Rapidly developing holiday destination Ecuador has everything to offer.

An UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city saw visitor numbers exceed one million and in 2012, attaining considerable growth of 12 per cent on 2011.

The reasons why travellers are choosing Ecuador in ever increasing numbers are as diverse as the region itself.

With the rising peak of Cotopaxi, one of the highest volcanoes in the world; the planet’s greatest concentration of species by area; breathtaking beaches with pristine white sands, and the magical Galápagos Islands - a unique natural laboratory that inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection in 1835, Ecuador is truly one of the must see places on Earth.

It’s no surprise then that it was also called the World’s Leading Green Destination by the World Travel Awards in 2013.

“Ecuador is like no other place on Earth. From the amazing Galápagos Islands to Cotopaxi, one of the world’s highest active volcanoes, not to mention immaculate beaches and rainforests with the highest concentration of plant and animal life of any region on the planet – it’s all in one place.

“Over recent years, we have seen significant investment in Ecuador to improve our facilities, allowing us to welcome more and more tourists.

“If you’ve never been to Ecuador, make this the year you discover it,” Ecuador’s ambassador to the UK, Juan Falconi–Puig explained.

Ecuador is a country that offers a unique mega bio-diversity, entertainment and adventure for the traveller all within hours of each other.

Visit UNESCO World Heritage Site the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, witness the sunset across the Andes, or discover the Amazon region, all at one single location.

Home to over 1,600 bird species, more than 16,000 species of plants, many of them endemic, Ecuador is the most bio-diverse region per square metre in the world.

Not only are the Galápagos Islands well known for their bio-diversity, they are also known to be one of the safest place for surfing.

At present, tourism is the fourth greatest income-generator for the country, and will soon rise to third place generating a revenue approaching US$1.5 billion, creating jobs in a sector that is considered to have enormous potential for the country’s future growth.

All You Need Is Ecuador

To highlight the natural wonders of Ecuador the ministry of tourism of Ecuador recently launched an innovative global tourism campaign called, All You Need Is Ecuador.

As part of the campaign, London and a further 11 cities around the world have seen six metre high letters appear making up the sentence “All You Need Is…”

Simultaneously in seven Ecuadorian cities letters have also appeared to spell out the word “Ecuador” to complete the sentence.

Located in busy zones of Paris, Madrid, Sao Paulo, Bogota, New York, Santiago, Berlin, Lima, Mexico D.F., Amsterdam and Buenos Aires, the giant letters each carry a unique QR code, with a web address and hashtag to allow passers-by to obtain additional information.

Each letter has a different design that represents a different element to Ecuador, voted for by 20 million social media users in the run up to the campaign launch.

The letters will remain in place until April 10th and promotional staff are on-site to answer questions from passers-by while handing out Ecuador’s most famous export products including chocolates and roses.

“We have a wonderful country where everything is close at hand.

“This quality is unique in the world. 

“We have the greatest ethnic diversity and greatest biodiversity per square metre of any country in the world.

“Of course other nations have their own marvels to offer but nowhere else are they concentrated in such a small space, with such diversity.

“This is why Ecuador should be front of mind for travellers and holidaymakers,” said Vinicio Alvarado, minister of tourism of Ecuador who developed the All You Need is Ecuador campaign.

There is more information on the official website.

World Travel Awards

In a sure sign of success, World Travel Awards will also visit Ecudaor’s capital, Quito, in 2014.

Centro Cultural Itchimbía, in Quito, will welcome the prestigious event on August 8th.