Hernan Rodas, founder and director of Red Mangrove Galapagos and Ecuador Lodges reports that the Red Mangrove‚s Dive Center accomplished more diver certifications in 2011 than any other operation in the Galapagos.

„In all of Ecuador there were 1,489 diver certifications issued in 2011. Red Mangrove‚s team of licensed instructors and master divers accounted for 160 of them, making us the largest producer of diver certifications in the Galapagos,‰ Rodas said.

Rodas suggested that would-be divers seeking certification do classroom and required pool work at home, either with a local dive shop or recreation center or online through PADI‚s website (accessed via Red Mangrove‚s dive website: http://www.redmangrove.com/diving-in-galapagos/diving-classes/.)

To complete the third and final stage of the certification process divers are then required to perform open water check-out dives with an instructor.

„This is when many beginning divers look to warm and exotic waters so they can combine their requirements with an extended vacation,‰ explained Rodas. „We have packages with just that in mind, allowing a diver to be certified during the first two days of their stay and then enjoying all the islands have to offer during the rest of the week.‰

„We‚re finding more and more dive instructors bringing their students here as a group for certification,‰ said Rodas, adding that a new instructor incentive program is being developed that will provide lodging incentives for the instructor who brings with him/her four paid students.

According to Rodas, many divers travel with non-diving companions and family members which also makes Red Mangrove‚s land-based multi-island programs attractive. Year-round certification programs and vacation packages can be combined to accommodate diver/non-diver groups. There‚s a staff of five PADI approved dive instructors available with an equal number of dive masters to accompany divers on recreational outings. Two modern dive boats take guests to 45 dive and snorkel sites available off of Santa Cruz, Floreana and Isabela islands.

A popular package for beginner divers is Darwin’s Land and Sea Adventure, 6 days and 5 nights (with eight dives) priced from $2,291 per person, double occupancy. See: (http://www.redmangrove.com/diving/land-and-sea-adventure.html). Certification is extra starting at $350 per diver on up according to the type of program (PADI certifications include Open Water Diver / Referral, Advanced, Rescue Diver, Dive Master, Specialty Certifications and Emergency First Responder).

Another option for guests who have never been diving but would like to try it is to sign up for the PADI Discover Scuba Diving Experience for ages 10 and up. Guests will watch a 45 minute video followed by time in a pool with an instructor. When comfortable, participants then head out to a specially chosen spot with an instructor for an open water dive. A PADI instructor leads the course that is $250 per person including introduction, equipment and in-water instruction. http://www.redmangrove.com/diving/discovery-scuba.html

About Red Mangrove Galapagos and Ecuador Lodges

Red Mangrove Galapagos and Ecuador Lodges in 2007 introduced a land-based alternative to exploring the Galapagos that heretofore was a cruise-only destination. While it may be best known for its upscale lodging and dive operations in the Galapagos, recent expansion has made it a leader in mainland Ecuador hospitality as well. With upscale waterfront lodges strategically situated on Santa Cruz, Isabela and Floreana, it is the only company offering high quality, branded accommodations and services on multiple islands in the Galapagos and across mainland Ecuador. Because it is land-based, Red Mangrove can offer a more extensive roster of activities and more flexibility than traditional cruise options.

The customary way to experience Red Mangrove‚s Galapagos hospitality is to spend a number of nights on each island accessed by small boat and/or aircraft. With 14 guest rooms, Aventura Lodge on Santa Cruz is distinguished by its architectural design which blends its mangrove forest and seafront environments tastefully and responsibly. Separated from the ocean by a white sand, palm-lined beach, Isabela Lodge offers eight rooms outside the fisherman‚s village of Puerto Villamil on one of the most volcanically active islands on Earth. Red Mangrove Floreana Lodge is a gathering of 10 private pine cottages just a five minute walk from the village of Puerto Velasco Ibarra (population 150). Red Mangrove Divers Lodge Santa Cruz has 11 rooms near the Red Mangrove Dive Academy. Red Mangrove Isabela Divers Lodge features 5-rooms adjacent to scenic Puerto Villamil. On the mainland coast of Ecuador Samai Lodge with 11 rooms is an inn-and-spa suited for recollection, relaxation and wellness surrounded by the sounds of the jungle and surf.

The Galapagos Islands are located around 1,000 kilometers west of mainland Ecuador. The volcanic islands have a subtropical climate and are marked by beaches and forests. During the Galápagos Islands’ dry season, which runs from June to December, the weather is cooler and windier. From October to May, the weather is warmer and there is frequently light rain.

