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The Colombian Under 20 Soccer World Cup Latin American promotion tour came to an end in Argentina, where 130 tourism entrepreneurs and journalists got acquainted with the country´s tourist offer.
"The message conveyed by Colombia to the entire world, especially to our region, is the invitation to join us for the Under-20 festivity, which is such a significant event not only does the language provide a common ground for these countries, but also a passion as big as the passion for soccer", said the Colombian Ambassador to Argentina, Alvaro Garcia, who opened the session.
The Hotel 725 Continental, in the core of downtown Buenos Aires, fell short before the interest of Argentine wholesalers who wanted to know the tourism offering and the innovations in the country, to be celebrated during the soccer festivities to take place during the coming weeks.
During the event, which was organized by PROCOLOMBIA with the support of the Tourist Promotion Fund of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism, the presentation took place in Medellin, as the host city of the Argentine soccer team by the Convention and Visitor Bureau, and the activities parallel to the sporting event were highlighted, such as the traditional Flower Fair.
Tourism alternatives were also introduced by the Manizales Culture and Tourism Institute, the Bogota Tourism District Institute Valletours from Cali made the presentation on the capital city of Valle as a destination and host city of the Under-20 World Cup.
The interest created by the destination cities amongst the entrepreneurs was so broad that they later stood in line to talk to the Colombian entrepreneurs present at the event. In the adjacent room, representatives from Confamiliares de Manizales Contactos and Hotel Caribe from Cartagena Grupo Welcome, Panamericana de Viajes and World Tours, from Bogota held business meetings.
The entrepreneurs present at the event coincided in pointing out the opportunity to conduct a presentation with these characteristics in Buenos Aires.
Roque Golino, Manager of the Toptour International Department from Uruguay, remembered that soccer in his country is living an excellent moment, not only because of the fourth place accomplished by the team in the World Cup, but also the high level of the professional clubs, which awakens the interest of the tourists.
"This is a good time to support the Under-20 team and, given that the World Cup is going to take place in a brother country, I think this is a good time for passengers to travel beyond the soccer festivities and to know this destination, which is a really beautiful place”, said Golino.
Cali will be the host city of the Uruguayan team, which will play its first game in the capital city of Valle against Portugal on July 30th.
Juan de la Huerta, manager of the Buenos Aires branch of Delfos, a large Argentine operator, said the event was productive and timely for the market in his country.
“Argentina is a soccer-loving country, and we believe our Under-20 national team is very well ranked. Many Argentines will travel to Colombia to support their national team and this opportunity to introduce these destinations will bring more passengers to visit”, he said.
During the presentation before over 30 journalists from Argentina, and in addition to the information on the various destinations, the supporting message by Radamel Falcao Garcia, Porto de Portugal's Colombian player, was shown he was also part of the Under-20 World Cup promotion campaign led by PROCOLOMBIA abroad.
End of the tour
The event in Buenos Aires marked the closing of the Under-20 Soccer World Cup promotional tour around eight countries in Latin America, which gathered at least 600 entrepreneurs from the tourism sector and journalists.
The event not only allowed introducing the national destinations and general aspects of the eight host cities of the World Cup, but it also allowed the entrepreneurs and participating local promotional agencies to have a closer look at the wholesalers and journalists responsible for selling and disseminating the tourism potential.
In addition to the entrepreneurs, goalkeeper Oscar Cordoba and Barranquilla Carnival beauty queen Marcela Davila joined the campaign through a football-tennis clinic in Quito and Sao Paulo intended for soccer fans to join their national team.
The tour began in Mexico City this past May 23rd, and arrived in San Jose de Costa Rica, Tegucigalpa, Panama City, Quito, Caracas and Sao Paulo, thanks to the support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism Promotion Fund.
Thanks to the events held in the various cities, there was additional broadcasting in local media to promote tourism.
Medellin is ready for the Argentine team
Medellin, the second largest city in Colombia and known as the "Mountain Capital”, will be the host city of the Argentine team during its participation in the Under-20 Soccer World Cup.
After the initial kick-off, during the second game in Group F against the Mexican team, Argentina’s followers will enjoy the entire tourist offering Medellin, the capital city of the province of Antioquia, has in store for its visitors.
In Colombian jargon, the Antioqueños or Paisas, the name given to the natives from this region, are hard-working people, always optimistic and persistent, but especially kind to visitors, and enjoy a great soccer tradition, as some of the most successful players in the country's history like Rene Higuita, Faustino Asprilla and Ivan Ramiro Cordoba, among others, have begun their sports history in these local teams.
Medellin also became famous in the sports world when one of its local teams, Atletico Nacional, became champion of the Copa Libertadores de America in 1989.
Known for its colorful Flower Fair, exhibiting an extensive variety of styles of flamboyant flower arrangements called Silletas (Seats), which are unique to the world, Medellin is also the city of fashion in Colombia thanks to its numerous shopping districts and malls, as well as the excellence of its fabric and the creativity in Colombian designers’ garments.
Known to some as the ‘city of eternal spring’ because of its lightly warm weather all year round, visitors can find arts and crafts from all around the country, a well organized transportation system including a metro-rail, two airports, great nightly activity and a cultural offering with theaters, theme parks, a botanical garden and a broad network of libraries and library parks.
Additionally, the Antioquia Museum bears an important collection by Colombian artist Fernando Botero, known around the world for his paintings and sculptures of chubby characters.
The gastronomical field features the typical delicacy from the region called the ‘bandeja paisa’, a dish including beans, rice, eggs and the traditional arepa antioqueña (Antioquia's corn cake).
In the outskirts of Medellin, Argentines can visit the towns of Santa Fe de Antioquia and Guatape, two very unique towns in the country. The former, according to the antioqueños themselves, is the mother town of the paisa culture. Santa Fe was declared National Heritage thanks to its colonial architecture, and for having several of the most beautiful church temples in the country.
The town of Guatape, on the other hand, is known for its skirting boards on the houses, all decorated with drawings of arrieros, silleteros (local peasants) flowers and animals or simple geometric figures with a Spanish inspiration.
All of those reasons will make Argentine visitors want to see Colombia and run the risk of wanting to stay. Know more about Medellin at www.colombia.travel
