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The country was accredited with the prestigious prize awarded by the Selling Long Haul magazine, the most important tourism magazine in the United Kingdom. The magazine selects the winners from the results of votes by travel agencies and professionals in the sector.
The prestigious prize was awarded by the Selling Long Haul magazine, the most important tourism magazine in the United Kingdom. The magazine selects the winners from the results of votes by travel agencies and professionals in the sector.
"This recognition from the travel agencies themselves shows us that we are moving in the right direction and confirms the potential of Colombian tourism destinations and products in the UK market.
We want to receive more visitors from the United Kingdom, which is the source of more than 56 million outbound tourists in the world," states María Claudia Lacouture, president of PROCOLOMBIA, the organization responsible for promoting tourism and investment in Colombia and exports.
The award was received by Colombia during its participation for the second consecutive year in this important travel market that brings together more than 5,000 companies, 187 regions and 24,000 visitors, at a stand promoting the best of the country's culture, adventure and nature. At the stand, visitors will find a traditional coffee shop, as well as palenqueras (fruit vendors), salsa dancers and chapoleras (traditional coffee farmers). The country's participation in the event was supported by PROCOLOMBIA, which also assisted the 19 tourism companies promoting their services.
The British Tourist
The United Kingdom is the third largest source of outbound tourism in the world, after Germany and the United States, with more than 56 million overseas departures according to the UK Office for National Statistics.
According to Euromonitor, the British traveler goes on more vacation trips than Business trips. 24.7% travel on organized tours, 17.7% with friends and 17.4% with their families. In 2010, the average spending per trip of the British traveler was US$934.
Furthermore, PROCOLOMBIA has identified that the British are primarily large consumers of Sun and Sand, and Nature vacations. Colombia can offer a combination of both of these. Birdwatching stands out in nature vacations. Colombia, which has 1,876 species of birds is a paradise for travelers from the UK, one of the biggest sources of outbound tourists in this market segment.
There is also a growing number of Cultural Tourism consumers whose objective is visiting historical, archaeological and World Heritage sites and experiencing local customs. All of this is available in Colombian cities such as, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Medellin, Bogota and Cali and in the Coffee Triangle.
In 2011, 25,473 travelers from the United Kingdom came to Colombia. With 11,340 travelers in the first half of 2012, the United Kingdom occupied the sixth position as a source of outbound tourists from Europe to Colombia. These arrivals from the United Kingdom represent 7.5% of the total arrivals of Europeans in Colombia.
