‘Digital nomad’ visa among Ecuador’s plans to boost UK market

Ecuador has introduced a “digital nomad” visa as it hopes remote working opportunities will help boost the recovery of international visitor numbers.

The visa will allow workers to stay for up to two years while working for an overseas employer.

Speaking at World Travel Market, the country’s tourism minister Niels Olsen said the UK was Ecuador’s third most-important market and currently stood at 80% of pre-pandemic visitor numbers.

In 2019, more than 28,000 Brits visited the South American destination.

Olsen said Ecuador was “building momentum” after the pandemic, including sending delegations to trade shows such as WTM and plans to proactively target the UK market with a new campaign.

“We have lost a bit of time so we are really pushing the accelerator,” he said. “We have not invested in the UK for the past 10 years but you can expect to see more from Ecuador in the coming months.”

Olsen said investment in the campaign would be split, with 70% spent on consumer activity and the remaining 30% invested in trade activity including roadshows and fam trips.

He added: “We don’t have the biggest budget so we need to ensure we are targeting the educated traveller. The British traveller tends to be looking for authentic and genuine experiences and we think Ecuador can offer so many of them.”

In addition to core tourism product including the Galápagos Islands and the Andes, the campaign will highlight areas including the Amazon rainforest, beaches and adventure travel.

Flights to the Ecuadorian capital Quito are available with airlines such as Iberia and Air Europa, via Madrid, or with KLM via Amsterdam. Other options include stopovers in Bogota, Panama or the US.

UK tour operators selliung Ecuador include Abercrombie and Kent, Cox & Kings, Journey Latin America, Intrepid, Newmarket Holidays and Steppes Travel.

Speaking about the working visa, Olsen said: “The pandemic allowed us to rethink tourism and opportunities. We weren’t the first country to invent it [the digital nomad visa] but we have really embraced it.

“We have great infrastructure and connectivity and the cost of living is significantly lower than in the UK.”