Strengthening the tourism sector will benefit 20 companies in Ecuador’s Austro region

(Cuenca, October 5, 2006).- The project to Strengthen the Associative Scheme in the Tourism Sector of the Austro Region was launched in the Cuenca Chamber of Commerce, for the provinces of Azuay, Morona Santiago and Cañar, areas of Ecuador recognized for their tourist, cultural, historical, natural and archaeological attractions.

The project is supported by the Andean Development Corporation, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Tourism, the National Federation of Chambers of Tourism (FENACAPTUR), and the National Association of Receptive Tourism Operators (OPTUR), and will be coordinated by the Cuenca Science and Technology Center (CTA). The project aims to increase the levels of productivity of 20 tourism operating and service provider companies implementing systems of measurement and strengthening commercial management, with a view to improving the competitive position of these organizations.

The beneficiary companies, which include the hotels Crespo and Carvallo, Cabañas del Valle, and the restaurants Rancho Chileno, El Jordán and El Maíz, will be intervened for approximately one year, when the following methodologies will be applied: Measurement of Productivity of Value Added (MPVA), and Working Conditions in Small Enterprises (WISE). The companies will use these tools to construct interrelated indicators to determine their efficiency for using these resources, generation of wealth and their positioning in the market, as well as identifying actions to improve the conditions and organization of work.

This project is the second intervention process between CAF and the Antioquia Science and Technology Center in Ecuador. The first experience was Productivity: Measurement, Identification and Improvement, in 18 companies including timber and metal-working in the Ecuadorian cities of Quito, Ambato and Cuenca, which ended successfully last August.