Ecuador claims to be “the most resilient country” for South American tourism

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Through a message to the population, the President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, announced on March 18 the elimination of all restrictions on the capacity of productive and recreational activities, which will now be able to operate at 100% of their capacity.

According to his words, the decision was based on “the successful Vaccination Plan, the adequate management of the pandemic and the responsibility of the citizens”.

“Today, we announce that Ecuador is ready to take a new leap forward. All sporting events, restaurants, shopping malls, cinemas, entertainment venues, and workplaces will have 100% capacity,” said the President.

And in the same sense, he emphasized that the use of masks and the biosecurity measures are maintained. However, he admitted that these could also be lifted in the coming months as the epidemiological scenario allows it. To this end, he urged his compatriots to complete their vaccination schedules: “We must all collaborate to strike the final blow against this pandemic!”

Today, the health situation allows these advances. In fact, they report that the measures were taken after the technical review of the National Emergency Operations Committee (COE), led by Juan Zapata, who assured that “Ecuador’s health indicators are the best in the region”.

But, from the Government’s perspective, this is not the only parameter in which the country stands out at the regional level. Through its Twitter account, the Ministry of Tourism, Niels Olsen, stated that “Ecuador is the most resilient country in the tourism industry in South America”.

According to the portfolio, Ecuador “achieved a growth in tourist arrivals in 2021 of 27%, compared to what was achieved in 2020, a percentage that demonstrates Ecuador’s leadership in the reactivation of the sector, compared to the international average of 4%”.

At the level of Latin America and the Caribbean and in the 2019 comparison, which is the last pre-pandemic year, a Forwardkeys report indicates that the most resilient destinations in the region are El Salvador (+39%), Turks and Caicos (+2%), Dominican Republic (-4%), Mexico (-6%), and Costa Rica (-9%).