With the approval of the Government to hold meetings, concerts and carnival-type gatherings, Holy Week could not be the exception, so hotel and travel agency unions foresee a recovery that will reach and exceed the levels of 2019.
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In the case of the Hotel and Tourism Association of Colombia, Cotelco, it projects a growth of 14.4 percentage points in occupations compared to the highest week of last year. Therefore, the union estimates that 53.4% of the rooms in the country will be occupied. Compared to 2019, the increase in this indicator would be 1.52 percentage points.
Now, regarding the mobilization of passengers, the Colombian Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies, Anato, estimates that during this season, about 1.2 million passengers will be mobilized on national and international flights. This would correspond to a 12% growth compared to pre-pandemic levels.
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RECOVERY MARKED BY NATIONAL TOURISM
For Anato, these Mobilization levels would be driven by passengers on domestic flights. Therefore, this union estimates that 834,000 will be mobilized in this segment, that is, 26% more than Easter 2019.
On the other hand, Anato expects a recovery of 85%, compared to 2019, in the sale of tour packages offered by Travel Agencies.
Given this, the president of the association, Paula Cortés Calle, pointed out that: “travel agencies have anticipated the creation of a tourist offer that, in addition to fun, innovation and safety, guarantees the health care of its passengers. , as well as the protection of destinations”.
Regarding the most popular shopping destinations, the guild highlights: San Andrés, Cartagena, Santa Marta, the Coffee Region, Antioquia and La Guajira.
Although national tourism will be the main agent of reactivation, ProColombia highlights that the international segment shows a tendency towards reactivation.
Therefore, the entity indicates that, for this Holy Week, a significant growth in the arrival of international tourists to Colombia is projected, “taking into account that in 2021 the tourism sector was in full reactivation phase.”
In this sense, according to figures from ForwardKeys and the analysis of ProColombia, the number of active air reservations that have been registered, with a cutoff to the third week of March, represents a growth of 230% compared to Easter of the year. previous.
In this sense, the entity also stated that for this season the income of more than 25,000 international tourists.
However, Procolombia specifies that more than half of the travelers who will enter the country come from the United States, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Spain, which is why they participate with 52.6% of active air reservations.
THE DESTINATIONS OF FOREIGNERS
Another ProColombia analysis is the destinations that most interest non-residents. Thus, the cities with the highest percentage of international arrivals for this season are Bogotá with 15,172, with 60% of reservations; Cartagena and Medellín, with about 3,900 and 3,500 active reservations, respectively.
Given the international interest in Colombia during these dates, Flavia Santoro, president of ProColombia, pointed out that: “The 2022 Easter season represents a clear step from reactivation to growth for the country’s international tourism. We see a clear increase in the arrival of non-resident visitors”.
THE BEHAVIOR OF THE TOURIST
Despegar announced that advance bookings for the Easter holidays increased by 150%.
“On this occasion, a strong variation was evident in the anticipation of purchase versus last year, going from 24 days for Easter 2021, to 61 days on average for this year,” the company clarified.
On the other hand, Rappi Travel, the travel vertical of this firm, pointed out that they have more than 60,000 searches for this season, with 20,000 concentrated orders. Therefore, this firm will mobilize more than 25,000 passengers.
“We hope to have an additional 25% of last minute sales with the benefits of the RappiCard and other last minute discounts.”
The analysis of international air reservations to the country, carried out by ProColombia, for Holy Week shows that the 82.1% of them are due to vacations.
As for the ticket purchase channels, 56.6% of these were made directly with the airlines.
JULIANA PEÑA
BRIEFCASE
