Meet the founder · a passport of authenticity
Local Friend TourEcuador
Founder and owner of Local Friend Tour“CEO of fun” & journey designerLicensed national tour guide
Passport of authenticity
Scroll to open her passport
In her words
“I’m the founder of Local Friend Tour, a company that wants to bring the best of Ecuador to the front of the experience: the artisans, the locals, the community people, not just a logo or a big agency. That’s why I specialise in bespoke artisan tours, always tailored to your every need.”
Instagram · Jan 2026Olón beach with a guest
Instagram · Nov 2025A photo stop under Chimborazo
Instagram · Jan 2026After the gastronomic tour
Her own published posts. Tap one to open it on Instagram.
A public, independent source shows it: a booking platform, a broadcaster, a partner’s post.
From her own articles, posts or profile listings. True to her words; not independently confirmed.
Real documents that have no public page online, such as her guide licence. Ask us and we’ll show you.
All sources checked on 22 October 2026. Links open the original page.
Entry stamps · the public record, 2016 to 2026
Allyson worked as a solo tour guide for more than 15 years before founding Local Friend Tour. These stamps are the part of that road you can check online, from a YouTube channel called “Ven a Ecuador!” to a company of local guides.
24 May 2016 · YouTube
Agrotourism, 2019
She opens the YouTube channel that today carries her name, “Allyson Aleman | Private Tour Guide in Ecuador”. Its 2019 farm-visit video already points viewers to her tourism Instagram, @ven_ec.
Channel page2019 videoVerified
21 September 2018 · ToursByLocals
Already an experienced solo guide, she joins ToursByLocals. Eight years on, the platform counts 59 tours delivered and a 5.0 rating from 37 reviews, in English and Spanish.
Guide profile “Allyson A.”Verified
By 2019 · Instagram, TikTok, Viator
Before Local Friend Tour there was Ven.ec: the @ven_ec handle on Instagram and TikTok, the supplier name “Ven_ec” on Viator, and the company LinkedIn still lists for her. @ven_ec remains her personal guide account.
14 May 2020 · SomosEC
A 60-minute interview in the #SobrellevandoLaPandemia series, which introduces her as a certified national tour guide and founder of Ven.ec. Watch it below.
Interview on YouTubeVerified
Sundays of 2020 · Guayaquil
The initiative’s video
An experiential-tourism initiative she created with actress Carolina Piechestein: walks around Guayaquil on Sundays, by reservation. On 10 September RTS morning news invited them both to talk about it.
Initiative videoRTS interviewVerified
10 February 2022 · Radio Visión
32 minutes on #DeViajeConVisión with host Jessica Meza, whose cover card presents her as a tour guide specialised in Guayaquil.
Segment on YouTubeVerified
March 2023 · Instagram, YouTube, GetYourGuide
First post seen
The earliest public post on @localfriendtour is a chocolate and wine tasting. The YouTube channel “Local Friend Tour Ecuador” follows in September 2023, and on GetYourGuide the supplier “Local Friend Tour” is registered under her legal name, Allyson Aleman.
@localfriendtourGetYourGuideVerified
Early 2024 · TV5 Québec Canada
Two weeks along the coast with the crew of the Québec travel series hosted by Francis Reddy and Patricia Paquin: San Francisco de Paján, Manglaralto, Machalilla and Agua Blanca, Salango. She writes that she led logistics and production (transport, lodging, government permits, equipment) and appeared on camera in the Manglaralto segment.
Her articleEpisode 8Episode 9In her own words
18–20 November 2024 · Hilton Colón, Guayaquil
At the business round she represented Voyage de Rêve, a Swiss-based travel exporter run by Ecuadorians, and met the Deputy Minister of Export Promotion and Investment.
Her articleSelf-reported
September 2025 · Cornell University
An eight-module online certificate from Cornell’s Sustainable Tourism Asset Management Program (STAMP), listed on her LinkedIn as issued in September 2025 and on ToursByLocals as her eCornell certification.
