The Government has made a big bet on tourism. From the very beginning, President Gustavo Petro proposed to exchange the currencies derived from the oil sector for tourism. To do so, he set the (optimistic) goal: that the country could exceed the arrival of 10 million foreign tourists.
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That and other proposals were reflected in the National Development Plan (PND) and to date They have an advance of more than 70%, sAccording to Sinergia, a tool on the progress of the PND indicators of the National Planning Department (DNP).
The first (realistic) objective, which is related to the industry, is the Arrival of 7.5 million foreign tourists in the country, and this is on the right track, since month after month, the annual variation of this number is double digits. By 2022, nearly 4.3 million foreign tourists arrived in the country, in 2023 more than 5.8 million and this year, according to estimates by the Colombian Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (Anato), the country will reach 6.4 million.
To date, according to an analysis by the Office of Economic Studies of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, based on figures from Migración Colombia, 3.11 million non-resident visitors arrived in the country in the first half of 2024, representing an increase of 8.5% compared to the same period in 2023. Of this figure, the total number of non-resident foreigners reached 2.14 million, representing an increase of 11.1% compared to the first half of last year. These numbers result in a progress of 79.68% towards the stated goal.
“Within the framework of the ‘Colombia, the Country of Beauty’ strategy, digital media plans have been developed for the national promotion campaign, ATL and alternative media. As a result of the international promotion of Colombia, companies or associations that consider that ProColombia’s management has contributed to their objectives reported having captured 70 events (29 conventions, 17 general events, 18 incentive trips and 6 congresses),” explains the DNP.
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Tourism in Colombia
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Along these lines, Anif believes that expectations for the sector are due to the good performance of tourism-related activities in 2023. With an increase of 0.1pp in the sector’s share of the economy’s total added value (2.2% in 2022 to 2.3% in 2023), the trend of recovery of tourism’s position prior to the pandemic (2.6%) is maintained.
“In terms of the growth in the added value of the sector, this represents a variation of 12.8% compared to what was observed in 2022, bringing the figure to around $33.3 billion. This is due, among other things, to the 29.2% increase in the number of non-resident visitors to the country, which brought the figure to over 6.1 million,” they add.
For her part, Paula Cortés, president of Anato, says that tourism has performed well, especially from abroad, which has not only benefited the regions but also the country. However, she asks the Government to focus on local tourism, as it is increasingly declining.
“If we look at the results from 2022 to 2024, the sector is indeed becoming an alternative for generating foreign currency in the economic transition process. For example, according to information from the Bank of the Republic, in the first quarter of 2024, 44.1% more foreign currency was generated compared to the same period in 2019. Similarly, according to MINCIT, in the first half of 2024, the number of non-resident visitors entering the country grew by 8.5% compared to the previous year. This not only results in growth in the travel industry, but also makes it a driving force for the national economy,” mentions Cortes.
Employment
After the pandemic, one of the sectors hardest hit by the drop in employment was the tourism sector, as many jobs were cut as soon as its facilities opened in the first months of recovery from the pandemic. According to business owners, this staff They moved on to other sectors, And now, with better indicators in the industry, it has been difficult to find qualified personnel to meet the growing demand.
For this reason, the Government and the industry have dedicated themselves to training more personnel for this sector, especially in the ‘deep Colombia’, areas of special attention of the State, since it is its great bet in this matter. According to the indicator, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism seeks to generate and support the creation of 300,000 jobs in the sector, and to date, has achieved progress of 74.95%.
“To date, 115 community-based organizations have benefited from incentives for the tourism sector. In addition to the above, five new productive units of the beneficiary population were linked to the Tourism Strategy for a Culture of Peace in Bogotá DC in the Connection Roundtable of Productive Colombia and the Social and Business Defense Group. It is also highlighted that during the year 32,711 people have been sensitized and trained in tourism regulations, the National Tourism Registry (RNT) and the implementation of the Accommodation Registration Card, in order to strengthen the capacities of the actors in the value chain of the sector,” points out Synergy.
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One of the focuses of former Minister German Umaña’s administration is in the area of tourism with the increase in non-resident visitors.
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In line with this goal, the private sector, in this case Anato, has proposed tax relief to the Government that would allow it to reactivate employment, without affecting its finances, which are already hit by the decline in local tourism.
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“In the sector we are still at 33% less staff compared to pre-pandemic. That is a very significant figure. Therefore, we have a proposal to the Government: to review and rethink the ZES (Economic and Social Zones) so that in some areas of the country travel agencies can generate more employment. This consists of reducing income tax for a couple of years and in exchange generating more employment. We must have 15% more employees over the next two years, and thus, the employer must commit to generating employment in exchange for a reduction in income.”said Paula Cortes.
Paula Galeano Balaguera
Portfolio Journalist
