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In 17 minutes, the four million average viewers who watch TF1 saw the true face of Colombia in a show that chose the country as the tourism destination of the month.
" Colombia is now a tourism destination visited by people like Bill Gates and even the Royal Family from Spain" . This was one of the ways in which the French television station's host described this destination to the viewers of this, one of the most important TV channels there.
Bogotá , Cartagena, the Coffee Triangle and Medellin were the main destinations of the trip by the TF1 team of journalists, with support from PROCOLOMBIA, guided by Mathieu, a Frenchman residing in Colombia who is now the manager of a travel agency.
" A 10-hour direct flight all the way from Paris, Colombia dreams of competing with Thailand, Santo Domingo or Mauritius Island, with its hundreds of exotic species, and the truth is it has a lot of potential," said the Frenchman.
Mathieu came to the country seven years ago to work as a teacher, but met his current wife and dedicated his life to promoting tourism. " Since he was a child, he thought of Colombia as an action film full of jungle scenes. However, he said, " it is a unique destination in the world."
" We thought we were on a deserted beach in the Bahamas, but as a matter of fact, we were in Colombia&rdquo , one of the journalists added.
The special highlighted other angles of the country the French have to see, like the fact that it is the only country with coasts on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, it was declared as a fashion tourism destination in 2011 by travel magazines, and because it is the second exporter in the world of coffee, flowers and tropical fruits.
" In the past, tourists who came to Colombia were en route, back-packing around all of Latin America.&rdquo The special concluded by saying that " Now, people come here from all parts of the world because there are many things to see.&rdquo
According to a report by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism, and based on DAS (Spanish acronym for Administrative Security Department) information, a growth rate of 11,6% was registered between 2009 and 2010 on the number of French citizens arriving in the country, with a total of 33,878 travelers last year.
French tourists tend to schedule their trips very frequently, and like to be guided by specialists like travel agents, and do their own research on the destination, according to a study by PROCOLOMBIA Colombia.
Furthermore, the French prefer places where they can experience adventure tourism and see exotic, uncommon sites that offer a unique travel experience.
Watch the TF1 video here: http://bit.ly/lJL3Kl
