Galapagos fights temptation of lucrative mass tourism

PUERTO AYORA, Ecuador — With its iconic giant tortoises, crested black iguanas, huge ocean manta rays and a veritable menagerie of other cool creatures, the Galapagos Islands are one of the most beautiful places you will probably never visit.

Why not? Who wouldn’t want to go to a white sand beach and soak up some sun alongside a lounging iguana, or surf in waters with those lumbering tortoises swimming beside you and a rainbow of tropical fish below?

But in order to protect the flora, fauna and ecosystems of this Pacific archipelago that inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, Ecuador is in the odd position of having to turn away perhaps millions of would-be tourists each year.

Keeping a tight lid on tourism is the way the South American country has preserved this volcanic string of 19 islands, dozens of islets and rocky outcroppings.

Authorities wage this fight as world tourism grows and grows — it was up 7 percent last year — and they must resist the temptation to let in hordes of visitors, their pockets bulging with dollars.

“The Galapagos are the crown jewel, and as such, we have to protect them,” Tourism Minister Enrique Ponce de Leon said. “We must be drastic in caring for the environment.”

With a network of small hotels and ferries running between the islands, the Galapagos — about 1,000 kilometers off the coast of Ecuador — is an eco-tourism destination that is among the most select spots in the Pacific.

The flow of tourists has risen to 245,000 per year and authorities say that’s pretty much the limit: the maximum the islands can withstand without harming their ecosystems.

“The environmental, social and biological features of this place — which is like no other — forces us to set a limit, to manage tourism in terms of supply, rather than demand,” said Walter Bustos, director of the Galapagos National Park, which was created in 1959 and classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site 19 years later.

But of course, limiting tourism here is of no help to the broader Ecuadorean economy, which operates with dollars as the official currency.

And these have been lean years because of low global crude prices and accumulation of debt. Tourism and mining have emerged as lifesavers.

Last year, visitors to this country boasting volcanos and thick Amazon jungle shot up 14 percent compared to 2016, totaling 1.6 million. But that is small compared to other countries in Latin America.