For the first time in three years, Colombians will be able to travel on mid-year vacations in Very similar conditions as in the pre-pandemicTherefore, the expectations of the different players in this industry are quite high and predict a significant recovery.
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Despite the optimism, unions are not unaware that the presidential voting that will take place on June 19 will impact the number of trips on the first holiday bridge weekend that kicks off the mid-year holiday season.
“We consider that there will be a decrease in the trips of the festive bridge from June 18 to 20, since we understand that democracy must prevail as a tool for decision-making regarding the future of Colombia.”, said Paula Cortés, executive president of the Colombian Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (Anato).
In this regard, the Hotel and Tourism Association of Colombia (Cotelco) supports what Anato said, and adds that despite the fact that the hotel occupancy continues to improvein some regions of the country more than others, is not enough.
In this regard, José Duarte, executive president of Cotelco, indicated: “We are aware that achieving financial stability will not be achieved for another couple of years, while the hotel industry recovers from the indebtedness acquired to survive the pandemic.”
projections
For his part, Anato estimates that for the mid-year season, there will be a departure abroad of 926,000 Colombians, with a growth of 15%, compared to 2019, with the United States, Mexico, Spain, Panama and the Dominican Republic being the main destinations to which you would travel. In addition, in the entry of foreign visitors, it expects a figure of more than 619,000, that is, a reactivation of 89%.
Regarding the movement of passengers on domestic flights, “6.3 million would be reached, with a growth of 32% compared to the same period in 2019.”
Expenditure on domestic tourism
According to the latest report from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (Dane), 1.4 million people traveled in domestic tourism in the first quarter of the year, a much lower figure than in the last four years. In 2019, 2.5 million had been reported in this category and even in 2020, 1.8 million tourists were registered.
In 2022, a factor to highlight is the change in travel trends. Of this 1.4 million people who traveled in the first quarter, 734,000 travelers decided to reunite with friends and family (a figure that before 2019 was in second place).
This reason for travel is followed by trips for recreation or vacations, which accounted for 673,000 of the trips during this time. Finally, in third place are other reasons for traveling (34,000), followed by business (18,000), a sector that has not yet recovered pre-pandemic figures.
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However, regarding spending on these trips, the statistical agency assured that despite the fact that there are fewer passengers circulatingthe cost per night in any of these categories increased this year.
In 2019, a person spent $73,287 per night, the number in the lead for two years, and now in 2022 it increased $7,898, leaving the daily expense per person at $81,135.
The highest item among the costs of a trip is food, which takes more than a quarter of the daily budget ($27,830), in second place is the price per night, which averages $16,583, land transportation that reached $14,774 and air transportation that came to $12,099.
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