Foreign tourists entering Ecuador Continental will no longer need to take out health insurance, according to the recent Organic Law for the Promotion of Production, Attraction of Investments, Employment Generation and Fiscal Balance that came into force this Tuesday, 21 of August 2018, after its publication in the Official Register.
Number 1 of Article 44 provides for the repeal of the fifth paragraph of Article 56 of the Organic Law on Human Mobility, which established the compulsory nature of insurance for migratory tourist status as a requirement for entry into Continental Ecuador.
The elimination of health insurance, promoted by the head of the Ministry of Tourism, Enrique Ponce De León, and fully supported by the President of the Republic, Lenin Moreno Garcés, seeks to maintain the country’s tourism competitiveness without increasing costs for the people who come to enjoy Ecuador. In this way, there is increasing support for the receptive tourism industry of the country.
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a representative democratic republic in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) west of the mainland. The capital city is Quito, while the largest city is Guayaquil.
What is now Ecuador was home to a variety of Amerindian groups that were gradually incorporated into the Inca Empire during the 15th century. The territory was colonized by Spain during the 16th century, achieving independence in 1820 as part of Gran Colombia, from which it emerged as its own sovereign state in 1830. The legacy of both empires is reflected in Ecuador’s ethnically diverse population, with most of its 16.4 million people being mestizos, followed by large minorities of European, Amerindian, and African descendants. Spanish is the official language and is spoken by a majority of the population, though 13 Amerindian languages are also recognized, including Quichua and Shuar.