International tourism receipts are expenditures by international inbound visitors, including payments to national carriers for international transport. These receipts include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except when these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include receipts for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

In 2023, the number of inbound tourist arrivals in Ecuador increased to nearly 1.5 million. This represented an increase of roughly 22 percent over the previous year.

The United States accounted for almost 30 percent of the international tourism volume in Ecuador in 2023. Meanwhile, Columbia was the second most popular nationality among foreign visitors in the Latin American country that year.

Key information about Ecuador Visitor Arrivals

• Ecuador Visitor Arrivals recorded 1,423,432 person in Dec 2023, compared with 1,237,445 person in the previous year
• Ecuador Visitor Arrivals data is updated yearly, available from Dec 1997 to Dec 2023
• The data reached an all-time high of 2,252,263 person in Dec 2018 and a record low of 349,363 person in Dec 1998

In January 2020, Ecuador welcomed approximately 150.4 thousand international tourists. This represented a decrease of around 21 percent in comparison with the arrival of international tourists reported during the same month a year earlier. During the first months of 2020, Ecuador's tourism had been recovering from the decline experienced in September and October 2019, as a result of the protests, shutdowns and riots in several provinces of the country in rejection to the economic measures taken by the Government.

Ecuador EC: International Tourism: Receipts: for Travel Items data was reported at 1.443 USD bn in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.551 USD bn for 2015. Ecuador EC: International Tourism: Receipts: for Travel Items data is updated yearly, averaging 488.000 USD mn from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2016, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.551 USD bn in 2015 and a record low of 255.000 USD mn in 1995. Ecuador EC: International Tourism: Receipts: for Travel Items data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ecuador – Table EC.World Bank.WDI: Tourism Statistics. International tourism receipts for travel items are expenditures by international inbound visitors in the reporting economy. The goods and services are purchased by, or on behalf of, the traveler or provided, without a quid pro quo, for the traveler to use or give away. These receipts should include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except in cases where these are so important as to justify a separate classification. Excluded is the international carriage of travelers, which is covered in passenger travel items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.; ; World Tourism Organization, Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files.; Gap-filled total;

In 2023, the United States was the top international destination for Ecuadorians, representing nearly 31 percent of all outbound tourism. Colombia ranked second as the most popular destination for Ecuadorian travelers.

Ecuador EC: International Tourism: Expenditures: for Travel Items data was reported at 661.000 USD mn in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 639.000 USD mn for 2015. Ecuador EC: International Tourism: Expenditures: for Travel Items data is updated yearly, averaging 447.500 USD mn from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2016, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 661.000 USD mn in 2016 and a record low of 219.000 USD mn in 1996. Ecuador EC: International Tourism: Expenditures: for Travel Items data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ecuador – Table EC.World Bank.WDI: Tourism Statistics. International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries. The goods and services are purchased by, or on behalf of, the traveler or provided, without a quid pro quo, for the traveler to use or give away. These may include expenditures by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are so important as to justify a separate classification. Excluded is the international carriage of travelers, which is covered in passenger travel items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.; ; World Tourism Organization, Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files.; Gap-filled total;

Ecuador is a country with a vast natural and cultural wealth, its diversity encompasses hundreds of thousands of species of flora and fauna. The Ecuadorian internal consumption of travel and tourism in 2019, which encompasses sector's revenues and government spending, increased during the past decade from 2.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2010 to nearly four billion dollars in 2019.

In 2023, Ecuador registered over 1.7 million tourist departures from nationals traveling to other countries. This figure represents a significant increase over the previous two years, and set a new record for the country based on data going back to 2002.

Ecuador EC: International Tourism: Expenditures: % of Total Imports data was reported at 5.427 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 4.160 % for 2015. Ecuador EC: International Tourism: Expenditures: % of Total Imports data is updated yearly, averaging 5.281 % from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2016, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.148 % in 1999 and a record low of 3.281 % in 2014. Ecuador EC: International Tourism: Expenditures: % of Total Imports data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ecuador – Table EC.World Bank.WDI: Tourism Statistics. International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries, including payments to foreign carriers for international transport. These expenditures may include those by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include expenditures for passenger transport items. Their share in imports is calculated as a ratio to imports of goods and services, which comprise all transactions between residents of a country and the rest of the world involving a change of ownership from nonresidents to residents of general merchandise, goods sent for processing and repairs, nonmonetary gold, and services.; ; World Tourism Organization, Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, and IMF and World Bank imports estimates.; Weighted average;

The number of visitors to the United States from Equador increased from 2023 to 2024. In 2024, the number of visitors to the U.S. from Ecuador reached 492,163, up from the previous year's total of 468,419.

