Tourism still recovering from pandemic shock; Airport renovation delayed by bidding errors; Funds sought for church repairs; Burglary protection

Miércoles, 15/5/2024

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

Ópera Infantil ‘Tajuno y la Luna’ estrena Coro Infantil (Children’s Choir premieres the Children’s Opera ‘Tajuno and the Moon’) -‘Tajuno y la Luna’ will premier los 22 & 23/5 a las 20:00 in the Teatro de la Casa de la Cultura. The work combines music, narrative, and a message of environmental consciousness and will be performed by the Children’s Choir of the Conservatorio “José María Rodríguez.” Tickets are available at the Palier Café Libro (Luis Cordero y Pres. Córdova), Miguel Illescas C. Galería de Arte (Calle Larga 1-209), and El Surtio (Borrero 8-68 y Bolívar. Cost: $5.00.

Runway resurfacing and other upgrades at the Cuenca airport have been delayed by bidding problems. According to the mayor, work will not begin until 2025. (El Mercurio)

De El Mercurio del martes, 14/5 (1 article):
Biblioteca a orillas del río Yanuncay (Library on the banks of the Yanuncay River) – The ‘Bibliorío Navegando Historias’ project has installed a library on the banks of the Yanuncay at av. 1° de Mayo y Fernando de Rojas. It opened ayer to promote reading and create a connection between citizens and the environment. Its hours are from 8:30 to 17:30. It is part of ‘Safe and Sound Ecuador’ with the same program in 6 cities around the world including 2 in Ecuador. Users can access the ‘Bibliorío’ for free by presenting their cedulas.

Titular –

USD 4.1 millones para reparar Santo Domingo (USD 4.1 million to repair Santo Domingo) – The Santo Domingo church needs $4.1 million for structural reinforcements. It’s current condition is of “precaution” according to a U. of Azuay investigation. It was one of the structures most affected by the 6.5 earthquake on el 18/3/2023 with cracks, material detachment, ceilings caved in and removed, and damage to pillars. Another strong quake could cause the church to collapse. The archbishop, Monseñor Marcos Pérez Caicedo, will ask for funding from international sources, the citizenry, businesses and public and private local organizations.

Cuenca –

Cuenca ‘vuela alto’ (Cuenca ‘flies high’) – Cuenca was the seat of the ACI Airport Day event for the first time. The event is a meeting of the Airports Council International, an international association representing airports, and this session analyzed the development of Latin American and Caribbean regional airports. Mayor Zamora announced the signing of an agreement in which Guayaquil will lend a weather measuring station to start the studies for a new airport in Cuenca. Eliseo Llamazares,

Head of Aviation and Leisure, LATAM, said that in 2023 Ecuador recovered 67% of the tourism from before the Covid pandemic. According to Ministerio de Turismo (MIntur) data, in 2019 there were 2,107,692 tourists; 507,333 in 2020; 669,475 in 2021; 1,264,913 in 2022; and 1,426,725 in 2023. Worldwide, tourism is one of the main factors for the development of air transport. It represents 4.4% of the GDP in Ecuador, 9.7% in Latin America, and 10% globally. Some of the main challenges for tourism in Ecuador are infrastructure investments to maintain the sustainability of the destination and investments in security. The Cuenca airport is working on a plan to become international, starting with flights to and from Perú.

Reconstrucción de la pista (Runway reconstruction) – The City of Cuenca is again calling for bids for the reconstruction of the airport runway since the first round of bids was unsuccessful due to errors on the part of the bidders. The estimated budget for the project is about $8 million, with an original plan to start construction at the end of agosto, which is when the season of high demand ends. The Corporación Aeroportuaria de Cuenca (Corpac) is also analyzing enlarging the runway towards the north end in Milchichig. Studies will be necessary for this. The mayor’s office said Wednesday, that the delay in bidding means the reconstruction work will be scheduled until 2025.

Sucesos –

Robos en casas con mayor incidencia en áreas urbanas (Higher incidence of home burglaries in urban areas) – Statistics from the Consejo de Seguridad Ciudadana for 2023 indicated that 75% of house robberies occurred in the urban areas of the Cuenca canton with 57% of these crimes in the parishes of Yanuncay, San Sebastián, Huayna Cápa, Bellavista and Monay. 20% of the robberies were in the rural zones with parishes such as Baños, Cumbe, Victoria del Portete, San Joaquín and Sayausí with 58% of these incidents. 53% of the items stolen were household items, portable computers, jewelry and cash. The most common method was the estruche (forcing the security – your word for the day – like kicking in the door) which was used in 79% of home robberies from 2018 to 2023.

However, there was a 40% decrease in this type of entry in 2023 compared to the 2018 to 2022 average. 77% of the hurtos (thefts without forcing things) of houses occured in the urban zones such as San Sebastián, Yanuncay, El Vecino y El Batán which accounted for 54% of these incidents.

Authorities have made recommendations to citizens to prevent house robberies. Strengthen security measures: make sure windows and doors are in good condition and equipped with secure locks. Consider installing additional security systems such as burglar bars. Install alarm systems which are a deterrent and also an alert in case of a break-in. Place security cameras in strategic points around the house. Visible cameras are also a deterrent and can provide useful evidence in case of a robbery. Have a neighborhood watch group.

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne