The tourist awakening of Cuenca, not only the most beautiful city in Ecuador, but also the most expensive ($808 is the cost of a basic basket in Ecuador’s Athens as of the middle of the year), is decisive for the evaluation of the year ahead. To complete.

During the November holiday alone, one of the longest of the year, since the Day of the Dead and Cuenca’s independence celebrations, both national, come together, the city collected just over $40 million. In those four days, 261,000 tourists entered and stimulated the local economy. The reasons for this awakening mainly start with the security climate offered by the beautiful Tomebamba Valley, amidst the wave of violence and crime that is recorded in other latitudes, such as the province of Guayas.

According to the Municipal Corporation, most foreign visitors come from Guayaquil and its surroundings, where insecurity reigns.

To this should be added the quality of the tourist offer in terms of accommodation and food with a special feature: the historical core of the city was declared a cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO 24 years ago; and this journey of almost a quarter of a century has allowed Athens, Ecuador to become one of the main national and international tourist destinations.

The level of access to basic services contributes: according to INEC, in Cuenca, electricity reaches 99.2% of the population, drinking water 97%, sewage 81.6% and garbage collection 96.5%.

Christmas lights in Cuenca with more than 220,000 light points and drone ‘shows’ in the historic center

Henry Rodas, a native of Cuenca who paints hyperrealistic horses, is an award-winning member of the Royal Academy of Arts in Paris

The city’s private healthcare system is a strong reason why the city of four rivers has also become an ideal place to experience the post-retirement process for more than 10,000 foreign nationals. Also according to INEC, the second largest community of foreigners living in Cuenca comes from the United States (16.2% of the total number of foreign residents).

And, as a complement, what the cold statistical numbers do not say: the human skills of the people of Cuenca in charge of serving foreign nationals and local visitors. The pleasures of its gastronomy in the warm eastern cantons. The intoxicating beauty of the El Cajas lake area (440 natural lagoons accessible to all); religious and spiritual offerings of their temples.

The history of the region cannot forget what Cuenca means to Ecuador in sports: the names of famous athletes whose greatest representation is, for example, in the records of Jefferson Pérez, the country’s first Olympic medalist. Also doubly so.

A necessary assessment of everything that makes us Cuencans proud. An invitation to all to be “welcome” in this land of Morlaquía, where the local vision has changed to a more cosmopolitan one. A good omen for us to turn the page on these sad years of irresponsible governments, whose disaster is being fought by the action of citizens at the local level.

I live in a city that makes us proud. This is how we achieve it. We’ll continue like this: welcome and well done to the beautiful basin of the Andes. (OR)