The Ministry of Tourism signed the Violet Pact this Monday, a commitment between the public, private, and academic sectors to promote the Violet Tourism project. This project, achieved with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), prioritizes the needs of women in tourism, both as workers and entrepreneurs, and as responsible travelers, to raise awareness, recognize, and support gender-sensitive tourism.

“For the tourism industry, the contribution of women is extremely significant, especially if we remember that 54% of the total workers in the sector are women." said Tourism Minister Niels Olsen, explaining that the Violet Tourism project pilot project involved three Community Tourism Centers in the Coast (Dos Mangas-Santa Elena), Andes (La Moya-Chimborazo), and Amazon (Sinchi Warmi-Tena) regions, with the support of travel agencies.

This was further explored at a forum where Herlinda González, a member of the Dos Mangas Community Tourism Center, commented that the project helps the local residents progress, working to serve travelers and develop the weaving of toquilla straw hats as a means of demonstrating local culture and traditions, sustainable through reforestation, and passed on to new generations as part of the experience they offer visitors.

Diana Bocarejo, IDB representative, highlighted the joint work with the Ministry of Tourism and announced that they will continue supporting these processes, which are exemplary for Latin America due to their significant impact on inclusion and job creation for women.

The Minister of Women and Human Rights, Paola Flores, participated in the signing of the agreement, stating that the Violet Tourism project is very satisfactory because it recognizes the work of women in each community.We must consider that if we enhance the tourism sector, we also do so with the economic sector.", said.

For her part, the Vice Minister of Tourism, Silvana Ramírez, explained that the Technical Cooperation carried out between the IDB and the Ministry of Tourism is “A commitment to applying the gender approach to tourism development from various aspects such as responsible production and consumption, safety, sustainable management, territorial and community inclusion, organizational culture, training and education, and women's well-being and health.He added that the tourism sector, through its public sector, with the support of international cooperation agencies and academia, is promoting more competitive private and community-based businesses and enterprises, capable of designing innovative products and following the guidelines of responsible and equitable tourism. He also emphasized that this tourism model can be applied to all areas of the industry.

The National Government promotes activities that foster, promote, and consolidate gender-sensitive tourism, supporting local development and boosting the economies of various destinations.