Ecuador Scoops Top Prizes at World Travel Awards in Bogota

By Russell Maddicks

Ecuador continued its successful run at the World Travel Awards on Saturday, 10 October, picking up 14 prizes at a glittering gala ceremony held at the Teatro Colón in the historic centre of Bogotá, Colombia. 

For the third year in a row, Ecuador won the award for South America's Leading Green Destination, a nod the country's biodiversity and continuing commitment to eco-tourism and sustainable development.

Another top eco-tourism award went to the Finch Bay Eco Hotel - located on the island of Santa Cruz in the wildlife-rich and environmentally-important Galápagos - which walked away with the prize for South America's Leading Green Hotel. 

It was also a big night for the historic Andean capital of Quito, a third time winner of South America's Leading Destination, considered among the most important prizes awarded on the night.

Quito's hotels also took home top gongs, with the stylish Hotel Plaza Grande taking the prize for South America's Best Luxury Hotel, and Swissôtel taking South America's Best Hotel. 

Quito's Mariscal Sucre International Airport, which only opened in 2013, garnered the prize for South America's Leading Airport. 

The Tren Crucero, Ecuador's revamped train route from Quito through the Andes to Guayaquil on the Pacific Coast, won the award for South America's Best Luxury Train.

"These international acknowledgments confirm, once again, that Ecuador continues to captivate the world with its spectacular destinations and tourism products," said Ecuador's Tourism Minister Sandra Naranjo, on hearing the results at the WTA Latin America Gala Ceremony 2015. 

The annual WTA event is considered the Oscars of the travel industry and Ecuador's growing share of the top awards, especially in the luxury sector, is a testament to the high level of public and private investment in tourism infrastructure and promotion over the last ten years.

"Ecuador has made great strides in recent years, and is now a tourist force to be reckoned with in South America,” said Graham Cooke, the founder and president of the WTA, adding that Ecuador's sweep of the prizes "is a reflection of the country's success in positioning itself not only as a unique destination - with both Quito and Ecuador, as winners - but also through high-quality products."

In other top awards, Argentina picked up the trophy for South America's Leading Heritage Destination, and Peru won the gong for South America's Leading Adventure Tourism Destination. 

Peru also won South America's Leading Culinary Destination and South America's Leading Cultural Destination.

South America's Leading Beach Destination, another major prize, was awarded to Colombia's Caribbean resort island of San Andrés.

Colombian flag-carrier Avianca won the prestigious award for South America’s Leading Airline, while Mexico and Central America's Leading Airline went to Copa Airlines. 

The full list of Ecuador's pizes at the 2015 World Travel Awards (WTA): 

Ecuador: South America's Leading Green Destination.
Quito: South America's Leading Destination.
Tren Crucero (Cruise Train): South America's Best Luxury Train.
Finch Bay Eco Hotel: South America's Leading Green Hotel.
Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito: South America's Leading Airport.
Hotel Plaza Grande (Quito): South America's Leading Luxury Hotel.
Swissôtel (Quito): South America's Leading Hotel.

The following Ecuadorian hotels and resorts also won awards:
Hotel Plaza Grande (Quito): Ecuador's Best Boutique Hotel.
Hotel Oro Verde (Guayaquil): Ecuador's Best Business hotel.
Mashpi Lodge: Ecuador's Best Green Hotel.
Swissôtel (Quito): Ecuador's Best Hotel.
JW Marriott Hotel (Quito): Ecuador's Best Presidential Suite.
Arashá Tropical Forest Resort & Spa: Ecuador's Best Resort.
Termas de Papallacta: Ecuador's Best Spa Resort.

For the full list of WTA 2015 winners click here. 

Related articles:
The Wonders of Galápagos Laid Bare by British Author Henry Nicholls

Ecuador Launches Arty "Feel Again" Tourism Campaign

Guayaquil Prepares for FITE 2015 - Ecuador's International Tourism Fair

Follow me on Twitter: @EcuaTravelGuide
Follow me on Instagram: @LatAmTravelist
Purchase a copy of my book Culture Smart! Ecuador

Ecuador Launches Arty "Feel Again" Tourism Campaign

By Russell Maddicks

Following the success of its ambitious All You Need Is Ecuador campaign. which featured the well-known Beatles' song All You Need Is Love, Ecuador's Tourism Ministry has now launched an even more ambitious campaign with the emotive slogan: Feel Again!

The $10 million campaign begins with a major art project featuring 18 contemporary artists, photographers and travel bloggers from four countries who flew into Quito on 21 September for a 7-day expedition to experience one of Ecuador's four worlds: the Andes, Amazon, .Pacific Coast, and the Galapagos Islands.

Tourism is an important source of non-oil revenue for Ecuador, coming in third place after bananas and shrimp and generating some $1.5 billion in 2014.

The idea is for the invited artists to explore the sensory experiences of travelling in Ecuador - the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and feelings that make travelling such an awakening, empowering and life-changing experience - and then produce work that reflects those experiences.

The artists will also engage on social media with their followers in a way that hopefully inspires others to visit Ecuador and sample its food, culture, history as well as its diverse landscapes and wildlife.

Team USA includes Andrew Norton, Brendan Van Son, Marc Reisbig, and Scott Pommier, and they will be exploring the Galapagos Islands.

Team Canada includes Benoit Paille, Jeff Bartlett, Jesse Louttit, and Rick Leong, and they'll be heading to the Pacific Coast,

Team UK includes Conor MacNeill, Esther Teichmann, Jason and Keiko Hindley, and Sara Thomas, and they'll be immersing themselves in Ecuador's mega-diverse Amazon region.

