On Monday Dec. 22, Ecuador reached 1’500,241 arrivals of foreign visitors, which represents  a  milestone in the number of visitors who have come to the country of the four worlds.

The Government goal was set at 1.5 million arrivals for 2014. The expectations, therefore, were exceeded. This is the result of a massive joint effort between the public and private tourism sector, who have successfully promoted Ecuador as a wonderful destination.

This number represents an increase of 14% over the previous year. In 2013,  1`364.000.057 visitors arrived to the country.

Verified data up until November of this year, shows that 24% of arrivals come from Colombia (333,197); 17% of the United States (232,868); and 12% of Peru (161,370).

It is noteworthy that 45% of arrivals by air came through Mariscal Sucre International Airport (Quito), and 22% through José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (Guayaquil); while 27% of arrivals came from land, mainly through the provinces of Carchi and El Oro.

All You Need Is Ecuador (Aynie) and Ecuador Bacano campaigns, pushed by the Ministry of Tourism, have been a great contribution to reach this milestone. Aynie was launched in 14 countries through eight channels of cable television, social media, print media and billboards. The campaign impacted more than 446 million people.

Having hosted international events like the PGA Tour Golf Tournament or the Adventure World Championship 2014, allowed Ecuador to projected its image internationally.  Several international awards and recognitions given by  CNN, The New York Times, USA Today, Lonely Planet, Rainforest Alliance, World Travel Awards, among others, have also contributed to this success.

Tourism is a key aspect to the economic development. Currently, tourism is the third largest source of non-oil revenues of Ecuador. The goal is to keep to make it the first source of non-oil revenues.