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Ecuador getting the results of travel funding boost
A 10-fold step-up on government expenditure on tourism is serving Ecuador to rebalance their economy away from oil.
In recent past, the nation has channeled more finances in the tourism sector, serving to boost the numbers by 15 percent this year.
Ecuador’s minister of tourism Sandra Naranjo told that they are seeing the result as well as it is also the result of a whole lot of effort from government. For example, in the year 2006, before this government came in the amount of investment in tourism was approximately US$ 6 million now it is around US$60 million.
Sandra Naranjo stated that this concentration on tourism was important to serve the country make the transition from a non-oil economy. At present, the fossil fuel represents 50 percent of Ecuador’s exports but Naranjo is expecting to change this. She added that for them, it is very important to do that transition using the money of oil wisely.
The aim is to make tourism the 2nd source of income after oil. At this point of time, it is number five. When people increase the budget by 10 times, it shows something. One thing is to say while another thing is to execute.
At the beginning of this year, the Ecuadorian government sealed a permit to let oil drilling in Yasuni national park. This decision came after the failure of a strategy to keep the oil in ground in exchange for the international donations.