Ecuador reduces airfare taxes to boost tourism

The Government of Ecuador completed at the national level the reduction of two taxes applied to international air tickets with the aim of lowering costs and promoting the arrival of tourists to the country.

The two taxes that will be reduced as of June 1 are the rate Echo Deltawhich is applied to Ecuadorians traveling abroad, and the Ecuador Tourist Power rate, which is applied to foreigners traveling to Ecuador, as announced by the Ministry of Tourism in a statement.

Rate Echo Delta it will be 5% of the net value of the air ticket, with a maximum ceiling of US$ 50, which was the value paid until now, regardless of the cost of the ticket.

while the rate Tourist Power It will also be 5% of the net value of the air ticket, with a maximum ceiling of US$10, the current value of this tax.

These parameters will be applied to the two airports with the highest traffic in the country, which are those of Quito and Guayaquil, operated through a private concession.

In this way, the commitment announced by the Ecuadorian Executive to lower these two taxes as requested by the airline associations and unions is fulfilled, after both rates were reduced last year only for airports managed by public entities.

For those other airports, the fee Echo Delta it was reduced to a fixed value of 5 dollars and that of Tourist Power to 1 dollar.

“As of today flying to and from Ecuador is cheaper, the tourist fees charged on international air tickets were reduced to continue connecting our country with the world and thus continue receiving more touristssaid the Minister of Tourism, Niels Olsen.

“The reduction of the Eco Delta rate and the actions implemented in favor of tourism make the skies of Ecuador more attractive to fly”, he added.

The minister also mentioned other actions taken in recent months to promote Ecuador’s international air connectivity, such as the elimination of the foreign currency outflow tax (ISD) for airlines, the signing of open skies agreements with countries such as the United States and the international promotion of the destination.

Olsen recalled that, as of March 2023, Ecuador achieved a recovery of 89% of its international scheduled air connectivity, compared to March 2020, with 307 direct weekly frequencies, operating 28 routes to 18 international destinations.

Source: EFE