21JAN24- "Tourism is dying on the beaches of Manabí, due to insecurity and violence. Manabí has ​​350 kilometers of beaches and countless attractions that make it one of the favorite coastal destinations for national and foreign tourists. At least, that was the case until before the outbreak of violence that began 2024. This extensive coastline and its strategic location are used by organized crime gangs for drug trafficking. But these groups also commit extortion, contract killings and other crimes associated with the resurgence of violence.

After the declaration of internal armed conflict, Fernando Adatty, General Commander of the Land Force, said that Manabí is considered among the most critical areas, along with Guayas, Esmeraldas, Los Ríos, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas and El Oro. That has directly impacted tourism. “The blow of insecurity is terrible. We are tremendously worse than in the pandemic,” laments María Eugenia Murillo, president of the Portoviejo Hoteliers Association. “Before the state of emergency, many had already closed their businesses due to extortion,” says James Morales, who offers the delivery service in Pedernales. The violence in this canton, with a rate of 107.16 violent deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, has prevented visitors from arriving.

The feeling of insecurity extends even to calmer places. An example of this is Puerto López, where the influx of tourists has also decreased, "despite the fact that there is no incident that could put security at risk," says Ángel Pincay, a member of the Puerto López Tourism Directorate. Pincay insists that "we should not believe the false messages that talk about extortion charges for the use of the beach. "

Roberto Rivera, chief of the Police of the Jipijapa district where Puerto López is located, says that there are no reports or complaints in this regard. In Manabí there are 432 hotels registered in the registry of the Ministry of Tourism. The latter means that there are at least 15,000 accommodation places in the province. For now, most of these cantons are working on promoting the Carnaval holiday to attract tourists, holding events in coordination with the public force at times that respect the curfew. Around 600 soldiers and 2,900 police officers are deployed on the beaches of Manabí, roads, shops, hospitals and areas considered conflictive, according to official records of the National Police.

The tourism sector of Manta and Portoviejo made three proposals to the government to reactivate itself in the midst of the internal armed conflict declared on January 9, and reverse the losses that, in Manta alone, are projected at $30 million during the two months that the period will last. The first request is to develop a tourism reactivation plan between local authorities and the National Government; review the credit situation that the productive sectors have suffered since the 2016 earthquake and the covid-19 pandemic; and, make the state of emergency and curfew more flexible. Marcos Sánchez, secretary of the Portoviejo Hoteliers Association, speaks of losses that have already been quantified since the declaration of the state of exception.

"For example, a small hotel would be losing between $2,000 and $3,000." In addition, resources do not flow to pay tax bills, electricity bills and staff salaries. For Paúl Andrade, president of the Manta tourist bureau and general manager of Balandra Hotel, the tourist movement has been almost zero in recent days, at least in terms of accommodation there is no good record. "The visit of clients from other provinces has been low and that affects us a lot." Concern increases because a few days before the Carnaval holiday, reservations have been canceled and tourists are waiting to see what happens with the security measures.

Andrade figures that in the context of violence and the curfew, the hotel sector of Manta loses $500,000 daily. In this canton there are about 120 registered establishments including hotels and hostales and about 4,000 rooms. According to data from the Municipality of Manta, on the holidays of November and December 2023, hotel occupancy in the city was at 90%. While in Portoviejo, hotel occupancy on the last December holiday (end of the year) reached 60%. In the bars, karaoke and nightclub sector of Portoviejo, the situation is more radical.

Attention has been reduced to zero, which is why Orlando Murillo, spokesperson for these sectors, asks government authorities to make the curfew hours more flexible as soon as possible. "There are families that depend on these night businesses, they are seriously affected" and they look forward to the holiday as an opportunity for recovery. Murillo counted that currently in this city there are 35 establishments including bars, karaoke and nightclubs, a minimum number compared to five years ago, when there were more than 200 night establishments to receive not only local clients, but also a large number of foreign tourists." -

https://www.primicias.ec/noticias/economia/manta-portoviejo-estado-excepcion-toque-queda/?fbclid=IwAR2PArgQRvFnOafcGIaDqFct5ySyZ7OdRyMLEtALgzAFBnwJIFDrzc0zNy0