Galápagos face ruin as tourism collapses

ECUADOR

The Galápagos Islands, home to some of the world’s rarest animal species, are struggling to survive after nearly two months without tourists.

Many of the islands’ 30,000 residents have already lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic.

Located 965 kilometres from Ecuador, the Galapagos have so far recorded more than 100 cases of COVID-19.

Ecuador is among the hardest-hit nations in Latin America. The first Galapagos cases are thought to have originated in Guayaquil, the coastal city where hospitals turned away patients and the dead were left in their homes for days.

Island authorities have struggled to equip local hospitals, which contain only four intensive-care beds — about one for every 7,500 residents — and only one laboratory to conduct tests.

Islanders rely on military aircraft to ferry the critically ill to Guayaquil or nearby Quito. However, the bigger blow has been to tourism. Before the crisis, the islands welcomed on average around 800 visitors a day.

Officials estimate that at least US$50 million has already been lost — a quarter of the region’s expected annual income.

“The base of our economy has entirely collapsed,” said Norman Wray, governor of the islands. “This is completely changing the future of tourism in the Galapagos.”

Ecuador’s government is allowing for a gradual opening in three stages but the final stage does not call for a resumption of national or international flights.