Easter holiday in Ecuador: hundreds of events in Quito and tax cuts across the country

Ecuador is preparing for the third holiday of 2022. In this case, holidays are on the occasion of Holy Week or Major Week, corresponding to the annual Christian commemoration of the Passion of Christ. The holiday will be held for three days, from Friday 15 to Sunday 17 April. These days will be key to the reactivation of the tourism sector, so the Government defined a reduction in taxes during the holiday and the municipalities are preparing events to attract tourists.

Quito, the capital of Ecuador, hopes that religious celebrations will allow visitors to attend the events prepared in the city. In 2021, on the same date, more than 33,000 people visited the city and left revenues in excess of USD 3 million, however, this year those figures are expected to double.

The more than 100 activities that will be held in the metropolitan district of Quito will be related to spirituality, cultural identity and artistic and gastronomic displays.

Until April 14, there will be the Sacred Music Festival where 11 Ecuadorian projects will participate. There will also be art exhibitions such as the one at the Carmen Alto Museum, which will open on April 13. In the market of Iñaquito, in northern Quito, the final of “Las fanescas en los mercados” will be held this Thursday. Fanesca is a soup based on tender grains and dried fish that is prepared in Ecuador during Lent and Easter.

Another major activity is the Palm Sunday procession. This religious event will be held in the Basilica of the National Vow on April 10 from 09:00am. The Drag of Caudas, the only funeral commemoration in homage to Christ in the whole Catholic world that is only celebrated in Quito, will be held in the city's Cathedral Church on April 13 at 4:00pm.

One of the main events of Holy Week is the Procession Jesus of the Great Power, which takes place on Good Friday, where a sculpture of Jesus walks the main streets of the Historic Center of Quito accompanied by citizens who seek to atone for their guilt through penance and the representation of cones — a carrier of you walk in the processions of Easter in Ecuador that is kept silent—, the Veronicas and the Roman soldiers. This year, the procession will be on April 15 from noon. The average number of people attending this procession is 250,000 people.

Although in Ecuador the capacity in public spaces is already 100 per cent. In order to avoid crowds, in most events there will be screens, for example, throughout the processions. Hydration points will also be enabled. The events in Quito will be, for the most part, free.

For religious celebrations that begin on Palm Sunday and end on Easter Sunday, the municipality will deploy 2,000 officials for control operations, and 800 police will support security interventions in different parts of the city.

Within the churches, the supervisory authorities will monitor the use of the mask by the attendees and that the 70% capacity is respected in enclosed spaces, this limitation is intended to prevent a resurgence of infections.

Less taxes

Throughout the country, from April 15 to 17, the value added tax (VAT), which is paid by the final consumer of certain goods and services, will be reduced from 12% to 8% for tourism services, as determined by a decree signed by President Guillermo Lasso. More than 21,000 businesses in the tourism sector will apply this reduction for their customers.

KEEP READING: