Cruise & Ferry Review - Spring/Summer 2021

6 3 The Galapagos, which is a protected marine environment, is home to a wide range of wildlife, including orcas operandi. “Over the decades, we have built strong and long-lasting relationships with international trade partners, local authorities and civil society,” says Burbano de Lara, noting that the company is also a member of the chambers of tourism both in the Galapagos and Ecuador. “Our long-term relationships with reputable international tour operators – such as UnCruise Adventures, Orbridge and Tauck in the USA, and Audley, Journey Latin America, and Abercrombie & Kent in the UK – mean that we’re constantly improving our standards and levels of service. We’re also members of Latin American Travel Association in the UK and subject to its health and safety audits.” Operational excellence is another important mantra for every business department. “We emphasise continuous improvement through guest surveys and feedback loops, and we have a research and development department to identify advances, trends and competition,” says Burbano de Lara. “All our captains, first mates and pilots are Ecuadorian naval officers overseen by our experienced maritime operations department. We organise continuous staff training, including the ServSafe certification for our food and beverage service team. We operate our own supply and logistics chains, with offices in Quito, Guayaquil and the Galapagos Islands, to ensure safety and the finest service and catering aboard our ships.” Metropolitan Touring’s strong partnerships and commitment to operational excellence were crucial to the company successfully restarting cruise operations in the Galapagos last summer. “We’ve been operating consistently since July 2020, going beyond the criteria of the World Travel & Tourism Council’s Safe Travels stamp since restarting operations,” says Burbano de Lara, noting that the Galapagos has received over 10,000 visitors since then. “Guests are delighted with the up-close natural experiences that they enjoy across the wildlife sanctuary of Galapagos, even more so after the confinement they’ve lived through during the pandemic. We also saw increased demand from the international market for late 2021 and 2022.” Metropolitan Touring’s Mashpi Lodge and Casa Gangotena hotel on mainland Ecuador have also been open and operating since July 2020. “We have been continuously learning about operations and safety in a Covid-19 context since last summer and have also been cross training our cruise ship food and beverage staff at Mashpi Lodge, so that they’re more prepared and experienced than ever,” says Burbano de Lara.