The coast runs along the west coast and features low mountains, valleys, plains, mangroves, rivers, and rainforests. The coast has a tropical climate, and is hot and humid. The coast is cloudy, cooler, and dry from May to December, and hotter and rainier from January to April.

The Andes region, or central highlands, lying between the western coastal lowlands and the eastern jungles, consists of mountain ranges, foothills, and valleys. The two sides of the Andes, the Western and Eastern Andes contain 60 volcanoes with an average altitude of 7,000 feet, covering a distance of 400 km from the northern to the southern Andes. This is called the “Avenue of the Volcanoes.” Due to the altitude, the Andes region has cool, spring-like weather, with a great deal of sunshine. Temperatures vary throughout the day. The highlands are overcast and wet during the rainy season (October-May), and drier, with mild showers, common in the afternoon, during the dry season (June-September).

The Amazon region is east of the Andes, and it borders Colombia and Peru, and contains part of the Amazon rainforest, as well as rivers and rolling jungles. Three active volcanoes are located in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest: Sangay, Reventador and Sumaco. This is the only country where three active volcanoes are located inside the Amazon rainforest, The Amazon is hot and humid, and receives a significant amount of rainfall year-round. The Amazon is the wettest from June to August.

Ecuador uses the US dollar as its currency. Natural landscapes make up a good deal of the land mass—the Amazon alone takes up about 50% of the land area. http://www.ecuador.travel

Source: ecuador.travel

Visitors will have the opportunity to taste the country’s chocolate and see just why Ecuadorian chocolate has been voted as some of the best in the world.

The event, which takes place 10 – 16 October 2011, will see some 40 chocolate companies, as well as a selection of the world’s finest chocolatiers, come together from across the globe including Ecuador, France, Italy, Grenada and Switzerland.

Marvel at chocolate sculptures, watch chocolate cooking demonstrations from top chocolatiers and pastry chefs, taste a variety of exciting new flavours, as well as unexpected pairings and classic favourites, all culminating in the event’s highlight – Chocolate Unwrapped

“I am delighted that our country has such a huge presence at the show. It will allow us to showcase one of our country’s greatest exports, and also share with visitors the way in which cacao production has shaped the history of our country,” says Freddy Ehlers, Minister of Tourism of Ecuador.

“Cacao plays a vital role in supporting many livelihoods and sustaining communities and it is the generations of knowledge passed down, which has led Ecuador to become a leader in the production of the highest quality chocolates in the world.”

Ecuador has a rich chocolate history and is one of the top-producing cacao countries in the world, producing approximately 63 per cent of the world’s cocoa.

While Africa is known for producing large quantities of good cacao beans, Latin America and the Caribbean are known for producing beans with distinctive tasting notes. Ecuador is best known for the Arriba bean, a well-balanced floral bean with fruit notes and herbal tones, which will showcased at the Chocolate Week.

Like wine, chocolate reflects the distinct flavours of its region, with climate conditions and how the beans are dried and fermented playing a vital role in the overall taste.

Earlier this year, super-sized National Cacao beans, which experts thought were long extinct, were rediscovered in Ecuador. Said by many to be the most genetically pure expression of cacao ever found, the football-sized white beans have a far less bitter aftertaste than the traditional purple cacao bean making it the bean of choice for high quality and intense-flavoured chocolate.

Recognising the importance of cacao production to the country, a recently cooperation agreement between the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Rainforest Alliance, and the United Nations Environment Programme, will soon allow producers in Ecuador to improve their production whilst contributing to biodiversity in their regions.

GEF is contributing $5million and raising another $15million from partner companies in an effort to unite cacao producers, small chocolate businesses, as well as the chocolate industry, and focus on improving the way cocoa is

being cultivated and commercialised.

The six year project will bring ten per cent of the world’s cacao supply into more sustainable systems, and according to statistics from the Rainforest Alliance, Ecuador could contribute some six per cent of this overall goal.

Three of the best chocolate trails in Ecuador:

- Equator Trekking – take your very own tour along the Ecuadorian Cacao route, known as the ‘cacao fino de aroma’, and discover some of the finest cacao in the world. This in-depth tour takes you on a journey of human depth and interaction through the history and origin of cacao to its present-day position as one of the main exporters of cacao in the world. www.equatortrekking.com

- Ecuador For All – visit small indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon and Coast, follow the cocoa beans from the fields to collection centres to be fermented and dried, and learn why Ecuadorian cocoa is so highly appreciated in the chocolate industry. www.ecuadorforall.com

- Jeffrey Stern, a chef and leading chocolate maker in Ecuador, offers tailor-made chocolate tours throughout Ecuador. Taste various Ecuadorian dark chocolates at the Gianduja workshop, take a truffle making class, visit cacao plantations in the heart of Ecuador’s cacao country – the Los Rios province – or head to the Amazon to see the Kallari cooperative. Visit the community-based operation of Salinerito in the town of Guaranda, or a bigger chocolate making plant in Guayaquil. http://jeffreygstern.com

This year, Quito will host the third edition of the CULTOUR: Global Heritage & Cultural Travel Exhibition, which will bring together tourism and cultural travel professionals and tourism service providers from more than 22 countries throughout the world.

