Ecuador promotes tourism of adventure in the country

Adventure tourism appears among the ten main product lines of Ecuador.

This new impulse to tourism is occuring through the Integral Plan of Tourist Marketing of Ecuador.

The geographical position of the country, the presence of the Andes and the sea currents which come from the North and from the South of Ecuador makes of Ecuador an incomparable travel destination to develop adventure tourism.

The Ministry of Tourism (Mintur), applying the lines of action of the “Plandetur 2020″, works on the development of legal standards which will complement the scheme of the legislation on the Ecuadorian tourism product lines.
This should positively affect the quality, safety and legal protection of consumers of tourism services.

Adventure sports such as a bicycle ride from the slopes of the highest active volcano in the world to the legendary Quilotoa lagoon ; from the city of the “Middle of the World” to the rainforest home of more than 18 species of hummingbirds, or, in the Amazon, following the Waterfalls Road, kayaking or rafting are some options.

Luis Falconi, director of Mintur said it is primordial to implement a legal framework that causes the adoption of sustainable tourism practices and to apply technical tools which aim at ensuring social, ecological, tourism and commercial wellbeing.

“Tourism services agencies must have all the permissions and licences for tourism operations as well as to fulfill the formal requirements specified in the regulations.” he said.

The official underlined that the Ministry is the directing organ of tourist activities in Ecuador and the one who, in its main attribution, establishes the preparation of technical quality norms which govern on all national territory.

Falconi informed that the Ecuadorian Ecotourism Association (ASEC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will join forces to develop standards for adventure tourism.

The texts will be defined in a participatory manner in collaboration with the key actors of the sector getting so a social, commercial and institutional sensitisation.

The goal will be to define a legal tool that establishes standards of quality, safety, social responsibility and environmental quality.

Source : Radio Sucre