With a new president, a new minister of tourism and new hopes for post-pandemic growth, Ecuador’s government is taking a new approach to attracting more travelers — and helping travel advisors sell more Ecuador.
In December, the ministry of tourism launched its first U.S. roadshow in more than six years, spearheaded by Niels Olsen, who took the reins as Ecuador’s minister of tourism following the election of President Guillermo Lasso this year. The roadshow is part of an effort to forge stronger connections with U.S. travel advisors, a plan that will also include familiarization trips and a new specialist program in 2022.
We need some time to recover because, for a very long time, Ecuador hasn’t been very proactive in promoting our country. I really think we have it all, but we need more people to learn about us.
The nation also aims to start issuing nomad visas, designed for remote-working digital nomads, in 2022, opening up a new market niche.
Olsen — who is also owner of Hacienda La Danesa, a luxury hacienda hotel in the Guayas province — spoke with TravelAge West about Ecuador’s revamped growth strategy.
Ecuador’s minister of tourism, Niels Olsen
Credit: 2021 Mark ChesnutHow big is this new Ecuador roadshow?
We’re really excited to have the first face-to-face event after a very long time. We have 16 exhibitors from Ecuador — hoteliers, DMCs, airlines and an airport and the tourism board from Guayaquil — and they’re all very excited to come and meet [travel professionals]. We’re visiting five cities in four days, with over 200 buyers coming to meet us.
You’re only visiting the eastern United States for now. Do you plan to visit other parts of the country soon?
Next year we want to do the West Coast and we want to be in all the major travel shows. We need some time to recover because, for a very long time, Ecuador hasn’t been very proactive in promoting our country. I really think we have it all, but we need more people to learn about us.
Why is Ecuador getting more proactive now?
The president of Ecuador, he really — well, we all really think that tourism has to be the future for our country, and we’re working very hard to make it happen. In 2018, we had about 1.4 million visitors arriving to Ecuador. By 2025, we want to have 2 million high-value travelers, so we’re working really hard to attract high-yield travelers to come to Ecuador.
Ecuador offers unique, authentic experiences for travelers.
Credit: 2021 Ecuador Ministry of Tourism
How important is the U.S. market?
It’s super important, because the U.S. [represents] 40% of the international market. We’re working very hard to improve the connectivity between Ecuador and the U.S.
At the moment, we only have [nonstop] connections from Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and New York, but we’re working hard to have other cities, especially on the West Coast.
At the moment, we only have [nonstop] connections from Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and New York, but we’re working hard to have other cities, especially on the West Coast. A few months ago, we eliminated a tax that the Ecuadorean government charged American carriers, and we want to sign an open skies agreement. We’re very close to doing that.
Has Ecuador recovered its pre-pandemic airlift?
We’re at about 60% of recovery at the moment, but the 40% that we haven’t recovered is from a national airline that went bankrupt, Tame, so we have to fill that gap. We have a new airline that starts operating Dec. 20 called EquAir. They will start flying to Quito, Guayaquil and the Galapagos Islands and then they will continue expanding to other cities.
What kind of travelers is Ecuador attracting today?
We’re attracting educated travelers who are looking for a unique and authentic experience, so they can evolve and learn something new in their travels. Ecuador is a great destination for that because we’re still kind of an off-the-beaten-path destination. It’s an emerging country for tourism, so it’s perfect for those travelers who want a story to tell. We’re full of stories.
In this roadshow, you have people from Cuenca, from Quito, from Guayaquil. Each is probably less than one hour [by air] from the others, but they’re all completely different — culture-wise, our accents, our food, our architecture. It’s a very small country, so you have Latin America in a nutshell.
How are you working with travel advisors?
We want our tour operators and hoteliers to develop strong ties with the American trade, so that’s our job. We want to facilitate and create better relationships for them so they can have more business and bring more travelers to Ecuador. We’re also working on an Ecuador specialist program for travel agents from all over the world, to educate them and help them learn more about the country. That’s a new program we’re developing, and we hope to have it ready by April 2022.
How would you describe Ecuador’s pandemic recovery?
In December, we’re going to have about 85% of all Ecuadorians older than five years old fully vaccinated, so that’s a huge success. Every month we’re recovering our tourism. We’re getting to the numbers of 2019. But we still have a lot of work to do.
The ministry of tourism has organized the roadshow and we’re working on the nomad visa, which is something we’re going to launch in the next few months. We’re doing everything in our power to speed the recovery.
The Details
Ecuador Ministry of Tourism
