Galapagos Islands 18+ Population 100% Vaccinated

**Metropolitan Touring Joins Group of Travel Operators to Support the Vaccination Campaign in the Galapagos Islands – and Sees Encouraging Results**

(Quito, Ecuador) – COVID-19 vaccinations are key to reactivating tourism around the world – especially in remote destinations like the Galapagos Islands. With travel to the archipelago that inspired Charles Darwin in the balance, Metropolitan Touring joins eight other travel companies to support the government of Ecuador’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the islands.

Answering the call for assistance along with Metropolitan Touring were Celebrity Cruises, Ecoventura, Kleintours, Lindblad Expeditions, Quasar, Rolf Wittmer, Silversea, and Pikaia Lodge, which joined a month-long effort to provide logistical support, funding, and coordination to ensure that the Galapagos vaccination program could be carried out speedily.


Vaccination Points Throughout the Islands

Result? The travel companies’ efforts saw the donation and delivery of 10,000 syringes, 80,000 pairs of gloves, more than 10,000 masks, 1,000 surgical gowns, 40,000 alcohol pads, and alcohol gel, among other materials, as well as funding the meals of dozens of personnel working at vaccination points throughout the islands.

100% Vaccinated by May 2021

Combined with 2020 efforts to better equip local health installations and personnel, as well as to provide a free online and telephone COVID hotline available for Galapagos Island residents, to date, the nine companies have contributed more than US $500,000 to health improvements and the vaccination program. Through these initiatives and the hard work of its team, Metropolitan Touring has played a significant role in both the initial launch of the COVID-19 vaccine in the Galapagos, and the target goal of vaccinating 100% of the islands’ 18+ population by the end of this month.

With the success of the vaccination campaign, there is now growing confidence in the Galapagos that the islands have weathered the worst of the storm and that clear skies lie ahead. With the majority of Galapagos residents vaccinated and the travel sector returning to full strength in many of Metropolitan Touring’s main markets, the pioneer of travel to the Galapagos is now pleased to see other cruise operators announce departures in June and July, ready to join in bringing the archipelago alive for thousands of travelers who are keen to experience a remote, safe and life-affirming destination.

For reservations or more information, please call Metropolitan Touring at (+1) 855-500-0496, or visit www.metropolitan-touring.com

Contact:
Andrea Schnoor
Andrea Schnoor Communications
122 West 27th Street, Floor 10
New York, NY 10001
hello@andreaschnoor.com

About Metropolitan Touring

Metropolitan Touring is one of South America’s best-known and most well-respected travel companies, acting as a trusted operator in Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru. Established in Ecuador in 1953, it is regarded as the heritage brand of the Galápagos, pioneering cruises across the fabled islands for more than 50 years. Today, this legacy lives on through its trio of expedition vessels.

La Pinta, Santa Cruz II, and Isabela II, and its beachfront hotel on Santa Cruz Island, the Finch Bay Galapagos Hotel. Its holding group has also grown and evolved with its own unique hotel offerings on Ecuador’s mainland, including Mashpi Lodge and Casa Gangotena, as well as an ever-expanding selection of carefully curated tours, all of which allow visitors to truly get off the beaten track and under the skin of the destination.

By traveling with Metropolitan Touring, travelers offset their individual carbon emissions through its holding group’s carbon-neutral initiative, which calculates an offset fee per traveler. Through the Fundación Futuro, these funds are invested directly in protecting and expanding forest reserves in Ecuador’s highly-biodiverse Andean Chocó region, a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 2018.

This release was published on openPR.