Abstract
Sea, Sun, and Sand (3S) are relevant and determining elements for choosing a tourist destination in Ecuador, a country with about 1200 km of coast along the Pacific Ocean. This study analyzed the market potential of the 3S in 64 beaches, 10 located in the Galapagos and 54 in the continental zone (of Ecuador). The methodology used was exploratory and bibliographical, complemented by a descriptive analysis. The color of the water was assessed by direct observation, sand samples were taken to a laboratory for color analysis, and information on the hours of light was obtained from international archive data. The data obtained were compared with other world famous 3S tourism destinations. The Galapagos had the best results, with attractive white sand beaches, sea blue water color, and an elevated sunshine time; meanwhile, the continental zone presented poor beaches with dark sand and unattractive water color. To strengthen 3S tourism, managers should work on the enhancement of complementary aspects such as culture, gastronomy, and architecture, promoting the creation of new coastal tourist routes and destinations.
Highlights
Interest in tourism has increased rapidly in recent years [1]
In 2019, tourism generated 10.3% of global GDP, supporting 330 million jobs [2], and coastal and marine tourism is the largest segment of this industry [3]
The importance of in these countries is reflected by the high number of direct and indirect jobs related to tourism: 66% in the Seychelles, 39.3% in Cabo Verde, 37.4% in the Maldives, 36.5% in Fiji, 29.8% in Jamaica, 22.6% in Mauritius, 20.7% in Bermuda, 19.6% in Tonga, and 9.9% in Cuba, several negative fallouts on local population were assessed [7]
Summary
Interest in tourism has increased rapidly in recent years [1]. In 2019, tourism generated 10.3% of global GDP, supporting 330 million jobs [2], and coastal and marine tourism is the largest segment of this industry [3]. In the Tropics, incomes related to beach tourist activities constitute a relevant part of many countries’ GDP [4], especially in the Maldives (76.6%), the Seychelles (65.3%), Capo Verde (44.9%), Fiji (40.3%), Jamaica (32.9%), Zanzibar (25%), Mauritius (23.8%), Tonga (18.2%), Bermuda (17.1%), and Cuba (10.7%) [5,6]. In a few Spanish coastal areas, the built-up zone exceeds 45%, evidence of the great contemporary importance of the enhancement of sustainable tourism [13,14,15] The latter contributes to social equity, economic efficiency, and environmental conservation by integrating economic and recreational activities in order to seek the conservation of natural and cultural values [1,14,15,16]. This paper constitutes a relevant database on beach sand characteristics that will be very useful to properly designing future nourishment plans, especially in more sensitive sectors or tourist areas [29,37,38]
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