Ecuador is to spend $40 million promoting itself next year after a major rebranding exercise.
The Ministry of Tourism invited five major publicity companies to present designs and then selected the new look: a brightly coloured wheel-shaped design and the slogan ‘love life’.
The design represents Ecuador’s biodiversity and cultural variety, incorporating elements such as the sun, pre-Colombian designs and the colours of the country’s textiles.
President Rafael Correa is so impressed with the design that he has extended the branding outside of tourism to represent Ecuador across other commercial platforms.
Tourism minister Freddy Ehlers is pushing forward with an extensive marketing plan including promotional adverts, the scheduling of an Ecuador Week in the country’s key tourism markets, and wider brand awareness activities including the opening of Ecuador Stores selling the country’s key exports, including chocolate, roses and handicrafts.
The Ministry will invite a representative from every country in the world to visit Ecuador and talk about their experiences.
Focusing on Ecuador’s diversity, the adverts will show scenes of the country’s flora, fauna, culture and adventure tourism options. Some adverts will feature Charles
Darwin to emphasise his strong connection with the Galapagos Islands.
The Ministry of Tourism aims to increase incoming tourist numbers to Ecuador from 1.1 million to 1.5 million by 2014, with the aim of tourism replacing petroleum as the number-one revenue generator in the country.
Alongside Peru, Colombia, the US and Germany, the UK is a key market for Ecuador and Ehlers is keen to encourage British Airways to fly directly to Quito.