Ecuador’s War on Brutal Drug Gangs Hits Its Tourism Industry
- Bookings plunge more than 20% after January’s violent outburst
- Minister promises country’s image will ‘rebuilt bit by bit’
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A global Catholic conference that only happens once every four years went ahead this month in Quito, but under the shadow of an internal war on drug traffickers attendance was 25% lower than planned.
“Out of 16,000 people originally expected, 4,000 decided to skip it for security reasons — including the Pope,” said Diego Vivero, president of Ecuador’s restaurant association. “The damage is huge.”