Colombia is established as a tourist destination in Europe

Europe maintains a clear interest in Colombia as a vacation and meeting destination. This has become clear during the Virtual Week of Colombia in Europe, a virtual academic and business space organized by ProColombia in which from October 19 to 23 some of the main actors in the sector gathered on both shores. And it is that during this virtual event 465 business appointments were achieved (compared to 251 in the previous edition) in which 12 countries participated (compared to 9 in 2019) with 70 buyers and 54 Colombian exporters, generating business expectations worth US $ 1,855,174, exceeding the established goal of US $ 1,500,000. Last year, expectations of US $ 909,999 were reached.

The week started with the interventions of the Vice Minister of Tourism of Colombia, Julián Guerrero, Gloria Guevara, CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council, Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization and Flavia Santoro, president of ProColombia. Santoro highlighted the relevance of the industry for the country: “The Government of Colombia defines tourism as the country's new oil and we remain optimistic about the future of the sector. At ProColombia we work to achieve this goal by promoting the country as a safe, reliable, sustainable and high-quality destination. Colombia is a success story and we want Europeans to know and enjoy it. We are ready to welcome you again ”.

The debate on the future of the tourism industry from the perspective of tour operators was attended by the CEO of The Travel Corporation and the National Director of the United Kingdom and Ireland at Air Europa and President of LATA, moderated by the Managing Director of Hills Balfour, and focused on the impact of the pandemic on European consumers as well as the gradual reopening of international flights in Colombia. It should be noted that the country continues to advance in its strategy of reactivating international tourism with the reopening of international flights. The opening is taking place in phases, the first began on September 21 with 7 countries and 4 cities with international connectivity, and the second during the month of October already includes all international airports and new flights to countries that continue to open their borders .

The panel on the MICE segment included the participation of Sphere / MPI, Asoeventos and Maritz Global and it was highlighted that Colombia is among the top 30 in the meetings industry according to the International Association of Congresses and Conventions, being the headquarters in recent years of important events such as the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization, the World Economic Forum, One Young World or the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. Likewise, the strong positioning in this industry of cities such as Bogotá, Cali, Cartagena, Medellín or Pereira was highlighted.

In the ForwardKeys talk about the latest flight booking data, it could be seen, for example, that Colombia has been one of the most sought-after destinations in Latin America in countries such as Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Italy or Portugal in September 2020.

The air connectivity panel included representatives from Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, Turkish Airlines, Avianca, OPAIN and Aerocivil and was moderated by Gilberto Salcedo, ProColombia vice president of tourism. It highlighted the great biosecurity effort being carried out by Bogotá's El Dorado International Airport, which has even created a laboratory inside the airport where antibody tests, PCR are carried out and a rapid PCR is in the process of being homologated. As well as the importance of generalizing the previously completed check-mig to shorten times. The airlines highlighted the importance of the country as a destination and as a hub to connect the region, the good prospects of the market that has been increasing its business, tourism, ethnic or congress trips and in general the enormous potential of Colombia in the world and with Europe in particular.

During the week there was also the opportunity to travel virtually to destinations such as Medellín, the Coffee Cultural Landscape, the department of Atlántico and the island of San Andrés or delve into innovative and sustainable success stories such as beer and whiskey based on quinoa or culinary experience classes in Medellín. As well as the study of successful cases through cross-selling where the destination is shown through coffee and panela, to end with the great show of Delirio sauce.

From August 2018 to August 2020, 34 new routes arrived in Colombia. Europe is one of the priorities. 20% of arrivals to the country come from this market, which as of February of this year had 96 frequencies and 26,500 weekly seats available.

Colombia is ready to receive travelers as always and feel like never before promoting sustainable, biosecure and unforgettable tourism.