The media impact of the armed conflict in the Andean country has led to sudden cancellations of events and hotel reservations. It is a situation that threatens the recovery of the sector and forces the government and the tourist chambers to rethink the image of the country brand in international events.
“Let's go with everything, 2024 will be an excellent year for the sector.” This is how the speech of the Minister of Tourism of Ecuador, Niels Olsen, ended after the presentation of the 2024 Tourism Plan on January 3. In front of union representatives and various public and private sector institutions, Daniel Noboa's government sought to expand Ecuador's presence in at least 26 international tourism events and 30 publications in specialized media.
However, the optimism at the beginning of the year suffered a severe blow, when on January 8, the Executive decreed a State of Exception due to the rise in organized crime operations such as attacks and prison riots. The next day, the images of the takeover of TC Televisión , a Guayaquil channel, went around the world and shocked everyone.
Immediately, panic among international tourists became evident: Guayaquil suffered an 80% drop in hotel occupancy and since then, the situation has not raised its head. Added to this crisis was the imposition of a curfew that runs from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. and, therefore, affects the nightlife of the so-called “Pearl of the Pacific.”
“This situation is worse than the pandemic, because at this moment, hotel occupancy is around 5 or 10%,” laments Holbach Muñetón, president of the Guayas Chamber of Tourism. From his perspective, the inability of Guillermo Lasso's government (2021-2023) to combat organized crime dented Guayaquil's prestige as a tourist destination. Ecuador's largest city, usually known for its circuit of museums, large docks and shopping centers, has faced cancellations of concerts, fairs and a decline in reservations for accommodations and restaurants.
For Muñetón, the next challenge for the government and the Armed Forces of the Andean country is to guarantee safe routes that allow tourist packages to be enabled in Guayaquil. This is important, because Ecuador will participate from January 24 to 28 in the International Tourism Fair (2024) in Madrid, Spain. There, representatives of the Noboa administration will promote the new country brand and Ecuador's key tourist destinations. “The government's message should be aligned with guaranteeing traveler safety. It is not about sending invitations for the sake of it, for example, 10 safe zones should be presented in Guayaquil, Quito or Ambato that allow tourists to move around with peace of mind and police protection,” says Muñetón.
THE IMPACT IN QUITO
The severity of criminal acts on the Ecuadorian coast has had an impact on Quito, despite the lower crime rates. The Hotel Federation of Ecuador announced that as soon as the takeover of the TC channel became known, at least 80% of events in the Ecuadorian capital were canceled. Meanwhile, evacuations to the airport or to lodgings located on the outskirts of the city did not wait long.
Raúl García, president of the Pichincha Chamber of Tourism, considers that the Noboa government reacted well when addressing the fight against drug trafficking. However, he believes that using terms such as “war” or “terrorism” to refer to criminals has had a negative impact on the image of Ecuador in general, without differentiating some regions from others.
“Now the world sees the entire country as if it were the Gaza Strip. When in reality, the mountains have been less exposed to criminal actions, like the Amazon or the Galapagos Islands. So the government should communicate that they have criminals under control in certain sectors and also lift the state of war, which obviously is not going to allow anyone to come,” García declared for AméricaEconomía . This wave of cancellations and collective panic has led the president of the chamber to think that if the restrictions are maintained for two more weeks, figures equivalent to those seen during the COVID-19 pandemic will be reached.
“Additionally, there are also small hotels that work with citizens from other provinces. There are luxury, medium-sized or fast food restaurants that work day to day. There are no opportunities for artistic exhibitions or theaters,” García warns. Added to these visible actors is the value chain that tourism activity implies, such as the sale of vegetables and dairy products, hardware items, and transportation between regions.
Through meetings with authorities, both the Executive and municipal and regional, the Pichincha Chamber of Tourism has contributed to a plan to establish safe tourism zones. While García thinks it is a valid option, in the end, he believes an alternative strategy should be followed.
“In the long run, tourism should not be focused on certain regions. No, we simply have to strengthen communication and promotion of the sectors that offer us the guarantee that nothing can happen in the tourism sectors. It is not about saying “be careful, let's not go to Esmeraldas, because there is a lot of movement there.”
THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS: AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE CRISIS?
Home to unique biodiversity and exotic landscapes, the Galapagos Islands are located more than 1,200 km from Guayaquil. In addition to being remote in distance, they are also remote in terms of security. Between 2013 and 2015, no violent deaths were recorded and the situation has changed little since then.
Therefore, for Andrés Ordoñez, executive director of the Galapagos Chamber of Tourism, the islands should receive preferential treatment in the curfew regime to keep their tourism industry afloat. “Galapagos is usually a reference brand in international tourism markets. I believe that the current approach to communication should show us as a dynamic, variable and, above all, territory of peace. This could improve Ecuador's own image as a tourist destination,” says Ordoñez.
Recent figures demonstrate the peaceful nature of the Galapagos, compared to the rest of Ecuador. In December 2023, 25,292 visitors arrived to the islands and even every month of the year there were visits higher than 2019. July and March were the months with the highest presence of visitors, while January and October show the lowest records. But all of them exceed 20,000 monthly visitors.
Currently, the local government has introduced a security filter that applies to people who want to enter the islands. People are divided into categories of transients and tourists, with the aim of restricting entry to those people who have a serious criminal record, as well as notifying the Ecuadorian Police of these cases. However, in recent times, drug trafficking has used the islands as an embarkation port for illegal shipments to the United States and Mexico. “Although we have witnessed some drug seizure activities, led by the Navy or the Police, the situation has gotten out of control. Because the territory of Galapagos is very vast, especially the maritime area,” warns Ordoñez.
This Friday the 18th, in a radio interview, President Noboa admitted the seriousness of the problem and suggested that Ecuador should implement maritime patrol networks with nearby countries such as Peru and Colombia to combat the scope of drug trafficking in the tourist islands. Ordoñez agrees with this proposal, although he also hopes that the government does not neglect environmental conservation, since the majority of support usually comes from NGOs and civil society in Galapagos. “We need resources to improve and monitor visiting sites, as well as conditioning to reduce passenger entry.”
THE ISSUE OF VAT
In the midst of the debate around strategies to combat crime, the Noboa government proposed increasing the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 12 to 15% to influence tax collection. It is a controversial solution that has generated followers and opponents both in politics and in Ecuadorian society. “We are not aligned with an increase in VAT, but with a suspension of its value or an eventual decrease. Tourism is an activity that aims for people to get to know other places and prefer long stays. To achieve this, a better spending capacity is needed, which would be achieved by reducing VAT,” suggests Ordoñez.
On the other hand, for Holbach Muñetón, the VAT increase proposed by the government is a negative option, because it is ambiguous about how many funds will be allocated to security and other items. Furthermore, it runs the risk of becoming permanent. “In its place, a targeted subsidy should be promoted. Today, technology makes it possible to define an expense of US$ 2,000 million destined to the security or tourism sector. Otherwise, the revenue motive is undermined,” he suggests.
In this way, Ecuador opens the year with an escalation of violence that threatens to devastate the modest recovery of the tourism sector. It should be noted that in 2023, the country received 1.4 million foreigners, almost 200,000 more than the previous year. Although the figures for 2019 had not yet been reached, according to figures from the Ministry of Tourism. For the next report, it will be known whether the Noboa administration managed to promote an effective security message, aimed at promoting tourist places away from crime.
