Santiago Rojas Arroyo, the Colombian Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, confirmed that the average growth of the country’s tourism in 2013 remained at the same rate as in the past three years. The Republic of Colombia is set to reach four-million international travelers this year.
Recent Growth of International Arrivals
According to the fiscal forecast disclosed by Rojas and board members, international arrivals will be increasing at 4 to 4.5% rate throughout the second to fourth quarters of 2014 while for the Americas, growth will be spanning from 3 to 4%. For the past three years, Colombia has exhibited a 5.5% average growth of the tourism industry.
For the collective amount of visitors that landed in the country in 2013, 1,726,300 visitors were accounted for land, sea and air travel. To be more precise, 306, 694 were passengers by cruise, 561,703 were residents of Colombia, while the remaining 1,153,248 stemmed from border integration zones.
Colombian Tourism and Technology
The tourism industry of Colombia had always been low on internet presence. However, it has gradually gotten connected online through both industry and consumer driven initiatives. EnMiColombia.com, for instance, was launched by Grand Solutions back in 2012 serving as a steadfast social network edged to cater past and present visitors and potential tourists to the republic.
The platform gives the travelers enough space to share their experiences, travel stories, uploading media files such as photos and videos, as well as searching for the latest discounts on air, land and sea travel passages.
Another contributor would be Colombia.travel that launched a streamlined iPhone app back in 2012, which allows travelers to plan Colombian holidays in advance through an event calendar, easy-use-map integrated with possible interest points throughout the 17 republic regions.
Among the most noteworthy for the developments would be Worksurfers.co site that allows those who travel as a work or business requirement to organize their stay within the republic. Each development is therefore specified for a certain target group in the travel industry.
Change of Social Tourism Perspectives
Colombia has had the travel industry solely based on popular neighborhoods, fabulous hotel chains and other elements along the line just to broaden their social benefits. With Mayor Gustavo Petro's direction, Bogota is currently working on guided tours that will draw visitors into natural attractions, ethnic streets, indigenous zones, as well as the architectural landmarks of the city that would give a more meriting impression to inbound travelers. This perspective change will be of the essence in driving wealth to the city, particularly to the low-income sectors, and not continue reinforcing those that can standalone by themselves due to foreign popularity.
Seeking Global Recognition
Colombia is finally grossing the kind of international attention it had sought since then. In contrast to the past conditions of Colombian travel, it is now on the commendable rather than the warning list. National Geography has even featured the northern coast of the republic, claiming it to be among the 2012 best trips by natural beauties and preserves. In addition, Bogota recently passed a tourism safety test conducted by a global experts team, drawing more potential visitors to it for the coming peak seasons.
Fortifying Hospitality Sectors
It comes to no questions that hotels are vital for travelers. The hospitality sector of Colombia has begun refacing hotels with environmental concepts, and a good example would be Aloft Bogota Airport, which received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Certification after having replaced its roofs with greener options, and thanks to its integration with a rainwater recycling system, as well as parking spaces exclusive for bicycles and low-emissions vehicles. Bogota's Bio Hotel will also open a couple of properties in cities such as Barranquilla, Bucaramanga and Cali by mid-2014.
Shunning the Dangerous Reputation Away
The threatening image of the Colombia has been existent since early 80's. Since it has been stifling the inbound travels, they are now focusing on improving the security conditions on a fuller scale in order to let the tourism sector flourish.