ITB Berlin News 2019 - Review Edition

42 REGION
AMERICAS & CARIBBEAN
ECUADOR:
CENTRE
OF THE EARTH?
Manuel Antonio National Park
Costa Rica’s top
tourist attraction:
the environment
A small country with strong
values, Costa Rica’s approach
to tourism is taking the
welfare of both its people and
its visitors into account.
Costa Rica abolished its army in
1948. Since then its resources and
energy have been channeled into
improving the environment and
making the nation hospitable to
wildlife, the Indigenous population
and tourists.
A rainforested Central American
country with Caribbean and Pacific
coastlines, Costa Rica’s capital San
José is home to a number of cultural
institutions such as the renowned
jade and gold museums. But the
city is probably best-known for its
forests, beaches, volcanoes and
wildlife, all of which the authorities
are determined to protect. Costa
Rica also aims to be carbon neutral
by 2050.
Minister for tourism María Amalia
Revelo, gave the Essential Costa
Rica presentation at ITB Berlin,
pointing out that the introduction
of direct flights from Europe back
in 2015 has boosted the country’s
tourism. Germans make up the
majority of visitors from Europe, a
region responsible for 10% of the
country’s tourism market.
To strengthen the nation’s intention
to develop tourism while improving
and nurturing the environment,
the Costa Rica Tourism Board
established the Certification for
Sustainable Tourism Program in
1997 and updated it in 2018.
The programme aims to promote
best practices to protect the natural,
cultural and social resources of the
country by grading the sustainability
of a tourism entity on the basis of
four pillars: interaction with the
environment; waste management;
interaction with the client; and
interaction with the community.
“Our visitors become our friends,”
Revelo said. “Partly because most
of our hotels and small and run by
their owners.”
She added: “We have a population
of five million and we welcome
three million tourists each year. We
know what type of tourism we do
want and we know what type we
don’t want. We need to underline
the importance tourism has for the
quality of life of our people”
As Ecuador is crossed by the
Equatorial line, it is said to be
at the centre of the world. Its
territory, 283,560 km², is made
up of four regions: Pacific
Coast, Andes, Amazon and the
Galapagos Islands.
Described as “The country
of the four worlds”, it has an
excellent road network and
airport infrastructure, 12 hours
of light every day and two
seasons: winter and summer.
Travelling to Ecuador is
discovering a treasure at every
step.
The country that loves life has
a diversity of climatic regions
and short distances among
destinations that allows one
to travel through beaches,
mountains, volcanoes,
and lush vegetation and
conservation sites.
KEY SELLING
POINTS:
Ecuador has been chosen by
the World Travel Awards as the
leading Green Destination of
the World for five consecutive
years, due to the environmental
care and sustainable practices
in tourism.
It is the most biodiverse
country in the world in
relation to its size. It has 45
protected areas where more
than 130 species of plants
grow. In addition, it has seven
Biosphere reserves declared by
UNESCO.
In Galapagos, located about
1000 km from mainland
Ecuador, there are the Darwin
and Wolf Islands that holds
the greatest amount of shark
biomass in the world. These
areas of Marine Sanctuary, are
part of this Natural Heritage of
Humanity declared by UNESCO
in 1978.
GETTING
ACQUAINTED WITH
SOME OF THE
ACTIVITIES AT THE
CENTRE OF THE
WORLD
Tours and walks pass
through a hundred volcanoes
at the centre of the world.
Meet Chimborazo, the highest
volcano in the world from
the centre of the earth. In
addition, Cotopaxi, Illinizas,
Cayambe, Guagua Pichincha,
Tungurahua, and Corazón are
places to admire the world
from above.
Visit two regions aboard Tren
Ecuador (Ecuador Train) to
appreciate the diversity of the
Andes and the Pacific Coast
considered one of the World’s
Best Luxury Trains, chosen by
the World Travel Awards
ITB BERLIN NEWS • Friday 15 th March 2019
www.itb-berlin-news.com