Within the framework of the National Congress of Travel and Tourism Agencies of Anato, in its 29th version in Medellín, the Deputy Minister of Tourism (E), Jhon Ramos, highlighted the impact of these companies on the value chain: “Travel agencies not only represent an opportunity for the same agents, but the travel agencies represent an opportunity for the more than 100,000 tourist service providers that we have in this country.” In addition, he made a balance on government investment in this area.
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The vice minister in commission read a message sent by the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Diana Marcela Morales, who could not attend the event:
“My desire was to be able to accompany them in this version number 29 of the National Congress of Travel and Tourism Agencies of Anato, a wonderful space that has been consolidated as a key platform to dialogue, build and transform from tourism, but for reasons of force majeure it is not possible to me. This is why I have requested to read these lines.”
The minister explained the vision of the current government: “From the Government of Change we understand tourism as a transforming tool, which not only drives local communities, but also weaves confidence, reconstructs the social bond and dignifies what for years was invisible.”
He also highlighted the role of Congress as an articulation space: “This Congress represents not only a meeting point for the actors in the sector, but also a space to continue drawing a road map that puts in the center the communities and the territory as protagonists of the new tourist model of the country.”
Morales said that tourism is not just an economic factor: “Beyond being a vital source of economic growth for the government of change, tourism represents the opportunity to decarbonize our economy and thus contribute to world climatic justice, promoting our wealth of cultural diversity and promoting sustainability to achieve a true integration of our regions.”
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Vice Minister of Tourism (E), Jhon Ramos
Courtesy
The official referred to high potential territories: “I think of places like Guainía, Tumaco or Los Montes de María that we are strengthening through programs such as Colombia Destination of Peace, where Anato has established itself as a strategic ally training, making visible and promoting the experiences of those actors who build peace and have found in tourism a powerful reconciliation tool.”
Sector figures and projections
The minister recalled that “There were more than 6.9 million non -resident visitors who visited our country in 2024 and therefore we achieved more than 10 billion dollars in currencies, an amount higher than the production of coal.”
Regarding internal tourism, he said that the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism has invested more than 184 billion pesos in more than 160 national tourism promotion projects. Among the campaigns mentioned the country of beauty and other actions as gastronomic and cultural fairs.
As for international promotion, he said: “During the change government, more than 31 billion pesos have been invested for the promotion of Colombia in different destinations in the Tourist Vitrines of Anato of 2023, 2024 and 2025, which has allowed to show the tourist offer to professional visitors from national and foreign markets.”
The official message also underlined the role of agencies: “Currently more than 6,600 agencies are registered in the National Tourism Registry. In addition to this, the reactivation of formalization tables as key articulation spaces between public and private entities is projected.”
Among the measures under study, it is contemplated to adjust Decree 1836 for “Strengthen the requirements, establish quality and control standards for registration and update in the National Tourism Registry, thus guaranteeing a formal and competitive tourist offer.”
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Paula Cortés Calle, President of Anato
Courtesy
In terms of security, he pointed out that the National Legal Security Council is scheduled for August 26, with the aim of working with unions, businessmen and communities. As explained, it seeks “Build public-private strategies in order to deal with forms of public, computer, social security and coordinate with relief agencies presence throughout the national territory.”
The message concluded by reiterating the importance of tourism as a strategic sector: “We are convinced that tourism has the transformative potential to be a development engine that generates decent jobs, providing opportunities to our communities and continues to raise the positioning of our country in the global panorama.”
Paula Galeano Balaguera
Portfolio journalist
