USA Today author Jayne Clark noted that in the past leisure travel was a tough sell. Yet today, Colombia's climate is changing.
Recently the U.S. State Department's warning against travel to Colombia was updated stating that, although rural areas remain extremely dangerous, violence has decreased markedly in urban areas, including Bogota and Cartagena.
Now there is the return of major U.S. cruise lines. During the 2006-07 season (September to May), there were 50 port calls at Cartegena, Santa Marta and San Andrés Island. This coming season, cruise lines are expected to make 200 stops in Colombia. The country is attempting to re-brand itself with the slogan "Colombia is Passion." One Colombian comments, “this sentiment is aimed as much at its citizens as visitors. For a long time, no one loved Colombia: not even Colombians. Now, Colombians are proud to be Colombians.
Official sources report that the amount of tourists that arrived in Colombia in 2007 was 2,100,000. This is almost 3 times as many tourist as in 2005. The aim of the Colombian government is to attract an all time record of 4 million tourists by the year 2010. But to reach this target by 2008 it needs to see a further increase of almost 30 per cent in 2006 of an additional 600,000 tourists.
In order to attract tourism Colombia has placed emphases on diversification in terms of marketing newer routes such as the Colombian Amazon and the coffee region.
Pro-export, a Colombian institution aimed at promoting Colombia says, “We are looking for a certain tourist who stays for a longer duration and spends more money.” "With this in mind there have been special efforts to woo film directors to use Colombia's plethora of locations fit for movie productions."
The US remains Colombia's biggest tourist market, apart from neighboring Ecuador and Venezuela, delivering 235,000 visitors in 2007. Clark notes that Bogotá will add 7,000 three- to five-star hotel rooms in the next three years.
Pro-export, a Colombian institution aimed at promoting Colombia says, “We are looking for a certain tourist who stays for a longer duration and spends more money.” "With this in mind there have been special efforts to woo film directors to use Colombia's plethora of locations fit for movie productions."
The US remains Colombia's biggest tourist market, apart from neighboring Ecuador and Venezuela, delivering 235,000 visitors in 2007. Clark notes that Bogotá will add 7,000 three- to five-star hotel rooms in the next three years.
This is good news to people like the Colombians who rent their apartments to foreigners.
