Colombia stands out among the expectations of international tourism
More than 300 million international tourists traveled between January and March 2025, which represented 14 million more than in the same period in 2024
Global tourism continues its positive trend, and recent figures reflect a sustained upturn in passenger traffic worldwide. The expectations set at the beginning of 2024, projected for an increase of between 3% and 5%, have been met. These increases, while not uniform, have shown a progressive global trend.
This is supported by the fact that more than 300 million international tourists traveled between January and March 2025, which represented 14 million more than in the same period in 2024, a 5% increase compared to 2023 and 3% compared to 2019.
In fact, Europe welcomed 125 million international tourists, 2% more than in the first quarter of 2024; Africa registered growth of 9%; the Americas, 2%; South American destinations, 13%; the Middle East, 1%; and Asia and the Pacific, 12%.
Compared to Colombia, during the same period in 2025, the number of non-resident foreign visitors to the country increased by 6.8% (1,191,623). This, in addition to being a variation above international projections, is also a record figure at the national level and increasingly closer to the goal of reaching 7.5 million, according to the 2022-2026 sectoral plan.
It's worth noting that international industry experts forecast moderate optimism for the May-August 2025 period: 45% expect an improvement; 33% expect results similar to those in 2024; and 22% expect a lower performance.
“In this context, we celebrate the fact that Colombia was not only one of the countries that managed to recover most quickly after recent years of crisis, but that it is currently exceeding global expectations. The diverse tourism offerings of our destinations and the progress we have made in sustainability and technology, as well as our adaptability to market demands, have made us even more attractive. That is why we must continue to join forces to continue positioning tourism as a transformative force for Colombia,” explained Paula Cortés Calle, Executive President of ANATO.
Source: UN Tourism and MinCIT