With changes, Ambato expects a large influx of tourists to the traditional Fruit and Flower Festival

Ambato is getting ready to receive thousands of tourists from different parts of the country who will enjoy what the 71st edition of the Fruit and Flower Festival (FFF).

Little by little, since this Saturday, the arrival of travelers to the city was registered. In fact, the Directorate of Culture and Tourism of the Municipality of the town indicated that through a quick survey it was found that the lodging sites already reach more than 50% occupancy.

Manuel Roha and Carmen Arroba, for example, moved from Guayaquil to enjoy the Ambatean festivities. Although they only canceled the one night stay, the couple will consider extending their stay to attend the events scheduled for the carnival holiday.

Diana Freire, Director of Culture and Tourism of the Municipality, said that an additional factor that fueled the influx of tourists to the city was the bullfights. “We are pleased that we are at an average of 65% to 70% occupancy, that the capacity is estimated to be around 4,000 people, which is really good because there is a very good reception,” said the official.

The events for the Fruit and Flower Festival in Ambato for the carnival holiday

Freire announced that at the end of the holiday information will be collected to find out how the country houses, house-museums and cultural centers throughout the city fared.

University professor Diego Proaño He said that the aspiration is that with the FFF at least 30% of what Ambato generates daily (about $8 million) will be reactivated.

The expectation, he indicated, is that this year around 150,000 people will arrive for the festival. The figure would be half considering that in the pre-pandemic period the city received between 300,000 and 400,000 tourists for this same event.

Diana AlmeidaExecutive Director of the Standing Committee of the FFF, explained that in this edition changes were made that were planned almost fifteen months in advance. The previous year, he explained, these modifications were going to be implemented, but the sanitary conditions at that time and the restrictions imposed by the national Emergency Operations Committee (COE) did not allow their execution.

He asserted that the changes, basically, are that the parade that traditionally took place along Cevallos Avenue and Bolívar Street, in the center of the Ambateña city, will now take place in four sectors simultaneously from 09:00 this Sunday.

Also the night round will have three routes on Monday 28, starting at 18:00.

the parade routes

The tours will take place outside the urban area. The first section of the parade on Sunday will be from Ficoa Las Palmas to the park Motorist. The second section, of the roundabout Cesar Maquilon up to the roundabout La Salle Educational Unit. The third sector will be from the Junior College Indoamerica until the Mall of the Andes and, lastly, from the circle of the wholesale market to the stadium of Beautiful view.

While the night watch It will also have different sections. It will be carried out from the entrance of the Atahualpa parish to the Solca Ambato hospital, another site of the round will be from the Catholic University to the Police roundabout and, finally, from the Sagrada Familia Educational Unit to the National Unit avenue.

To avoid crowds, work tables were held with the National Police, Armed Forces and other municipal authorities, to align control strategies. For example, for the mega-event that is scheduled to take place on the municipal esplanade with the Mexican band The blue Angels, the passes were channeled through digital platforms. There, those interested had to upload copies of the vaccination card and identity card. It was estimated to deliver 30,000 passes.

Controls in events

The Governor of Tungurahua, Fernando Gavilanes, He explained that the security of the FFF programs and activities in all the cantons of the province was planned in advance. There will be about 1,000 police officers, 200 who came from other places, for which arrangements were even made so that they could be accommodated without setbacks.

Ana Isabel Cobo, new queen of Ambato who will preside over the Fruit and Flower Festival

Gavilanes reiterated that, despite the fact that the issue of traffic lights was left aside, during the events the flow of users will be controlled so that there are no crowds that could lead to more COVID-19 infections.

The mayor of Ambato, Xavier Altamirano, for his part, indicated that in addition to the police officers, civil Traffic and Municipal Control agents will join the control work. In this way, all the sectors where festive programs are scheduled to be carried out will be protected.

Altamirano called for the co-responsibility of citizens to avoid negative actions and excesses during the days of celebration in the city. (I)