A couple traveling in their vehicle and lost in Ballenita ask "What is the road to Esmeraldas?"; bewildered travelers who passed through Santa Elena minutes ago arrive in La Libertad wondering "how far is it to get to the Museo Amantes de Sumpa?"; an entire family arrives in Sacachún and is confused to discover that it is not as close to Olón as it appeared on the map of an official website.
Cases in which travelers get lost due to incorrect tourist information can be the difference between having memorable moments and situations that can even be compromising or dangerous for them and that in the best of cases only cause them to lose the opportunity to visit a destination or to spend more money.
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| The website ecuador.travel indicates that Olón is A few kilometers from Sacachún, very far from the coast |
In Santa Elena, there are several cases where official information generated by the Ministry of Tourism does not correspond to reality and that it is necessary to improve immediately so that the experience of travelers visiting this region of Ecuador is optimized.
For example, when visiting an article about Seco de Chivo on the web ecuador.travel Next to the gastronomic information, a map is highlighted where Olón beach appears closer to Sacachún than to the breaking waves next to Montañita.
In the recent document of the Ministry of Tourism entitled "Guide to watching humpback whales in Ecuador» The intention is good, but there are several inaccuracies. These range from the wrong name, as in the case of Ballenita, which is called a commune in the document, which does not correspond to reality; to others that can actually confuse tourists, for example the guide mentions that the “Amantes de Sumpa” Museum is located on the La Libertad – Salinas road, one kilometer from the cantonal capital. Not to mention that texts are abruptly cut off without concluding clear ideas.
The tourist information that needs to be corrected certainly goes beyond the virtual plane and even reaches poorly located signs or those that do not specify locations; such as the gigantic sign for the Sumpa Lovers Museum that has neither an arrow nor a distance and that, according to several travelers, was understood as a warning to continue forward when the museum is 2 blocks to one side of said sign.
In Libertador Bolívar, a commune that has been working coherently for several years to develop Community Tourism that benefits its residents and under the concept of Fair Trade, complaints about not appearing on official maps continue to ring out, a situation that the tourism sector of Ballenita shares because as Hermógenes Yagual mentions, "we appear on some maps, but not on others."
It is urgent that ALL the entities involved in tourism in the province become aware of the joint work and manage to determine these deficiencies (of productions made with taxpayers' money) that can and should be corrected so that the objective of promoting this sector is in line with the positive experience of those who visit it, meven though it is indicated that some of these guides will be translated into English. These correctives can be translated into good references and therefore more visits.
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| According to the "Guide to Humpback Whale Watching" In Ecuador, the Sumpa Lovers Museum is located on the La Libertad – Salinas road |
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