The goal of the exhibition is to create tourism packages to showcase the wealth of culture, art, history and heritage present in Quito. This is the wider framework of the event, whose purpose is to promote the historical and artistic resources cities that lack other attractions, such as sun and beach.

Cultural tourism is becoming more and more important in Ecuador and throughout the world. This is why the organizers of this important event chose Quito, which was named American Capital of Culture 2011 by the International Bureau of Capitals of Culture (IBOCC) and joins the ranks of the world’s major cities.

Previously, CULTOUR was held in Santiago de Compostela, Spain and Cologne, German, both cities rich in art and culture. This year will be Quito’s turn to showcase its cultural tourist offerings to the businesspeople and alternative tour operators who are drawn to this important international event.

Visitors to CULTOUR will go on a special tour through the city of Quito, visiting its main attractions, the historic city center, churches, museums and traditional barrios. They will also have a chance to meet individuals who are actively maintaining the city’s cultural heritage by practicing ancestral and traditional occupations, such as the San Roque craftsmen.

This event is being held with the decisive support of the Ministry of Tourism and the municipality of Quito through Quito Tourism and the Quito Conventions and Incentives Bureau.

For more information, please visit www.cultourfair.com and for further information about Quito, go to www.quito.com.ec and visit us on Facebook at Quito Capital of Culture 2011.

Of special note:

CULTOUR will bring together 12 journalists who write about culture from seven countries as well as tour operators and owners of tourism companies from 23 countries: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand and the United States. There will also be 50 cultural tourism exhibitors from Europe and the Americas.

Founded in the 16th century and built on the ruins of an ancient Inca city, Quito sits at over 9,000 feet surrounded by towering Andean volcanoes. A living jewel, Quito’s 320-acre historic center has 130 monuments and 5,000 heritage properties including colonial churches, chapels, monasteries and convents as well as museums, plazas and charming interior patios. Today, the city boasts a vibrant cultural life with a wealth of art exhibitions, concerts and theatrical performances. More than $250 million has been invested in restoring the city’s cultural heritage over the last ten years.

This year Quito is celebrating its status as the American Capital of Culture with a full calendar of concerts, festivals, fairs and events showcasing Ecuadorian folklore, jazz , sacred music and much more.

Meredith Pillon Marketing Communications will be in charge of the promotional campaign in the U.S. working closely with Frankfurt-based XSP, a marketing and public relations agency specializing in travel and tourism that will direct the marketing activities in Germany and coordinate the international efforts working with the Brighter Group in the U.K. and Globally Turismo in Spain. The U.S. campaign will feature traditional and digital advertising and a public relations campaign with a social media component. An initiative focused on the travel trade will include travel agent seminars and agent familiarization trips. Quito aims to recruit more tour operators to sell the destination and to encourage other operators to expand their stays in the Ecuadorean capital.

“We’re pleased to have such a distinguished group of marketing companies working with us to promote Quito,” said, said, Luz Elena Coloma, General Manager of the Quito Visitors’ Bureau. “We want to show the world the jewel in Ecuador’s crown.”

For further information, contact your travel provider or go to www.quito.com.ec

It is expected that a possible tsunami will reach the Galapagos Islands at approximately 10:30 pm this evening and the Ecuadorian coast by 12:30 am.

Ecuador’s local tourism industry is being asked to work with the Ministry of Tourism to temporarily relocate all people currently located in beach areas along Ecuador’s coastline and the Galapagos Islands to higher ground.

Ecuador’s Ministry of Tourism is currently recommending the following:

All should abstain from traveling to Ecuador’s Coastal zones until further notice

All hotels and travel agencies should temporarily suspend tourism activities in tourism areas located on the coast until further notice

All air traffic to and from Esmeraldas, Baltra, Manta, San Cristóbal and the Galapagos is temporarily suspended until further notice

All ships and boats in the Galapagos are to move at least 5 miles away from the coast.

Ecuador’s Ministry of Tourism is working on the following:

Temporary emergency shelters are being built in case they are needed.

The Ministry of Tourism is working with the National Police to ensure all tourism destinations remain safe and evacuation measurements are being taken.