As listed on LinkedInThe courseCertificate on request
From October 2025 · Las Peñas, Guayaquil
Collab post
“Wedding Destination Ecuador”, a project co-authored with singer Lanathy Capuli in Las Peñas, whose post credits it as a project by @ven_ec. In 2026 her channels publish destination-wedding films, and weddings become one of Local Friend Tour’s specialities.
Earth Day 2026 · Machalilla National Park
A coral-planting day in Machalilla National Park with the Conmar Foundation. In her post she writes that “every tour I offer contributes to supporting local foundations”.
Her LinkedIn postHer account
Press wall · TV, radio and web
Three interviews by Ecuadorian broadcasters, all in Spanish. The videos load from YouTube only when you press play.
RTS · Noticias de la Mañana
The morning news introduces “la guía turística, Allyson Alemán” with actress Carolina Piechestein, to talk about their experiential-tourism campaign.
Watch on YouTubeNosotros SomosEC · #SobrellevandoLaPandemia
A long conversation about tourism during the pandemic. The description presents her as a certified national tour guide and founder of Ven.ec.
Watch on YouTubeRadio Visión · #DeViajeConVisión
Host Jessica Meza talks with “la especialista Allyson Aleman” about what to see and taste in Guayaquil.
Watch on YouTubeTV5Québec · Canada
The broadcaster’s pages show the episode synopses only and don’t list the crew. In her own article, Allyson describes leading logistics and production for the shoot along the coast.
Ep. 8 · San Francisco de PajánEp. 9 · Puerto López and the coastHer account of the shoot
Field notes in her own words, from cruise passengers in Las Peñas to the Shuar communities of the Cueva de los Tayos.
Visas · where to find her
Her real accounts, and how we know each one is hers. Anything we couldn’t connect to her is left out.
The key that links them
Her link-in-bio page, “Ally Alemán | Private Tour Guide in Ec”, points to all five of her main accounts. That single page is how we tie them together.
Her accounts
Instagram Verified @ven_ec 4,460followers How we know: linked from her link-in-bio, and named as her tourism account in her own 2019 YouTube video. Her main guide account. Open Instagram Instagram Verified @localfriendtour How we know: linked from her link-in-bio; the bio links to localfriendtour.com. The company account, since March 2023. Open Instagram TikTok Verified @ven_ec 751followers How we know: display name “Allyson Aleman”, linked from her link-in-bio. Bio: “Tourism · Local Experiences Producer”. Open TikTok TikTok Company account @localfriendtour Newvideos coming How we know: the Local Friend Tour company account, confirmed by the company itself. Just opened, so there is nothing to watch yet. Open TikTok LinkedIn Verified Allyson Alemán Vélez 619followers How we know: linked from her link-in-bio. Eight articles, her courses and certificates, and ten recommendations. Open LinkedIn YouTube Verified “Ven a Ecuador!” · @ven_ec_tourism How we know: linked from her link-in-bio; now titled “Allyson Aleman | Private Tour Guide in Ecuador”. Open since 2016. Open YouTube YouTube Verified Local Friend Tour Ecuador How we know: the company name, and the same wedding promo she posted on her personal channel. Its cacao-farm short is the most watched. Open YouTubeThe company on booking and review sites
ToursByLocals Verified Allyson A. · Guayaquil 5.037 reviews How we know: her guide profile, with the same credentials as her LinkedIn (eCornell, tourism degree). On the platform since September 2018, 59 tours. Open profile GetYourGuide Verified Local Friend Tour How we know: the supplier’s legal notice gives the legal company name as “Allyson Aleman”. Cacao, gastronomy and dry-forest tours. Open GetYourGuide Tripadvisor Verified Local Friend Tour How we know: the company listing in Guayaquil; most of its reviews come from her Viator tour, sold under the name “Ven_ec”. Open Tripadvisor Google Maps Verified Local Friend Tour · Private Tours How we know: the company’s business profile in Guayaquil, under the Local Friend Tour name. Open Google Maps Facebook Verified Local Friend Tour How we know: the company page links to localfriendtour.com and shares the same reels as @localfriendtour. Open FacebookField notes · her own posts
Recent tourism posts from her Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Each cover opens the original post.
