Visit Colombia

Why visit Colombia?

• Colombia offers accommodation options for all tastes and interests. Hotel options vary according to the geographic, climatic, and cultural features of each place, you can find:
• Ample, traditional, luxury hotels in the downtown areas of cities.
• Modern business hotels near the main airports or the financial areas.
• Small, friendly boutique hotels.
• Traditional haciendas adapted to take in tourists or convention groups.
• Tourist inns managed by forest rangers.
• An excellent infrastructure for hosting congresses, convention centers (with ample salons   and complementary services), meeting rooms (with cutting-edge technology), etc.
• Successful logistic providers for handling all kinds of groups: professional congress operators, gastronomic caterers, event services providers and transportation providers.
• Colombian cities have been the seat of the following important world events, among many others: the Inter-American Bank Assembly (Cartagena de Indias, 1982), the XI Summit of Non-aligned Countries (Cartagena de Indias, 1995), the IV International Congress of the Spanish Language (Cartagena de Indias, 2007), the XXXI TravelMart LatinAmerica (Cartagena de Indias, 2007) and the XVII General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization (Cartagena de Indias, 2007).
• Gastronomic restaurants:  as a result of colonization you can find a great diversity of ingredients and flavors in each region.

Business Travel &ndash Meetings, Incentives, Conventions in Colombia

In the last ten years alone, while global tourism grew around 3.3 %, Colombia had a 10.6 % growth.

Business tourism is essential to the growth of national tourism and the progress made is evident: in 2011, Colombia received 39.5 % more business tourists than in 2010, for a total 124 thousand passengers. In fact, it is the third most important reason for international travelers to visit the country.

Colombia has the necessary infrastructure with hotels and convention centers big enough to host large scale events. The country has succeeded in hosting international events, such as the World Tourism Organization meeting, the South American Games in Medellin, the ALTA Forum of Airline Leaders of the Latin American and Caribbean Association and Air Transportation, the III China- Latin America Business Summit, the Latin American version of the World Economic Forum, the South America Hotel &amp Tourism (Sahic), the Nationwide Tour, the International Net workers Team and the Sub-20 Soccer World Cup.

The advantages of organizing an event in Colombia

There are several advantages in choosing Colombia as the venue for large scale events. One is seasonality. Due to its privileged geographical location, while most of the congresses take place in the second half of the year, it is possible to organize them in Colombia at any time of the year.

It is an appealing country due to its airline connectivity with 722 direct international frequencies connecting it with 20 countries in Europe and the Americas. It also has more than 20 foreign hotel chains and traditional national hotels. It has botanical gardens, cathedrals, and museums, which can be used as meeting venues.

It is also a multi destination country, which allows you to perform any type of event, thanks to its weather diversity and rich infrastructure and touristic options in each one of the cities.

Bogota, the capital city, has ranked among the 50 best cities for event organization. It has more than 1,483 domestic flights and 516 international flights each week. The city has six convention centers and auditoriums, 231 meeting rooms in upscale hotels and specialized centers, and a fair venue with 22 pavilions and 77,500 m2 of exhibition areas. There are many corporate and boutique hotels, as well as a large number of options for those interested in history, culture, shopping, partying, eating, and playing golf.

Medellin has had large urban, social and financial growth. It has 81 international flights and more than 554 domestic flights every week. The city has 72 meeting rooms and one large conventions center. The city has hosted several large scale events such as the BID Governors&#39 Meeting, OAS and LACEA. It is known for its beautiful museums, restaurants, nightlife and great number of parks and public spaces.

Cartagena has 72 hotels, 5,000 rooms and 8,000 beds. The city, which hosted the VI Summit of the Americas, has accommodation capacity for 15,000 guests and its historical center has been named Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. It also has many shopping options, restaurants, and business rooms.

The coffee triangle, which is formed by the departments of Quind&iacute o, Caldas and Risaralda, has the necessary infrastructure to host events. It has three airports, with 115 domestic flights every week and direct flights to Panama and the United States. The region was named Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO and it is home to stunning coffee farms, theme parks, natural landscapes, adventure sports, mountains, and thermal springs.

Bucaramanga: this city has some excellent golf courses, abundant commercial and industrial activities, and several spaces for adventure sports or to enjoy the natural landscapes and traditional villages. It has an excellent airline connectivity and it has hosted several large scale events, such as COPEHIT (Pan American Confederation of Hospitality, Gastronomy and Tourism Schools), and CESAL.

Cali: The third largest city in Colombia and well-known for its sugar production, as well as being the world capital of salsa. It has a large number of options for eco-tourism, adventure sports, natural parks, golf courses, as well as hotels and convention centers. It has accommodation capacity for 17,700 guests in more than 44,000 square meters at the Valle del Pacifico Events Center. It has 17 rooms, which accommodate an audience of 2,600 as an auditorium. The city has 234 domestic flights and 62 international flights every week to countries in Europe and the Americas.

Golf, a high-scale complement

Golfing in Colombia is another option that appeals to business tourists and the ideal complement during guest stays. During the last few years, players, travelers, and business people from around the world have selected the country as the venue for important tournaments, but also as the place to go for a new experience in upscale golf courses.

There are more than 50 courses, most of them designed by the world&#39 s most famous designers, such as Robert Trent Jones, Gary Player, Mark Mahannah, and Jack Nicklaus. In 2010, Colombia was nominated as a destination to discover in the IAGTO Awards during the annual award ceremony for the specialized tourism sector.

From that year, the Nation Wide &ndash one of the tournaments with a direct pass to the PGA tour &ndash has been held annually, the only one of its kind in Latin America. In 2012, during its third edition, one of the guests was former US president Bill Clinton.

United States- Colombia Connectivity:

• Colombia is just 2 hours and 30 minutes away from Miami (1.082 miles) 178 weekly direct flights to Colombia
• Airlines serving direct flights between both countries: American Airlines, Avianca, Continental Airlines, LAN Airlines, Delta Airlines, Jet Blue, Spirit Airlines.
• International Airports: 6 (Armenia, Barranquilla, Bogota, Cali, Cartagena and Medellin).
• The number of international visitors to our country has tripled in the last six years. Worldwide tourism grew by 6.7% in 2010, its growth in Colombia was 8.9%, reaching 1,88 million. That same year, the number of cruise ships docking was five times larger than the number back in 2005, and the number of passenger increased eight times.
• American citizens don&rsquo t need a visa to enter Colombia

Weekly direct flights from to Colombia:

For more information about touristic products and destinations, visit http://www.colombia.travel/en/&rdquo