Awards
World Responsible Tourism Awards – Winners Interview Series
Exclusive Interview: Ana Garcia, Tren Ecuador
Founded in 2004, the World Responsible Tourism Awards allow people the chance to celebrate the heroes and share the stories of the most exciting and enduring responsible tourism experiences in the world.
Tren Ecuador were the joint overall winner and also won the Gold award for “Best for Poverty Reduction and Inclusion.”
Best for poverty reduction and inclusion is awarded to a tourism organisation with a creative and long-term approach to reducing poverty in local communities and including local and marginalised people in their activities. It is one of the longest standing categories of the World Responsible Tourism Awards. The judges wanted a tourism organisation that could prove significant reduction of poverty in a local community, inclusion of local and marginalised people, and a long-term sustainable vision for continuing their work, and providing a working example for others tourism providers around the world.
Tren Ecuador is the commercial brand of the Ecuadorian Railway Company. Through their one-day expeditions and the 4 day- 3 night Tren Crucero The Luxury Experience tours they seek to provide a unique and authentic experience of Ecuador’s diverse cultural and natural heritage by engaging local communities offering tourist services along the routes.
They share tourist value with 26 station-cafes, 14 artisans’ plazas, 13 museums, 2 lodges, 9 folklore, historical recreation groups and several community-based tourism operations, serving 150,000 tourists yearly and creating local opportunities to 180 micro enterprises and around 1,400 families.
Through their social responsibility strategy, “Travel Good, Do Good, Feel Good” every time you grab a bite at one of their cafes, buy a souvenir in their Plazas or jump on board for one of their tours you become a part of this big family committed to making responsible tourism sustainable, fun and profitable for all.
We interviewed Ana Garcia, General Manager of Tren Ecuador to find out more.
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