InstagramA full day on Isla de la Plata, the “mini Galápagos”
TikTokGuayaquil city tour: new flavours to discover
InstagramAlausí and the Nariz del Diablo railway
YouTubeDestination weddings and luxury travel in Ecuador
InstagramA forest hike close to the city for an Australian traveller
TikTokWelcoming Silversea cruise passengers to Guayaquil
InstagramCuicocha lake, Cotacachi Cayapas National Park
TikTokGastronomy tour with travellers from the United States
InstagramThe coast of Ecuador, ready to be discovered
YouTubeEcuador, an unforgettable destination
TikTokAt the Guinness World Record chocolate-bar event in Ecuador
InstagramA group day out in Guayaquil
TikTokA flash trip to Cuenca
InstagramWaterfalls and rainbows, travelling Ecuador
InstagramDestination weddings: “love doesn’t choose a place; you do”
TikTok“I love my job, and I wish I could show you everything”
YouTubeTravel experiences in Ecuador
InstagramA cacao and wine tasting experience
TikTokOn the road in Ecuador
InstagramEverything they did in July, in one reel
Captions are our short descriptions; the originals are mostly in Spanish. Personal and family posts are left out on purpose.
Endorsements · licence and training
What she holds, where it is listed, and what we can show you on request when there is no public page to check.
Listed on her ToursByLocals profile, and the 2020 SomosEC interview introduces her as a “guía turística nacional certificada”. Ecuador’s Ministry of Tourism keeps the national guide register, but it has no public search online, so ask us for her licence details.
Listed on ToursByLocals. Her LinkedIn shows Universidad Tecnológica Equinoccial; the details are visible to members only.
LinkedInHer account
Issued September 2025, credential ID “JCB529”, as listed on LinkedIn; also on ToursByLocals as her eCornell certification. There is no public verification page.
About the courseCertificate on request
As she lists it on LinkedIn; ToursByLocals shows an English certification. She guides in English and Spanish.
Her account
“Formación de formadores, enfoque de Capacitación Continua”, certificate SETEC-CI-CAL-2019-0250. SETEC is Ecuador’s training-certification body.
LinkedInHer account
Innovation Management Bootcamp (2020); Foundations of Project Management (Google, on Coursera, 2023); social media management for tourism businesses and destinations.
LinkedInHer account
Both listed on her ToursByLocals profile, alongside the guide licence and degree. LinkedIn also shows ten recommendations from people she has worked with.
ToursByLocalsHer account
Ecuador’s guide register and the eCornell certificate have no public pages to link to. If you’d like to see her licence card or certificates before you travel, write to us and we’ll send them.
Her mission · makers first
Hat weavers and potters from her home coast in Manabí, tagua carvers, cacao growers, family kitchens. Allyson builds journeys around the people who make Ecuador, and tailors the rest to you.
“Not just a logo or a big agency.”
Illustrative photos (generated): they show the kind of encounters on her tours, not people she works with.
The real thing, from her posts: a toquilla-hat workshop with Ecua-Andino Hats, cacao farms and tastings, the Sauces 9 market in Guayaquil.
Every tour I offer contributes to supporting local foundations.
Allyson, on LinkedIn, Earth Day 2026
What travellers say
Since September 2018 travellers have reviewed Allyson on ToursByLocals 37 times, and the platform shows a 5.0 average. We keep their words, unedited and linked to the platform, on our main page.
Local Friend Tour is also reviewed on Tripadvisor, Google and GetYourGuide.
Next stamp: yours
Tell us who you are and what you love. Allyson and the team will design the journey around you: the makers you’ll meet, the places, the pace. No packages, no prices until we’ve talked.
