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A Special International Report Prepared by
The Washington Times Advertising Department - Published on April 21, 1999
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Advertisers
(1) Bell South
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Tourism is a vehicle for sustainable development
"The President believes that tourism can be a vehicle for development and will bring money into the country," Vasquez begins. "Tourism is an invisible export. It creates new jobs, both direct and indirect." Sebastio Nunez, General Manager of the Hilton Colon, agrees. When the President stayed in the Hilton for six months prior to moving into the Presidential Palace, Nunez said they discussed the fact that "a small investment in tourism brings immediate results and much needed foreign currency." Vasquez was appointed Minister because of her background in tourism. Her right-hand man, is a woman; Jacqueline Grard was Executive Director of CETUR, the Chamber of Tourism, until it merged with the ministry. These women are well respected in the tourism industry. They have been working hard to develop a solid plan for the sustainable development of tourism. "We want to position Ecuador as a destination," Vasquez explains. "We plan to focus on niche marketing, not necessarily mass tourism, but specialized, sustainable tourism for people who want cultural interaction and new experiences. We can offer a lot in a small area." Sustainable development is often used as a justification for the exploitation of natural resources. However, Vasquez is adamant that this catch phrase signifies the development of clean tourism and industries dedicated to tourism and the preservation of natural and cultural resources. "Ecuador has 12 ethnic groups and we value highly our cultural heritage," she says.
The Ministry is working to develop new products and to involve the entire country. Ecotourism and adventure tourism are on the top of the list. "We want our communities to help us expand ecotourism, which can help us preserve our resources by adding value to them," Rocio maintains. "Rural and agrotourism also have enormous potential. People can stay at bed and breakfasts in farms or visit a wide variety of plantations." Another idea is the promotion of incentive and conference tourism. Klein Tours has already begun working on this concept. Their new luxury ship, the M/S Discovery, is the only vessel that offers complete meeting facilities for events for to 90 passengers. The Charles Darwin Hall can be divided into a classroom, theater, or lecture and exhibit hall. Companies can easily combine business and pleasure with meetings in the morning and trips on the Galapagos Islands in the afternoon. Creating first class hotels Quito has over half a dozen five star hotels, with another on the way. Competition for clients has grown tight. Each hotel is working in its own way to attract new clients and keep current ones.
The Swissotel, is a five star luxury hotel. It prides itself on efficient and friendly service, 24 hours a day. It also has four restaurants, a barand a casino to provide entertainment for both locals and guests. Its executive floors are plush and include tea, coffee, cakes, drinks with top shelf liquors and impeccable service. A new entry to the market is the Marriott. It’s a massive, glass, pyramid structure in between the business and tourism sectors. This hotel is focussing on pure elegance - a grand entranceway, a library where cigars and cognac will be served, an elaborate outdoor swimming pool and exclusive touches throughout the construction. To attract tourists, locals and business people, the Marriott is building an adjoining walkway where shops and a café will sit. The walkway will lead to another building with condominiums. Despite the economic atmosphere, the Marriott is sure that their international reputation will attract clients both to the hotel and to the country. One of Hotel Akros' biggest attraction is the atmosphere. Winston Wlodowasky, a former manager for some of Washington, D.C.’s best hotels and head of the Hotel Association, runs the hotel. This five-year-old hotel already attracts a wide variety of guests. The Akros' clients tend to be business leaders, so Wlodowasky makes sure they can get a perfect martini and a delicious meal, created by one of Columbia's top chefs. The Radisson is a well-known name among American businesspeople. This hotel keeps notes on their regulars and makes sure the room is ready, as they like it, complete with oxygen for the guest who has problems adjusting to the altitude. The Sheraton promotes its quality and location, near many of the multinational business and shopping plazas in the new downtown Quito. The commercial relationship between Ecuador and Columbia has been a strong one for many years, and it is not unusual for hotels to be managed or owned by Colombian companies. The Hotel Dann Carlton is one of these. Part of a famous chain of 13 hotels in Columbia, the Hotel Dann's clients feel at home in Ecuador. This is the hotel's niche market and where they expect to continue to focus in the years to come. Tourism chambers promote their regions and the country. The Chamber of Tourism of Guayas wants tourists to see that although the province already has many beautiful things to offer, it is planning for the future. Guayas is best known for its beautiful beaches of all sizes. Louis Hanna, President of the Chamber and General Manger of the Hotel Ramada wants people to think of Guayas as a year round destination. "Our slogan is 'It's the season all year round in Santa Elena," he says. "Each month a different activity is planned. For example, February is Carnival, March has a beauty contest, April is Easter Week, etc." The province is also known for health and ecological tourism. In between Guayaquil and Salinas are mineral baths heated from nearby volcanoes. The waters are said to cure a wide variety of diseases, including arthritis. Nearby are dry and tropical forests with thousands of plants, butterflies, and birds. "Our dry forest is one of the last of its kind in the world," Hanna says. Since tourism is important for the future development of the country, Guayas wants to make sure it has its own project ready for the new millennium. The Malecon 2000, an almost five-mile long pier, will be inaugurated in July, 1999, and be finished in the year 2000. Plans include an aparthotel, yacht clubs, shops, a marina, restaurants and lots of areas for walking, relaxing and socializing. The President of the Chamber of Tourism for Pinchincha Province and General Manager of the Hotel Alameda Real, Jose Luis Alvarez, sees a real need to rehabilitate both the physical and human infrastructure of the country to make tourism a viable option for the future. "We need investment special incentives to improve the infrastructure," Alvarez begins. "Tourism is an important activity for Ecuador. It hasn't been officially measured, but we know it is the fourth largest revenue earner, not including other non-direct sectors that are affected by tourism." Alvarez also sees a real future in the promotion of frontier tourism. Colombians already account for about 35 percent of the tourism flow. The northern beaches of Salinas are much closer to residents of Cali than the Colombian beaches of Cartegena. "The peace with Peru has opened an important door and will be very important in the economic and social development of this region," Alvarez explains. Positioning Ecuador as a destination The main tour companies are all in agreement that one of Ecuador's main problems is that it is not perceived as a tourist destination. Most tourists are very familiar with the Galapagos Islands, but they are often surprised to find themselves landing in Quito and receiving an Ecuadorian stamp in their passport. "The Galapagos attracts attention to Ecuador," begins Maria Klein, owner of Klein Tours, "but people shouldn't forget there is much more to the country." The jungle, indigenous markets, the Devil's Nose railway, and even the old city of Quito are all attractions that need to be promoted. Klein believes that the private sector should be working with the government to promote the country as a whole. "We need to invest in tourism because tourism could mean so much to us in terms of income and employment." Ecuadorian tours is the oldest company in Ecuador. Cecil Teran, Sr., Executive President of the company and on the board of the Hilton Colon, has been working to promote Ecuador for the last 52 years. "Our first tour groups came via American Express," Teran he says. "But, that wasn't enough. We need more promotion because people still wonder - 'What is Ecuador? Where is it?' According to Teran, a patriarchal figure in the tourism industry, the Galapagos draws attention to the country, but the country itself should be promoted. "Ecuador is all things to all people," he wisely states. "There is the jungle, cities, beaches, and colonial towns. The port of entry is Quito with museums and nearby markets, volcanoes, national parks and of course, the equator." Pablo Burbana, President of Metropolitan Touring is in agreement. "The mainland needs to be developed as a destination. There is great potential with the Amazon, the Andes, the highlands and river trips." To him, even though "Ecuador is the best kept secret" in the tourism industry, it's time to make people aware of it. Ecuador's three airlines all see the United States as a major market. TAME, which is planning to begin flights to the United States believes that more promotion is vital to Ecuador. "We need to promote awareness through our embassies all over the world," begins Brigadier General Carlos Banderas, Executive President of TAME. "The Ministry of Tourism needs to take a lead role in providing information to tourists and to making Ecuador a destination country." Banderas sees tourism as a way to help the country economically also. Ecuatoriana Air Lines knows this as well. A flight from New York City is only about six hours long, but most of the market is ethnic tourism, or people from Ecuador flying home or visiting family. In order to be a tourist destination, Ecuatoriana believes that the government should continue to attract tourists of all levels, from backpackers to luxury tourists. Saeta/San, which flies both domestically and internationally, is the only one of the major airlines and agencies with its headquarters in Guayaquil. Roberto Dunn Suarez, President points to Malecon 2000, the shopping malls and the beaches as reasons tourists should make a stopover in Guayaquil. Tourism will continue to be an important, yet controversial issue. Ecotourism and sustainable development will have to be balanced with the need for the money that is generated from this industry. The Galapagos Islands alone bring in $100 million per year to the country. The country also has to make sure that the country is a safe place for its tourism; it must continue to fight gangs and corruption. Roads, airports and the infrastructure need to be better developed. At the same time the country, which is entering a severe austerity program, must continue to promote itself to the global community. With highlands, lowlands, beaches, forests, and islands, combined with plenty of indigenous culture, wonderful weather year round, unique features such as the equator and the Galapagos, and kind, peaceful people, Ecuador has a lot to offer. It's time this secret was revealed to the world. |
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Table of Contents (1) President Mahuad announces new economic plan |
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The promotion and development of sustainable tourism is one of the cornerstones of President Mahuad's agenda. Mahuad and his Minister of Tourism, Rocio Vasquez, want to follow the example set by Costa Rica, another small country with a future in ecotourism. Costa Rica has successfully exploited its natural resources with a strong eye towards sustainable development. Ecuador believes that it has many of Costa Rica's same assets, if not more, and can follow its lead. Costa Rica is known as the Switzerland of Central America; Ecuador, a basically peaceful country with green mountains, a pleasant climate, and kind people, would like to adopt this nickname for South America.
The government will need to work hard to attract more tourists to Ecuador, which right now suffers more from a lack of image than an image problem. However, a travel advisory due to the Pinchincha volcano (which is on yellow alert, although no eruption is expected for many months or years), past political instability and current economic problems have not helped. Travel industry professionals are quick to counter that it's cheaper to fly to Ecuador than Central America, that the weak currency makes the country a bargain, and that Ecuador's President is American educated, serious and here to stay.
Hugo Caicedo, a former Ambassador of Ecuador to Washington, D.C., took his political background, combined it with his construction expertise and built Quito's only all suite hotel. His was the first international chain to come to Ecuador. By working with the Crowne Plaza, the hotel has better access to foreign tourists and support from the American headquarters. For good measure, Caicedo built a large casino, complete with one-arm bandits, roulette, black jack, Caribbean stud, craps, and baccarat tables. Visiting the casino is a bit like stopping in Atlantic city. As a smart business move, the hotel also gives excellent exchange rates, both at the Casino and in the hotel, which attracts more people to both places.