3.3 Clusters in Ecuador Ecuador's business structure is mainly composed of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (see Figure 3.1) and therefore the creation of competitive advantage, unlike large enterprises, is limited by lack of economic and technological capacity. In this context, SMEs depend on the close relationship with their immediate environment, that is, on its articulation with other companies and institutions with which they can create productive and competitive synergies. Figure 3.1: Corporate structure of Ecuador Source: Survey of the manufacturing and mining industry , 2007According to the indicators of the World Economic Forum in the last four years, Ecuador has ranked at the bottom of the competitiveness index, which could be related to a low level of association between businesses. In fact, Ecuador ranks 91st out of 142 in the ranking of the most widespread, well-developed and deepest clusters. Ecuador has a weighting average of 3.2 on a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is equivalent to non-existent and 7 is widespread in many areas. Compared to the global average (3.6), Ecuador is 0.4 points. This is explained by the fact that competition is based on the exploitation of comparative advantages, i.e. price and low-cost labour. However, globalization has influenced companies to understand that only through innovation and value creation, they are able to generate competitive advantages at national, regional and global levels, creating the conditions for business partnerships (Hernández and Dávila, 2003 ). After examining the concept of clusters and relevant experiences in Latin America, it is possible to analyze what is happening in Ecuador. A survey of mining and manufacturing in the year 2010 prepared by the National Institute of ...... middle of paper ......vering and in 2011 reached 850 million dollars. It is worth mentioning that the tourism sector has been boosted in recent years due to the increase in international spending by BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). “Emerging economies continue to lead international tourism spending, with all BRIC countries except India recording double-digit growth. China recorded a dramatic increase in spending of 31%, while the Russian Federation (+28%) and Brazil (+15%) also recorded strong increases over the period” (World Tourism Organization, 2013) According to the Institute of Promotion, Exports and Inversion (PROECUADOR, 2012) in the tourism sector there are 49 associations made up of hotels, restaurants, farms, various chambers and municipalities that work to attract and provide an adequate service to domestic and foreign tourists.