Ecuador offers new incentives to digital nomads

08-12-22

The Ministry of Tourism of Ecuador officially presented the Digital Nomads campaign, in order to strengthen the Nomad Visa modality that has been in force since April this year. In a commemorative event, Niels Olsen, head of this State portfolio gave an account of the management undertaken since May 2021 and highlighted the figures that show the reactivation of the industry in the country. In addition, recognition was given to the creators of high quality digital content who applied to the Ecuador Film Residency programme, presented in June this year.

In the midst of a dialogue between Juan Carlos Holguín, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, and the Minister of Tourism, Niels Olsen, the characteristics, objectives and benefits of this visa modality were detailed, which seeks to allow foreign travellers who work remotely to work in Ecuador for up to two years, and at the same time travel around the country, injecting resources into the national economy with their domestic trips.

The dialogue also included Nancy Connor, an entomologist who already has the Nomad Visa for Ecuador, who mentioned that having a natural laboratory like Ecuador is valuable for her profession. "It's a place where you walk two steps and find thousands of species and you can also find the answers to what we don't know," she said, explaining what it's like to work in the country from the eyes of a scientist.

The head of the Foreign Ministry, Juan Carlos Holguín, indicated that in many countries the trend is to work remotely and this means having a vision of experiences, of getting to know the world "and Ecuador is this scenario that is consolidating as one of the most important attractions for this concept that is becoming a reality today," he said, assuring that the Nomad Visa is the result of a long period of intersectoral work.

For his part, Minister Olsen explained that in order to apply for the Nomad Visa, those interested must have a valid passport, a police record, prove foreign source income of at least three basic unified salaries, have medical insurance and pay the processing fee of 460 dollars.

This is one of the country's international promotion strategies in addition to the Ecuador Film Residency programme, which at the same event awarded its first winners: Luis Cañizares, Christopher Pozo and Cristian Ormaza. The programme was launched in June 2022 and in 54 days alone received more than 450 applications from content creators interested in participating and promoting the experiences that Ecuador has to offer. As part of the programme, the teaser of George and Tara Beyer's new experiential video, the country's first film residents, was presented.

Also, in recognition of the support to promote Ecuador as a must-see destination, Minister Olsen appointed Joshua Yentin, a Canadian entrepreneur and influencer who promotes Ecuador to thousands of viewers on the social media platforms for which he generates content, as a Tourism Ambassador. "When I arrived I fell in love with the country very quickly, I don't see why the food, the landscapes, the very friendly people can't be recognised. Through what I do, I want to promote the country," he said, recognising himself as another Ecuadorian touring and promoting our country.

With coordinated and joint work, the National Government continues to promote Ecuador to the world in order to increase arrivals of travellers who contribute more resources to the national economy, on the right path to reactivation.

More information: https://ecuador.travel/es/nomad-visa/