Ecuador has much to offer the tourist. The spectacular Galapagos
Islands have been famous since they were visited by Charles Darwin.
Less well-known is the variety of landscapes and climates on the
mainland itself: from Quito, a charming city in the highlands
(altitude: 2,800 meters), the Andes, the Amazon basin and the
Pacific coast are all within easy driving distance. It’s a
beautiful and friendly country. Since dollarization, it’s even
easier to negotiate for foreign visitors.
Despite its charms, Ecuador is little known to foreign tourists
(except, perhaps, for ornithologists: Ecuador’s huge variety of
wildfowl has made it a global center for bird-watching). That’s
partly because Ecuador has done little to promote itself as a
tourist destination. The country spends less than $2 million a year
on promoting tourism; neighboring Peru, by contrast, spends $8
million.
Rocío Vázquez, minister of tourism, hopes to change that. And, as
in other areas where improving competitiveness is key, she hopes to
do it with the help of the private sector.
“There was never any proper planning for promoting tourism,” she
says. “We put together a masterplan in 1999 and it’s been in
operation since January 2000. Its strength is in the participation
of both the public and private sectors.”
She concedes that this is difficult. “There’s no culture of working
together in Ecuador, each sector likes to work within its own
territory.” But she persuaded the President, eight ministers, local
governments, private companies, NGOs, universities, and the United
Nations to sign up to a plan to develop tourism with the emphasis
on the tourist, rather than on destinations and promotion.
“Tourism isn’t just a matter of promotion,” she says. “You have to
have the infrastructure, airports, roads, health services. You have
to respect the rights of the tourist.” With that in mind, a new
tourist police force is being established in partnership with local
authorities. “Any pickpocket who steals from a tourist will be
prosecuted, even if the tourist doesn’t press charges,” Vázquez
says.
The initiative includes efforts to encourage more private
investment and get the state out of offering tourist services
itself. The government owns a chain of hotels built in the 1970s
when state participation was the norm. These will be sold. Vázquez
hopes the sale will raise $5 million to $6 million to be used as
seed finance for a new fund designed to increase spending on
promotion to an initial $7 million a year. The fund will promote
Ecuador as a whole, but will also offer funds in participation with
local governments for promotion of individual attractions.
Vázquez is keen to keep her objectives in perspective. “In terms of
tourism we are just starting”, she says. “Ecuador isn’t well known
as a tourist destination, but we want to develop the tools and
learn from what other countries have done. We don’t want to compete
in terms of mass tourism. We’re a small country with fragile
systems. So our hope is to become known for special interest
tourism, to appeal to people with an interest in culture and
nature.”