The Ministry of Tourism is currently working with the US and Canadian Embassies in Ecuador on communicating the latest developments and relocation of tourists and residents in the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador’s Coastal areas.

For additional information on Ecuador, please visit the Ministry of Tourism’s official tourism website www.ecuador.travel

Ecuador is famous for the variety and beauty of flowers it produces. In fact, local roses are deemed to be the finest in the world, though many varieties of local summer flowers do not stay far behind in fame and reputation. Ecuadorian government has recently introduced a new initiative to encourage tourists to come and explore local wondrous world of flowers and lures travelers to explore the Flower Trail.

It shall lead travelers through the famous ‘Avenue of the Volcanoes’ in the Andes, where they may witness not only the beauty and richness of the flower-growing industry, but also many other natural charms. Ecuadorian customs and traditional, rural way of life is worth the while and even adventure seekers will not get bored. The Andes offer many thrilling activities; mountain bike rides will be a worthy challenge and those who wish to enjoy the scenery without extensive muscle strain will find horseback riding along the mountain ranges very refreshing. Trekking and camping are also immensely popular in the area.

The long tradition of flower growing is very important to local authorities and being in the tourist spotlight means that rural migration to the cities or even abroad might be prevented. It will bring more money to the individual regions and will help promote local roses all around the world. While tourists wander around and enjoy their time in Ecuador, they are bound to discover local delicious traditional cuisine with some modern twists. Many prefer to stay in the historic haciendas which are very much part of the true Ecuadorian heritage.

The Flower Trail runs from Ibarra in the north to Cuenca in the south and local communities can’t wait to welcome all visitors. After all, they will be the first ones to benefit directly from any income generated from the tourist visits and will make sure all the visitors will have a great time – and hopefully will return one day.

www.tourism-review.com

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa ordered to waive the visa requirement for foreigners who want to visit Ecuador from any country beginning on June 20, said the website.

A statement from the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry said the order will allow foreigners to stay in the country up to 90 days.

The move seeks to put into practice the principle of free circulation of personnel aiming at strengthening its relationship with the rest of the world through tourism promotion, it added.

The move will benefit residents from 130 countries, who usually need a visa to enter Ecuador.

xinhuanet.com

This is just the kind of series of projects that tourism officials look to in making this country’s continental destinations more attractive to foreign visitors.

While the coastal city of Guayaquil may not be imbued with spectacular attributes to attract international tourists to its shores, it is the sheer care taken in developing the city that has put it on the map for conference-goers and international tourists.
The development of this kind of tourism infrastructure points to the seriousness of plans to attract some 1.7 million yearly visitors by the year 2010, almost double current levels.

“Cities like Guayaquil have done something very clever,” says Francisco Doudebés Egüez of the leading Ecuadorian tour operator, Metropolitan Touring. “They have positioned themselves at the doorway of what Ecuador has to offer, as opposed to encouraging tourists to come to Guayaquil for the sake of itself.”

Many visitors to Ecuador fly to Guayaquil before continuing to other local destinations – be it a short flight to the Galápagos Islands, the Andean capital of Quito, or other exotic continental destinations. Visitors can chose among one of the country’s many volcanoes, colonial haciendas, or the tropical Amazon region.

“Ecuador is a place where you can find many cultures, religions and peoples,” says twenty-year-old Marco Vinicio Chávez-Loor, a student at the Catholic University of Guayaquil, “The coast, the land, the mountains, the orient and the Galapágos Islands, all within a few hours.”

“In one day you can travel to one distinct place, then another day be on a mountainside or the coast.”

One continental destination favored is Cuenca, the country’s third largest city, which also boasts colonial architecture and typical litany of churches, and a heritage of being an intellectual center. Cuenca is also a centre for handicrafts, silversmiths and weavers, and a stones throw from Ecuador’s only extensive Inca ruins, Ingapirca.

Ecuador boasts, however, a hard to beat jewel. The pristine but ecologically fragile Galápagos Islands, indisputably the most illustrious tourism magnet for Ecuador. These idyllic islands 600 miles off of Ecuador’s coast were made famous by English naturalist Charles Darwin. His visit to these islands in 1835 inspired the earth-shattering ‘Origin of the Species’, a publication that altered man’s conception of the origins of life.
And these islands have since become a paradise for tourists, scientists and ecologists alike. Today, the Galápagos Island of San Cristóbal is a place to sleep among sea lions, to walk along pristine beaches, interrupted only by the curious gazes of a multitude of comely marine iguanas and exotic birds.