Team Germany includes Johannes Conrad and Michelle Phillips of Studio Yukiko, Rocket & Wink, and Steve Hanisch, and they will be experiencing the high Andes.

All the teams will be documenting their journeys in real time with stories, photos, videos, sounds, and artworks published on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms.

The best way to follow the artists' progress is through Ecuador Travel's accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, where you can use the hashtag #FeelAgainInEcuador to get the latest updates.

The invited artists posed with Ecuador's Tourism Minister Sandra Naranjo at the Feel Again! project launch in Quito's historic centre.

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Guayaquil Prepares for FITE 2015 - Ecuador's International Tourism Fair

By Russell Maddicks

Ecuador's Pacific port of Guayaquil - the country's largest city and the main hub for flights to the famed Galapagos Islands - is gearing up for a flood of visitors for the annual International Tourism Fair, FITE 2015, which will be held from 22-25 October.

This is the most important tourism fair in Ecuador and the four pavilions that will be erected for the event in Parque Samanes - the third biggest park in the Americas - are expected to attract some 60,000 visitors over the four days. 

FITE is aimed at locals trying to get a good deal for their next holiday, visitors and expatriates seeking inspiration and information about destinations in Ecuador, and tourism professionals and travel firms interested in making new business contacts. 

This year, the slogan for the event is "Life is a Journey: Live it at FITE" (La Vida es un Viaje, Vívelo en FITE).

Ecuador's top attractions from the Amazon, Andes, Pacific coast and Galapagos Islands will be represented by regional tourism boards, tour operators, travel agencies, hotels, guesthouses, and jungle lodges.

There will also be music and costumed dancers from the country's many folk festivals to enliven proceedings, and stalls offering a diverse range of Ecuador's traditional culinary dishes and drinks for gastronauts.

If you want to try a coastal ceviche, for example, or a tasty plate of hornado (pork pulled from a whole roasted pig), served up with mote (hominy corn) and llapingachos (fried potato and cheese patties), then FITE is the perfect place to visit. 

You can also buy traditional handicrafts from around the country, including high-quality toquilla straw hats - erroneously known as Panama hats - and meet women from the small villages around Cuenca and Montecristi who spend months weaving them.

There will be stalls representing international airlines and tourism boards from 30 countries, including South American neighbours such as Peru, Colombia and Brazil, and far-flung nations like China.

According to Jaime Rull Mayoral, who has been organizing the FITE since 2002, this year there will be a special focus on adventure tourism, including hiking, mountain biking, abseiling, paragliding, bungee jumping, ziplining, and rafting, as well as equestrian and rural tourism options, and beach and water sports.

The four pavilions will be Adventure Tourism, Nautical Tourism and Water Sports, Equestrian and Rural Tourism, and a quiet space dedicated to business meetings, mini-conferences and talks aimed at those in the tourism trade. 

During FITE there will also be a two-day Extreme Sports and Adventure Tourism Congress bringing together tour companies, experts, and practitioners of extreme sports. The congress will offer an overview of new products and trends, highlight the importance of good practice and rigorous safety preparation to reduce risk, and stress the importance of sustainable, eco-friendly approaches to minimize the impact on the environment.

Ecuador has experienced a significant increase in tourist numbers over the last five years with over 1.5 million tourist arrivals in 2014 (200,000 more than in 2013), a record that the government predicts will be beaten in 2015. 

The country has built up a good reputation among travellers over the last five years due to the number of varied and interesting places that can be visited in a fairly short period. 

At the same time, new tourism initiatives like the Tren Crucero, the reopened train line between Quito to Guayaquil, and the Ruta de Spondylus, following mile upon mile of Pacific beaches, are further opening up the country to repeat visitors, who can now easily combine trips to the Galapagos Islands with mainland adventures in the Andes, the Amazon region, or along the Pacific coast.

Ecuador is also considered safe compared to its larger neighbours, has great food, brilliant birdwatching, fascinating colonial cities, good hiking, world-class surf, a historic railway system, and an efficient transport infrastructure that makes it easy to travel around.

Having the dollar as the national currency also makes Ecuador an attractive destination for travellers and expats, as it removes the bother of changing money and helps when transferring funds, budgeting and comparing prices. 

Nurturing this tourism boom, the government, through the Tourism Ministry, has invested heavily in a series of award-winning and highly successful international campaigns such as All You Need is Ecuador, which was launched around the world in 2014. The new campaign Feel Again!, looks like it will be just as successful.

For more information about FITE 2015 visit the FITE website or their page on Facebook.

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Purchase a copy of my book Culture Smart! Ecuador

Amazing Images From Ecuador for #AllYouNeedIs Campaign

 

The new #AllYouNeedIsEcuador tourism campaign is well underway and the images coming out of Ecuador are truly inspiring.

This photograph of a caiman is a great example and I'll be posting some more here when they come through.

Like all the other promo pics it focuses on the idea that Ecuador offers four worlds in one: Amazon, Andes, Pacific coast and Galapagos.

The global #AllYouNeedIsEcuador promotion campaign kicked off on 1 April with the unveiling of 19 giant letters in 12 cities around the world and 7 cities in Ecuador. The video accompanying the campaign makes clever use of the classic Beatle's song "All You Need Is Love". 

For more information about visiting Ecuador and inspiring photographs and videos of the country visit http://allyouneedisecuador.travel/en