Tourism
From The Report: Colombia 2017
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Despite Colombia’s extensive natural beauty and bustling cities, its tourism industry has traditionally underperformed relative to its actual potential; however, international visitor arrivals rose by 70% between 2010 and 2015, contributing to the 17% increase in employment during those years. Overall, the coming years are expected to be marked by double-digit growth in tourism indicators. The devaluation of the peso, ongoing promotional efforts and the country’s enhanced profile provide a window of opportunity for Colombia to attract more tourists. To solidify the sector’s contribution to GDP, continued investment in infrastructure and the development of varied segments will be necessary. This chapter features an interview with María Claudia Lacouture, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Vying for position: Peace, investment and promotion efforts drive sector growth
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Despite Colombia’s extensive natural beauty and bustling cities, its tourism industry has traditionally underperformed relative to its actual potential. Much of the sector’s performance was previously tied to the security situation and the government’s long-running conflict with the armed militant group FARC. In recent years the security situation has improved greatly, and in November 2016 a peace agreement between the two parties was formally approved. Peace brought a new sense of…

Analysis

Checking in: New hotels and more rooms underpin sector expansion
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Economic stability and enhanced security have drawn interest from hotel groups looking to capitalise on increased business and investment activity in Colombia. However, recent falls in oil export revenues have reduced fiscal incentives to expand tourist infrastructure, and the hospitality industry is hoping that the rising number of tourists will support ongoing expansion. Room For Growth The country currently has a total of 260,000 rooms. Around 70% of operating hotels have up to 50 rooms,…

Interview

Taking advantage: María Claudia Lacouture, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, on growth potential in a post-conflict environment
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Interview:María Claudia Lacouture What are the main challenges and opportunities facing the development of the tourism sector? MARIA CLAUDIA LACOUTURE: Having a peaceful environment in Colombia will mean there is more territory for tourism development. This will require increasing the offer of new tourism products, strengthening destinations throughout the country and expanding the number of companies operating in the sector. We will focus on incorporating productivity and innovation to…