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Tourism Industry
The importance of the sector to the Government is
reflected in the progressive increase in the budget as-
signed for its development, from $6 million USD in 2007
to $30 million USD in 2010, which would allow construc-
tive development of 6 key areas, including the Strategic
Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development in Ecuador
(PLANDTUR 2020), Training and Human Resources
Development, Development and Investment, Transverse
Measures for Tourism, Tourist System Governance, De-
velopment of Tourist Facilities, and Marketing & Promo-
tion. With regards to the Marketing & Promotion area, $6
million USD is expected to be invested by the Tourism
Promotion Fund in the development of promotional cam-
paigns aimed at consolidating positions in the domestic
market and major international markets such as Peru,
Colombia, Venezuela, United States, among others.
The tourism product is a structured proposal that will
incorporate services such as transport, accommodation
and travel guides, among others. Each product must
include three fundamental attributes: attraction, facilities
and accessibility.
There has beenmade a series of studies to identify clear-
ly what the country can present in terms of tourism. The
Strategic Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development in
Ecuador “PLANDETUR 2020” determines that the con-
cept of a regional tourist destination is applicable to so-
called macro areas, which are geographic spaces with
unique characteristics, in which tourism development
occurs or is powered depending on unique environmen-
tal, cultural, economic and political factors. This concept
is applicable to Ecuador with its natural and cultural di-
versity with ten regional tourist destination (Sierra Norte,
Sierra Centro, Austro, North Coast, Central Coast, South
Coast, Northern Amazon, Central Amazon, Frontera Sur
and Galapagos) and two Metropolitan Districts (Quito
and Guayaquil).
For the development of these destinations there have
been identified several product lines:
• Community Tourism
• Sun & Beach
• Cultural Tourism
• Health Tourism: Thermalism - ancestral Medicine –
Spa’s
• Congress & Conventions Tourism - meetings, incen-
tives, conferences,
exhibitions and fairs
• Sports and Adventure tourism - Land Sports – River
Sports - Aerial sports - Water Sports
• Cruise Tourism
• Theme Parks
• Agrotourism - Farmhouses, farms and plantations
• Ecotourism - National Parks - Reserves and private for-
ests - Rivers, lakes, ponds and waterfalls
• Circuits and Routes
• Scientific, Academic, Voluntary and Educational Tour-
ism
PRODUCTS AND TOURIST DESTINATIONS OF EC-
UADOR
For proper positioning and promotion of tourism products
in Ecuador, there has been developed a Comprehensive
TourismMarketing Plan of Ecuador (PIMTE). The offer is
structured around the concept of Tourist Worlds, where
destinations that make eachWorld are identified, tourism
product lines are developed in each of them, and finally,
the supply of tourist services is presented for each of the
Worlds, which are Galapagos, Coast, Mountains and
Amazonia.
Galapagos
• Regional Destinations: Galapagos
• Main destination: Galapagos Islands
• Main product lines: general tourist circuits, ecotourism
and nature tourism, wildlife watching, sun and beach, as
well as sports and adventure: diving and surfing.
Costa
• Regional Destinations: North Coast, Central Coast,
South Coast, Guayaquil Metropolitan District
• Main destination: Isla de la Plata, Paseo de los Sab-
ores: cacao, banana, coffee. Machalilla National Park,
Petrified Forest of Puyando, Ecological Reserve of
Cotacachi-Cayapas, Puerto López, Montecristi, Manta,
Bahia, Guayaquil, Montañita
• Main product lines: Round trips and routes, sun and
beach, Community Tourism, Cultural Tourism: markets
and crafts, ecotourism, flora and fauna (whale watching),
Theme Park, Sports and Adventure: Surf, rural tourism,
Health Tourism, Cruises.
Andes
• Regional Destinations: Sierra Norte, Sierra Centro,
Austro, Frontera Sur, Quito Metropolitan District
• Main destinations: Quito, Cuenca, Ibarra, Otavalo,
Cotacachi, Cotopaxi National Park, Avenue of the Vol-
canoes, Cloud Forest of Mindo, Ingapirca, Podocarpus
National Park Vilcabamba, Quilotoa Lake, Riobamba,
and organization. One of the main presidential deci-
sions was to make tourism the first productive bet of
the country, in line with the fundamental principles of
the Constitution and the objectives of the National
Plan for Good Living, based on participation, social
inclusion, transparency, and decentralization.