Ecuador's ministry of tourism has announced that traveling to and from the South American country has become much more accessible for everyone. As a result of recently signed agreements, flight tickets to and from Ecuador will be priced at lower costs due to now lower fees and taxes.
“As of today, we have eliminated unnecessary barriers for tourists to come and explore Ecuador. We used to be one of the most expensive countries to visit due to all the fees and taxes created by previous governments that made flying excessively expensive. Under our current government, we have signed the 'Open Skies Agreement,' and reduced the Eco Delta and Tourism Potential taxes that added fees to flight tickets. We are pleased to share this announcement as our main goal is to continue expanding our country’s connectivity to the world and welcoming new short-term and long-term visitors,” said Niels Olsen, Minister of Tourism of Ecuador.
As of June 1, the Eco Delta tax and the Tourism Potential tax have been reduced for all travelers in Ecuador. This reduction will allow the costs of international flight tickets to become cheaper and increase the connectivity of the country incentivizing more airlines to operate new routes to Ecuador.
The two main airports in the country, Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito, and Jose Joaquin de Olmedo International Airport in Guayaquil, will be the ones most directly impacted by the price of tickets lowering. Last year, Mariscal Sucre International Airport saw about 4.3 million passengers throughout the year in domestic and international flights, making it one of the busiest airports in Latin America with the highest flight volume.
Currently, 16 airlines connect Quito directly with 19 international destinations and nine destinations within Ecuador. From the United States, airlines like American Airlines, Delta, LATAM, United, JetBlue, Avianca and Spirit operate direct routes to Quito and Guayaquil. Major city connection hubs to Quito are Atlanta, Houston, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale. A flight takes between four to five hours to arrive in Quito from the United States.
Most recently, Avianca Airlines launched a new route from New York to Quito expanding Ecuador’s direct connectivity to the United Sates. The country hopes to continue its partnerships with other airlines to facilitate travel to South America.
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