The Community Tourism Entrepreneurship Contest organized by Rimisp’s Ecuador office and the Autonomous Decentralized Government of the province of Pichincha has chosen ten winners out of twenty initiatives submitted to participate in this contest.

This space is part of an agreement signed by Rimisp and the Prefecture of Pichincha, for the elaboration of strategies, capacity building of local actors and the valuation of enterprises and projects of communities and community tourism associations, located in this jurisdiction.

Carol Chehab, director of Rimisp in Ecuador, pointed out that the winning businesses will receive “seed capital in kind to support this type of tourism business, located in the different cantons of Pichincha, with a view to achieving their reactivation after the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic”. He added that in the coming days the names of the ten initiatives that were selected will be announced.

In addition, Rimisp will design a strategy for the strengthening of community tourism in this province, to be socialized among all the ventures that have been part of this contest and that are registered by the provincial government.

Pichincha is one of the most important provinces for the Ecuadorian tourism sector, accounting for 80% of total foreign exchange from tourism. According to information from the Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE), 33% of the Gross Value Added (GVA) of the tourism sector is generated in this area. Before the pandemic caused by Covid-19, there were 850 lodging establishments, 15.49% of the national total; and 4,191 food and beverage establishments, 24.19% of those registered nationwide.