Colombia consolidates its global positioning with a historic Colombia Travel Mart

What are the goals and expectations for the Colombia Travel Mart and the parallel events you are developing?

Colombia continues to position itself strongly internationally, and it does so through the Colombia Travel Mart, but also with the most important tourism event ever held in the history of the Pacific Alliance, which this year is being held in Armenia.

It's a very clear message of taking promotion "from the office to the field and from the field to the world," focusing on decentralizing major events and creating opportunities in regions where such events were previously unthinkable. We are very pleased because we will generate a significant volume of business: 25 companies from each of the Alliance countries are participating, which reinforces Colombia's position as the land of beauty.

What is your assessment and perspective of what is happening?

Alongside the regional agenda, the Colombia Travel Mart, the largest tourism business event in the region, is taking place at Corferias. This year we achieved record participation, with 15% more international attendees, reflecting a genuine interest from foreign agencies in coming to Colombia to do business.

The expectation is to exceed projected business generation goals by 10%. We have delegations from 35 countries, and it's important to understand that this event has three strategic phases. The first consisted of 19 familiarization trips to various destinations across the country, with over 200 international agents exploring the territory and experiencing the offerings firsthand. The second phase was a networking event connecting small and large companies, strengthening the value chain. And finally, the current phase, where large companies are negotiating with international buyers, showcasing both their own products and those of smaller suppliers.

This model integrates the entire tourism ecosystem. The results speak for themselves: last year we saw a 3.8% increase in international tourist arrivals, a rise in cruise ship arrivals, and, most importantly, a greater economic impact compared to the previous year. This means that tourists are arriving with a greater impact on the country.

In a context where there is a lot of talk about politics, what message do they want to project for the future?

The “Colombia, the Land of Beauty” campaign should mark a turning point in the destination's international positioning. The message is clear for both international markets and Colombians themselves: when asked where they are from, they should be able to proudly answer that they are from the land of beauty.