Impact of Working Capital on the Profitability of Companies in the Tourism Sector in Ecuador

This article studies the relationship between profitability and working capital components in the Ecuadorian tourism industry in the period 2014-2019 in the lodging sector (hotels) and in the food and beverages sector (restaurants). Both sectors were analyzed separately to test whether the components of working capital had influence on the return on assets (ROA). In the case of hotels, there was no influence of the components, but in the case of restaurants, the average inventory period and the average payment period have a negative influence on ROA. If all companies are analyzed without differentiating their activity, these variables have a negative impact on ROA.