Why Tourism Investors are Turning to Quito, Ecuador

Wed, Aug 06, 2014 17:02 CET

Quito, Ecuador`s capital city, is becoming recognized as one of South America`s leading tourism destinations and thanks to its strategic location, year round climate described as an eternal spring, stable economic situation and overall quality of life, international investment into tourism is increasing.

It also helps that Ecuador`s economy is among those with the best performance in Latin America, with an average GDP growth of 4.4 per cent per year. In addition, the country's inflation in 2013 had the lowest rate of the past eight years. The higly anticipated launch in early 2013 of Quito’s brand new Canadian built and operated Mariscal Sucre International Airport is already helping Quito towards its goal of one million visitors by 2018 and average year over year increase of 10 per cent in tourism. In 2013, Quito had over 628,958 international visitors, representing a growth of 18 per cent compared to 2012, spending approximately US$ 332 million.

The new airport is now responsible for 60 per cent of all international arrivals into the country, making it the busiest airport in Ecuador and one of the busiest in South America, and Quito is firmly established as the main business and tourism destination in the country. From a total of 1,366,267 visitors to Ecuador in 2013, 42 per cent decided to visit the capital. The city`s colonial center is recognized as the largest and best preserved in all Latin America, earning the distinction of being named the First World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1978. It also helps that Quito is located just 13 , 5 km from the equator (latitude 0 ° 0'0 ") and is bisected by the Andes, providing the city spring with weather during all months of the year (with an average annual temperature of 16 º C ).

And thanks to this steady increase in tourism traffic, three new hotel projects have been announced recently, including two new aiport hotels -the Wyndham "Gran Cóndor" with 140 rooms in its first phase, opening in 2015 and the Holiday Inn Quito Airport, with 130 rooms opening in 2016. The 133-room Accor "Ibis" will be built closer to Quito`s city centre and is scheduled to open in 2016.

Quito is also an important gateway for fun, sun and adventure. It is just four hours (by land) from the beach, and three hours from the Amazon. Only two hours away by air are the Galapagos Islands . Combine with its strategic location in the country, the capital city has a strong healthly infrastructure, including 15 hospitals and 77 health centers; and life expectancy of Quito is 75.6 years. It also has the highest number of universities in Ecuador with a total of 23 universities ( including five of the top six rated universities in the country) and polytechnical institutes.

Finally, an important factor that encourages investment in the city is stability. In June 2013 the Metropolitan Ordinance No. 406, which establishes a system of public-private partnerships was announced. This statute allows both the public and private sectors to develop projects of mutual interest, establishing a win-win relationship .

And September 15-16, 2014, Quito is hosting the South American Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (SAHIC), the go-to event for the hotel real estate and investment community seeking to capitalize on a region that continues to grow. ( www.sahic.com). Hotels in Quito report positive occupancy and RevPAR and one of the most competitive rates in the region. Quito`s market for business travelers, conferences and events has also increased consistently in recent years, placing Quito as a major conference destination in South America and the top destination in Ecuador.

More information about tourism investments in the City of Quito can be found at http://www.quito.com.ec/inversiones/

North American Media Contact: Tartan Group

Deirdre Campbell or James Anderson, 250-592-3838 Deirdre@tartangroup.ca, james@tartangroup.ca

Quito Investment Contact: Alejandra Salazar Barragán, Ejecutiva de Proyectos de Inversión Turística (+593 2) 299 3300 al 30 ext. 1062 asalazar@quito-turismo.gob.ec

More information: www.quito.com.

About Tourism Quito: Tourism Quito was created with a mission to develop and promote tourism in the Metropolitan District of Quito for the benefit of local, national and international visitors, promoting best practices in quality, sustainability and innovation, and service. More information on traveling and investing in Quito may be found at www.quito.com.ec.