The information in the report is from the processing of ‘Galapagos Transit Control Cards’ (Tarjetas de Control de Tránsito de Galápagos – TCT) which each visitor is required to complete before arriving in the Archipelago.
Former Communications Assistant at Galapagos Conservation Trust
In the first part of this year, between January and June, 113,613 tourists visited Galapagos, a 5% rise in number of tourists compared to 2014, when 108,322 tourists visited the Archipelago, according to a report on the number of visitors to protected areas of Galapagos (conducted by the Galapagos National Park Directorate and the Galapagos Tourism Observatory).
The information in the report is from the processing of ‘Galapagos Transit Control Cards’ (Tarjetas de Control de Tránsito de Galápagos – TCT) which each visitor is required to complete before arriving in the Archipelago.
Park rangers from the Directorate of Public Use of the National Park (Dirección de Uso Público del Parque Nacional) registered the arrival 78,864 foreign tourists and 34,749 national tourists in the first part of the year. The majority of visitors (86,615) arrived by Baltra airport, while the remaining 24% of visitors arrived on the Islands via San Cristóbal airport.
The report, which also analyses the country of origin of each visitor, indicated that 85% of visitors to Galápagos come from one of nine countries, including Ecuador. Amongst tourist arrivals to Galapagos, 31% came from Ecuador, 29% originated from the United States of America, 5% came from Canada and the United Kingdom, 4% from Argentina and Germany, 3% came from Australia while Switzerland and France made up 2% of tourists.
Of the 113,613 tourists that arrived in Galapagos, the majority of people (75,503) chose to stay on one of the Islands. This indicates an 8% rise (5,592 people) in visitors choosing land-based tourism compared to data from 2014.
