Interviewed by Li Yinan/He Chuan, CNTV reporter; Edited by Li Shouen, CNTV Panview Editor-in-chief

Alfonso Tandazo, an explorer, traveler and owner of a South American tour operator, expressed his appreciation on and gave his thumbs up for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “ We need both green water and mountains and also gold and silver mountains” eco-friendly development concept.

Green-friendly travel has become more attractive to the Chinese, who wish to travel abroad and support environmentalism. In an exclusive interview with CNTV, Tandazo discussed this hot new trend in the tourism sector.

According to his opinion, journeys are really about experiences that define one's existence. Acting as a tour operator, or, "experience tailor," is a privileged one, allowing him to tailor the "settings" of someone else's experiences.

Tandazo believes such "settings", also involve the environment and people should take care of the ecology. He says, “As you begin to take care of the environment, you start to love it more. You appreciate the world more. Going green means to love your place, the place where we belong.” He wants to offer this concept to travelers, so he is organizing "green expeditions."

He says, China is becoming a major traveling market in the world and of course, also in Ecuador. The Chinese citizens are no longer required to get a tourist visa to enter the country. It’s an amazing opportunity for the travel industry in Latin America.

He added that Chinese are still relatively inexperienced travelers. Thus, tailoring journeys with authentic experiences can be a challenge. But then again, that’s an opportunity for us, where our expertise can play a crucial role for them.

Tandazo hopes both sides would usher in more green-friendly and socially responsible cooperation, so we can protect what is precious for all of us. This involves understanding the local environmental consciousness. Our desire is to focus on preservation and to impact environmental consciousness back home for the Chinese that would be better reflected in their daily lives. He anticipates his tours can open up the eyes of Chinese travelers.

Talking about the Latin-American people and culture, he introduced that Latinos, distinguish from other cultures when it comes to living in the present moment. Although he thinks it is admirable how other cultures are hard-workers, but he still loves his culture, since Latinos live in the present moment.

“We can prioritize without guilt when spending 20 extra minutes more before leaving home for the office, just to spend a little more time with our children. It may seem irresponsible in some cultures and could cause headaches for the bosses as we often show up late for meetings.”

Anyway, there isn’t too much to worry about, because “we end up hugging each other so friendly anyway.” He explained that this inspires them to show their "Latino Warmth." So, if we look at it another way, we can make traveling so much fun!