“Naturally the word Galápagos is what guides people to this country,” said Egüez.
Banking its future tourism potential on Galápagos, however, is indeed a losing proposition and one of the reasons for the country’s inland reach. Simply growth for the Galapagos Islands is physically and ecologically impossible. The island are also at the edge of their carrying capacity, absorbing some 120,000 tourists yearly, a figure that almost trebled in the past five years alone.

Earlier this year alarm bells rang leading Ecuador to focus of Ecuador's attention away from the Galápagos Islands and to redirect it towards continental destinations. The Galápagos Islands were the first place on the planet to be designated a World Heritage Site, now said to be "in danger" by the United Nations.

But growth has to develop from somewhere, if tourism official’s targets are to be reached. But Ecuador is getting there, with consistent increases in tourism numbers on a yearly basis. In 2005, Ecuador attracted 860 thousand tourists of the 18.1 million visitors to the South American continent, up 5.1 percent over the previous year.

Top countries of origin of incoming tourism, according to Ecuador Tourism Ministry figures, were Peru, the United States, Columbia, Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany.
An integral marketing plan of the Ecuadorian Ministry of Tourism continues to be ambitious, targeting increasing those numbers significantly in the coming years. Targets include attracting 1.1 million incoming tourists this year, and boosting that figure to 1.7 million by 2010. Hence the strategy to encourage travelers to Ecuador to experience the capital Quito, parts of the Amazon rain forest, the highlands, its volcanoes, its culture, its Pacific coastline, its beaches or its gastronomy.

Take a polished advertising campaign dubbed ‘Ecuador – Life at its purest’, published in the US edition of National Geographic Magazine – in collaboration with the rainforest alliance – which sends a message of sustainable tourism, and depicts reasons to visit the diverse regions of Ecuador.

One image of the award-winning campaign depicts an indigenous man with the vast, impressive and expansive Andes mountain-range in the distance inviting tourists to discover the people and cultures of Ecuador, while another shows the pure and beautiful volcanic mountains of the Andes, while another illustrates the lush tropical Amazonian region. All for the purpose of showing that Ecuador is more than Galápagos.

Then there is the capital, Quito, situated high in the Andes mountain-range and nestled in between a host of snow-capped volcanos. Venture to the hill of El Panecillo in Ecuador’s capital Quito, over 2,800 meters above sea level and perched high above the capital with a spectacular view of the expansive city is Pim’s Restaurant, just meters from the 41-meter-tall monument of a Madonna assembled high above the hill.

This vista gives a birds-eye view of this city that since 1978 has been world heritage site. Here you will see architecture that could represent the best of the European heritage, as well as a unique cultural mix of the country’s indigenous roots.

While putting the four corners of the ecologically and culturally diverse Ecuador on the map for international tourists is a challenge, one local contemporary dance choreographer admits that the task is difficult, since this country has long been on the periphery of some of its neighbors.

“The problem is that the great capitals of culture in Latin America are Buenos Aires, Caracas, Bogota, Santiago… and even Lima,” said Kléver Viera, the director the contemporary dance company Grupo El Arrebato.

“Yet at the same time, this has resulted in dance remaining authentic to itself, and created by our culture, and what we are,” he concludes.

Perhaps, discovering the least exploited parts of Ecuador is finding something more pristine, natural and untouched. Being somewhat isolated sometimes has its advantages.

Andrew Princz is a freelance travel writer who has visited over forty countries and has consulted various governments on country tourism and culture awareness projects. Andrew has authored tour guides and travel stories, and publishes the travel and culture portal ontheglobe.com

"Our growth between 2005 and 2006 was 21 percent to 22 percent, and for 2007 we expect another 20 percent," said Mariano Proano, general manager of Travel Opportunities South America. "All the flights are full. "The U.S. is the fastest-growing [market] for Ecuador," he added. "We're not doing as much as Peru, but we're growing."

Monica Irauzqui of Kontiki Tours & Travel cited a 20 percent growth in bookings to Ecuador within the past year. "Especially with the Galapagos," she said, "because there are so many more cruises."

Dominic Hamilton, international media relations officer for the Quito Metropolitan Tourism Corp., reported an estimated 7 percent increase in visitor arrivals to Ecuador's capital city so far this year. He said the primary origin markets are the U.S., Spain, the U.K. and Germany.

Mr. Hamilton said one of the trends driving tourism to the capital is continuing improvement in the city center, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site dotted with landmark churches, government buildings and private residences.

With hotels opening in historical buildings as well as more outdoor cafes and a theater that opened last year, interest is increasing.

Quito is making plans to open a new international airport by 2011. The $600 million project, located outside the city limits, will be much larger than the existing Mariscal Sucre Airport and won't have the constraints presented by Sucre's high altitude, allowing for nonstop flights from more far-flung destinations, aboard larger aircraft.