The Galápagos National Park Entrance Fee Doubled, Metropolitan Touring Applauds Increase

**Doubled, yet still modest, new US $200 entrance fee per person expected to bring in $40 million per year for long-term conservation and the local community**

(Quito, Ecuador) - As anyone who has explored the Galápagos knows, the islands that inspired Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution give as good as they get. Now, the captivating archipelago lying 620 miles off the coast of Ecuador is getting more, as per the recent entrance fee to Galápagos National Park to US $200 per person from US $100 per person for up to 50 days of travel. It's the first fee increase from the Park in 26 years, and it has full support of Metropolitan Touring, the award-winning pioneer of sustainable tourism that has been revealing the natural and cultural wonders of the Galápagos and Ecuador to travelers since 1953.

First Fee Increase in 26 Years
"To us, the fee increase reflects the positive commitment shown by the Ecuadorian government for long-term conservation of the Galápagos Islands," said Paulina Burbano de Lara, CEO of Metropolitan Touring, which offers land-based and cruise explorations of the Galápagos and implemented the first recycling and waste management plant on Santa Cruz Island in 1996. "We see it as a commitment to safeguarding the fragile, singular ecosystem of the islands to benefit future generations. The fee increase is inextricably linked to the wellbeing of the surrounding local community."

Indeed, the motivation behind the entrance fee increase is to ensure both the enduring conservation of the islands' ecosystems - 97% of the archipelago's land is protected as part of the Galápagos National Park - as well as the well-being of the local population of 33,000, scattered across small ports on four islands in the 3% of land outside the Park. The 333,000 visitors to the islands in 2023, comprised of 50% foreigners, either stay in the ports or venture on liveaboard cruises to specific sites on uninhabited islands.

The Galápagos Welcome 178,000 Foreigners Annually
The entrance fee increase is expected to double the Park's income to over $40 million per year without boosting the number of visitors. The proceeds will be well used, with 45% going to the Galápagos National Park Directorate, 25% to municipal governments, 20% to the Galápagos Governing Council, 5% to Parish Councils of the Province, and 5% to the Galápagos Biosafety and Quarantine Regulation and Control Agency.

Global Park Fee Comparison
Though now doubled, the entrance fee is still relatively modest, especially considering all that awaits travelers throughout the Galápagos. By comparison, high-season entrance fees per person per day run $285 at Masai Mara National Reserve, $100 at Bhutan, and $82.60 at Serengeti National Park, according to the global forecasting agency Globetrender. Meanwhile, Ecuadorians pay just a fraction of the new rate: $30 or less per person.

"The Galapagos Islands are not only a national treasure but a global one. It is our collective responsibility to protect and preserve this unparalleled ecosystem for future generations," said Niels Olsen, Ecuador's former Minister of Tourism. "The adjustment in the entry fee, the first since 1998, is a necessary measure to ensure that tourism in the Galapagos remains sustainable and mutually beneficial to both the environment and our local communities."

For more information on Metropolitan Touring's new offerings in Quito or other tours across Ecuador, please call 1-855-435-2093 or visit https://www.metropolitan-touring.com/

Contact: Andrea Schnoor
Andrea Schnoor Communications
122 West 27th Street, Floor 10
New York, NY 10001
info@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 27-room Finch Bay Galapagos Hotel. Its holding group has also grown and evolved with its own unique hotel offerings on Ecuador's mainland, including 24-room Mashpi Lodge and the 31-room 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.