Ecuador, one of the most diverse countries in the world per square mile has four regions and each one of them provides a unique experience, since they are all interconnected and it is easy to go from one to the other. Besides being recognized by the World Travel Awards, as the Leader Green Destination of the World, Ecuador is an ideal place to practice safely adventure tourism.
Since 2010, the Ecuador Ministry of Tourism has been working with the local travel industry emphasizing in regularization, standardization and quality assurance of the offer related to adventure tourism services. Due to this important effort the current legislation was implemented and includes different ways of organizing travels and visits through tourist modalities. Thus, the country recognizes these modalities classified according to the natural element where they take place:
EARTH: Horseback riding, canyoning, cycling, climbing, caving, mountaineering and hiking.
WATER: Recreational motorized activities on boats (buoy, banana, parasailing and skiing), diving, sea / lake kayaking, river kayaking, kite surf, rafting, snorkeling, surfing and tubing.
AIR: Hang gliding, canopy and paragliding.
Each of these adventure modalities have requirements for safe exercise, such as: number of tourists, age restrictions, equipment and accessories, difficulty level of the activity and risks.
Also, it is important to mention that the Ecuador Government has developed the “Safety Guide for Tourists”, which details the recommendations for travelers and the contacts to contact immediately in case of an emergency.
Due to these important public – private efforts, in 2015, the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), a worldwide organism specialized in adventure tourism, worked together with the Ministry of Tourism in the Adventure Week Ecuador and mentioned during one of the activities of kayaking and rafting in the Amazon region that “The participants were able to conquer their fears especially since it was the first time for most of them going down a river. We rafted in a very safe environment, in a river branch of the Napo River, which was very clean and safe”.
Because of its privileged geographical location, Ecuador is the country of the four worlds: Galapagos, Pacific Coast, Andes and Amazon; offering various options for new adventure experiences. This, together with regularization and training, allows the country to become one of the best destinations in the world to carry out this type of tourism.
The Ministry of Tourism has the mission of exercising governance, regulation, control, planning, management, promotion and dissemination, in order to position Ecuador as a preferred tourist destination due to its exceptional cultural, natural and experiential diversity within the framework of conscious tourism as an activity that generates socio-economic and sustainable development.
Comments