Ecuador EC: International Tourism: Expenditures data was reported at 1.034 USD bn in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 994.000 USD mn for 2015. Ecuador EC: International Tourism: Expenditures data is updated yearly, averaging 675.000 USD mn from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2016, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.034 USD bn in 2016 and a record low of 313.000 USD mn in 1996. Ecuador EC: International Tourism: Expenditures data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ecuador – Table EC.World Bank.WDI: Tourism Statistics. International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries, including payments to foreign carriers for international transport. These expenditures may include those by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include expenditures for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.; ; World Tourism Organization, Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files.; Gap-filled total;

Key information about Ecuador Visitor Arrivals

• Ecuador Visitor Arrivals grew 15.0 % in Dec 2023, compared with an increase of 106.0 % in the previous year
• Ecuador Visitor Arrivals Growth rate data is updated yearly, available from Dec 1998 to Dec 2023
• The data reached an all-time high of 106.0 % in Dec 2022 and a record low of -72.4 % in Dec 2020

• In the latest reports, Ecuador Visitor Arrivals recorded 1,423,432.0 person in the year of Dec 2023
• Tourism Revenue of Ecuador reached 705.0 USD mn in Dec 2020, an increase of 69.6 % change from the previous year

Just over 58 percent of international travelers in Ecuador in 2023 entered the country for tourism purposes. Another 25 percent of that group intended to establish their residence in the Latin American country. That same year, U.S. nationals constituted the largest group of foreign tourists in Ecuador.

The Ecuadorian tourism sector was estimated to have lost more than 1.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In the following years, the impact of the crisis could still be felt, though to a lesser degree. By 2022, the tourism losses in the South American country are expected to decline by 88 percent.

Ecuador EC: International Tourism: Number of Departures data was reported at 1,551,000.000 Person in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,398,000.000 Person for 2015. Ecuador EC: International Tourism: Number of Departures data is updated yearly, averaging 698,500.000 Person from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2016, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,551,000.000 Person in 2016 and a record low of 271,000.000 Person in 1995. Ecuador EC: International Tourism: Number of Departures data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ecuador – Table EC.World Bank.WDI: Tourism Statistics. International outbound tourists are the number of departures that people make from their country of usual residence to any other country for any purpose other than a remunerated activity in the country visited. The data on outbound tourists refer to the number of departures, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips from a country during a given period is counted each time as a new departure.; ; World Tourism Organization, Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files.; Gap-filled total;

Ecuador Tourist Arrival: Foreigner: Undefined: by Purpose of Travel: Not Specified data was reported at 0.000 Person in 2023. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 Person for 2022. Ecuador Tourist Arrival: Foreigner: Undefined: by Purpose of Travel: Not Specified data is updated yearly, averaging 0.000 Person from Dec 2016 (Median) to 2023, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.000 Person in 2023 and a record low of 0.000 Person in 2023. Ecuador Tourist Arrival: Foreigner: Undefined: by Purpose of Travel: Not Specified data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Institute of Statistics and Census. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ecuador – Table EC.Q005: Tourist Arrival: National Institute of Statistics and Census: by Purpose of Travel.

2.108.000 (número) in 2019. International inbound tourists (overnight visitors) are the number of tourists who travel to a country other than that in which they have their usual residence, but outside their usual environment, for a period not exceeding 12 months and whose main purpose in visiting is other than an activity remunerated from within the country visited. When data on number of tourists are not available, the number of visitors, which includes tourists, same-day visitors, cruise passengers, and crew members, is shown instead. Sources and collection methods for arrivals differ across countries. In some cases data are from border statistics (police, immigration, and the like) and supplemented by border surveys. In other cases data are from tourism accommodation establishments. For some countries number of arrivals is limited to arrivals by air and for others to arrivals staying in hotels. Some countries include arrivals of nationals residing abroad while others do not. Caution should thus be used in comparing arrivals across countries. The data on inbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips to a country during a given period is counted each time as a new arrival.

In 2021, the expenditure of foreign visitors in Ecuador represented one percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Meanwhile, Ecuadorian travelers in other countries contributed more than one percent to their nation's GDP. Despite the recovery recorded versus the previous year, these share were still below pre-pandemic levels.