Economic recovery in Colombia would contribute to the revitalization of domestic tourism

Currently, there are several actions that have been implemented to further promote tourism among Colombians at the domestic level, but there are others that still require greater effort to increase competitiveness in the different regions, and to encourage national travelers to choose their country as their next destination. 

Domestic tourism grew by more than 20% in 2023 compared to 2022, since last year it was reported that 8% of people did domestic tourism. This figure, although important, is still not enough to reach the levels that the country had in 2019, since in that year, 9.9% of Colombians did domestic tourism.

The growth rate in 2024 should be equal to that recorded in 2023, only to get closer to the levels of 2019. In 2019, 9.9% of Colombians did domestic tourism. However, in 2023, this figure only reached 8%. “If we want to achieve greater dynamism in domestic tourism, we must give it a more public-private approach, a collaborative strategy, and combine the knowledge and experience of both to reach effective goals,” said Paula Cortés Calle, executive president of ANATO. 

She added: “If we continue to aim for a real reactivation of the sector and work with the Government, domestic tourism would grow by 10% annually from now until the end of the decade, so that in this way, 15% of Colombians will travel within its territory by the end of 2030, which would mean approximately 3.5 million national tourists.” 

Colombia is full of landscapes, history, culture and gastronomy to discover. And this, added to the implementation of more strategies towards increasing national air connectivity, security in destinations, investment in infrastructure and of course the formalization of entrepreneurs in the sector, can make this goal a reality.

Source: Domestic Tourism Spending Survey - DANE