The projections are positive: It is expected that both the departure of Colombians and the arrival of foreigners during 2023 will grow up to 10% compared to 2022, according to Anato.
For Iberia, Latin America is the region marked in red in our corporate plan for this and the coming years. But if I have to highlight the main market that we have focused on within this strategy, this will undoubtedly be Colombia.
Of course, although in 2023 we are carrying out an important renewal of our commitment to this country, that does not mean, far from it, that this is recent. In fact, almost 65 years ago we made our first flight between Colombia and Europe, which makes it one of the oldest long-haul routes in our portfolio in Latin America.
The data confirms that betting on Colombia is the right decision. According to Procolombia, 2022 was the best year for air transport in the country, something that at the international level translated into a movement of 15.2 million passengers, 7% more than in the pre-pandemic.
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And the same is true of outbound tourism, because as indicated by Anato and Migración Colombia, last year almost 5 million Colombians left abroad, 10% more than in 2019 and the highest number so far. These same figures point to a 20% growth in departures to Spain, from where Iberia connects with more than 100 destinations in Europe.
We are aware that the Colombian economy, like that of the world, is going through moments of uncertainty. The World Bank estimated the increase in GDP for this year at 1.3%, while Fedesarrollo forecasts it at 1.5%. This, added to inflation that could remain above 8% and interest rates from the Banco de la República that would continue to be high, It could pose challenges for consumption, with households being more cautious when it comes to making large outlays and with a higher cost of credit.
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However, despite the fact that these challenges are real, we already took them into account when increasing our commitment, and our perception is that the Colombian market remains robust and we do not perceive a slowdown in reserves to and from the country. All this means that the prospects for the sector are positive.
At this point, the fact that the pandemic did bring about a change in people and in tourism is fundamental. Today, we see that traveling has risen several positions in the priority list of people, who no longer want to leave experiences and fulfill their dreams of seeing the world for later. For this reason, very positive projections are maintained, since it is expected that both the departure of Colombians and the arrival of foreigners during 2023 can grow up to 10% compared to 2022, according to Anato.
Also, the fact that the new government has shown itself inclined to prioritize tourism as one of the key sectors for the economy is another sign that gives the sector optimism.
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And, of course, there are more factors that we can find behind the strength of tourism to Colombia. This is a market that has a very strong component of VFR tourism -visiting friends and family-, which makes the demand for flights quite robust.
Likewise, although national consumers may see their possibilities of traveling restricted due to the economic situation, the devaluation of the peso during 2022 makes the country a very attractive destination for those who pay with currencies such as the euro or the dollar, a situation that is expected that it be maintained in 2023 and that favors the arrival of foreign tourists.
All this makes Colombia, for the industry in general, a key destination. Without going further, On the routes between the country and Europe, the availability of seats for the summer season that begins in March has increased by more than 20%, compared to 2019.
And, of course, Iberia has a large share in this increase. As we recently announced, for this summer season we have increased the number of frequencies to connect Bogotá with Madrid, reaching 18 flights a week, which will allow us to include a third flight on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, with the ambition that we reach three daily flights before the end of the year. Our current increase already represents a growth of 80% compared to the capacity with which we closed 2019.
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It should be said that our commitment is not only in capacity, but also in important investments to offer the best option to fly between Colombia and Europe. To give some examples, on this route we are already operating our most advanced aircraft, the A350 with the new Airbus standard, offering the highest standards of comfort and technology.
Also, today we are the only airline that offers direct flights between Bogotá and Madrid with the Premium Economy cabin, an option that offers a superior flight experience to the Economy, for a more than reasonable price difference.
In short, all of the above shows that Colombia is the country in which we will make our greatest investment efforts for this 2023 among all our routes, and we will do so fulfilling our purpose, which is to generate value by connecting Colombians with the rest. of the world and that our operation in the country generates prosperity for society. And the best thing is that we know that, by doing so, we are making a safe bet.
BEATRIZ GUILLEN
Iberia Global Sales Director
