Qingdao Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2018 Exclusive Interview: Your Story Begins in Quito

By becoming a part of WTCF, we will have contact with investors in the tourist sector. We’ll also be able to exchange information and resources and inject new life into the sustainable development of our own tourist sector.

Quito, American capital of culture

Quito, formally San Francisco de Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, is the gateway to discover the diversity of Ecuador.

Quito has the largest and best preserved historic center in the Americas. Quito is home to many museums, some of which will open a window to the old “Quito baroque”, as well as art in other modern styles. Other key places you can visit here are the Ciudad Mitad del Mundo monument and museum, located at latitude zero, the only place where you can set one foot in each hemisphere. In Quito, you will be 2,850 meters above sea level, where you will be able to have a privileged view of the Andes, especially of the Pichincha volcano. Here you can also go birth watching in the lower parts of the district (500 meters above sea level) in the Northwestern part of the Chocó region, which is only two hours from the city. You’ll also find parishes around the city rich with local cuisine, where you’ll be able to practice many activities, such as trekking, and sustainable tourism. 


New digital platform promotes city brand

We developed a new digital platform for tourism, comprised of GOUIO, a mobile application for visitors; Quito’s tourist-oriented website (www.quito.com.ec) that contains all the information visitors need to know about the city. The accompanying piece to the platform is a video titled "Your Story Begins in Quito", which shows various spots in the city in all their glory. These actions were aimed at promoting a newly developed city brand, which was inspired by the most representative icons of Quito’s identity.

Another major positioning effort was the use of Quito as the setting for "Mamita", a musical video, where several important areas of the city and its surroundings are shown in all their splendor. Also the Quito Metro is the largest mobility project the city has undertaken in its history and will have a huge impact on the transportation system.

City’s development plan and collaboration with international institutions

Tourism is one of the city’s main activities contemplated in the Municipality’s strategic development plan for the city. Quito Turismo, the city’s tourist board, is working so hard in research and development, creating new tools for tourists to enjoy the city. We are working to attract investment in the city, especially in the tourist sector, a joined effort with Ecuador’s Ministry of Tourism. We are also working in collaboration with international institutions, in order to improve the tourist sector in Quito, so we can learn from cities with strong tourist industries, such as the ones in Spain, Italy, and many more.

We have been working closely with Madrid, and we recently began collaborating with Bogotá in the development of congresses and events, Quito Turismo’s MICE department (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events) is aimed at meetings and conference tourism, an area we’d like to exploit here. We’re building a new convention center for this matter that will be inaugurated in December 2018.

Personally, I have not. But Quito is a member of the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) since March 2015, upon invitation by the federation itself. As Quito’s official tourism board, we’re very happy about this, and we’re very hopeful that this inclusion will bring positive things for the city.