st. Helen
The tourists who traveled to the different localities of the province of Santa Elena began their return from the morning of this Tuesday, March 1.
Estela Calvache, together with her two children, made the respective queue inside the Sumpa land terminal to return to Guayaquil. She enjoyed three of the four days of the carnival holiday in Santa Elena.
Given the high movement of passengers to the Main Port, buses were scheduled to leave the terminal every 5 minutes. Normally, the frequency is every 15 minutes.
More toll booths are enabled for the return of travelers on the Santa Elena-Guayaquil route; 95,588 cars left for resorts on holidays
The staff of the establishment indicated that there are enough units to cover the demand by the users, but in case it increases, there is a contingency plan with extra buses. Until noon, the arrival of passengers at the station was progressive and without major developments.
It was estimated that a large percentage of the 200,000 visitors that the Santa Elena Provincial Chamber of Tourism had projected for the holiday in the province would arrive through this terminal.
Another projection is that the holiday would represent an economic generation of some $15 million, motivated by the application of 8% of the value added tax (VAT) for the tourism sector, which was announced by the Government in recent days.
This is a very positive holiday because it helps the economic reactivation of the canton
Otto Lamán, director of tourism for the Municipality of Salinas
At the close of the holiday, hotel occupancy would have closed at 90% and in the specific case of the Salinas canton it would be 96%, considering that Sunday, February 27, was the highest peak.
In the latter canton, the beverage and food segment was at 100% capacity during the holiday. “This is a very positive holiday because it helps the economic reactivation of the canton,” said Otto Lamán, director of tourism for the Municipality of Salinas.
Other areas of the province such as San Lorenzo, Montañita, Olón and Ayangue also registered a high movement of travelers from different parts of the country.
Registered claims
The province of Santa Elena registered one death due to a traffic accident and at least 19 road accidents that left 21 injured, according to data provided by the Ecuadorian Traffic Commission (CTE).
At least four injured after a bus overturned on the Playas-Progreso road; a young man died in another accident on the road to Posorja
Until noon, the vehicular exit through State 40 that connects Santa Elena with Guayas was 30 vehicles per minute.
The controls and operations continued, especially with activations for the respect of traffic signals, use of the seat belt and that drivers drive with caution.
Other registered events
Luis Tenempaguay, spokesman for the Santa Elena Chamber of Tourism, pointed out that among the negative factors and what is considered “lessons to be learned” was the lack of control and citizen recklessness due to the crowds and the little use of masks in the different locations of the province.
Excesses in the spas of the Santa Elena peninsula were recorded in videos
Tenempaguay pointed out that in order to control these aspects, coordination between authorities must be strengthened, but above all, citizen co-responsibility must be promoted.
For example, Montañita Lifeguard pointed out that visitors were reckless during the holiday. From Saturday to Monday, February 28, 36 drowning attempts were recorded throughout the Peninsula and a minor drowned in Salinas. The organization noted the lack of prevention signage to educate the tourist community.
Another negative aspect was the issue of insecurity. Although there is no exact number of robberies of people, premises or vehicles, there were several reports of these events during the holiday. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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