed out.

An additional issue, according to Dávila, is that regional fairs such as Anato, which takes place in Colombia, were left aside, as well as one in Germany.

The domestic market will have priority on holidays

For local promotion, which will have the objective of achieving a circulation and redistribution of resources with a special focus on rural areas and in cities with low tourist traffic, $934,483 will be allocated.

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A tour operator from the Milagro canton said that it should be promoted, more aggressively, agrotourism and coordinate actions to improve access roads. “There are rest sites located a few hours from the big cities, but they have roads in poor condition, which complicates the arrival of tourists.”

The plan for domestic promotion contemplates campaigns in at least 11 holidays and in seasons such as vacations on the Coast, Sierra, Festival of Living Arts and even the flowering of the guayacanes. The investment will be segmented by age, socioeconomic profile and various activities. (I)