Ecuador Employs High-Tech Banana Stickers to Attract Tourists

Ecuador hopes consumers will go bananas for the country. The South American nation has teamed up with a U.S.-based advertising firm in an effort to draw more tourists to the country by using a marketing strategy it hopes will “a-peel” to tech savvy travelers.

As the worldwide leader in exporting bananas – shipping about 24 million tons a year – Ecuador’s tourism ministry has put a QR code on the sticker placed on every single banana export.

Before peeling the fruit, customers can scan the code with their phones and will be transported to a video that highlights different tourist spots in the country – from pristine beaches to lush tropical forests. The country is hoping that their banana bonanza – the country exports bananas through Dole, Chiquita, Del Monte and Noboa – will translate into more foreign flights arriving from abroad into places like Quito and Guayaquil.

While promoting a country through its biggest edible export may be a new thing, turning a country (or territory) into a brand is nothing new. A few years ago, Peruvian officials attempted to turn the country’s tourist spots and newfound culinary fame into a draw for foreign visitors.

Ecuador is not the only country using bananas to promote tourism. Puerto Rico’s Gov. Alejandro Padilla recently signed into law a bill to establish Brand Puerto Rico, which aims to promote tourism in the U.S.-held Caribbean territory.