The Coffee Triangle has its own internet space

As a great opportunity to show the world all the wealth of the Coffee Triangle. This was the overall rating given by over 150 people including tourism entrepreneurs and regional authorities, on the internet portal www.triangulodelcafe.travel during the official launching of the website this Wednesday in Pereira.

“A page like this will enable us to reach many more people and put this destination on the world-tour map", said Jorge Mario Acosta, marketing coordinator for Parque Panaca.

“This tool has been long awaited; people always ask questions and there was no place where to find such concrete and detailed information. We now have it”, said Diana Patiño from the farm-hotel Bosque de Samán.

Designed to inspire international travelers and lure them to visit the various tourist spots, the new portal has over one thousand photographs, 33 of which are panoramic 360º, different tourist testimonial videos and all of the necessary information to plan the trip in over 200 pages: Maps, hotel directories and other useful services such as the weather forecast.

The portal, which was developed by PROCOLOMBIA and the three provincial departments that comprise the Coffee Triangle (Quindio, Risaralda and Caldas), is the first one to exist in the country to promote tourism in any region.

While PROCOLOMBIA will continue to assist the process, the intent is for the three provincial departments to feed and position the portal internationally.

"it is great that we ourselves are in charge of maintaining and bringing dynamics to the page, making sure the posted information is exactly what the tourist needs," said Sergio Ocampo Tobon, from the International Bird Watchers’ Network.

The new tool will help strengthen international tourism, which has been undergoing an increasing trend in the past years. According to the figures by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, last year alone 32,536 international tourists said, upon arrival into the country, that their main destination was the Coffee Triangle as a holiday spot, which reported 9.2% growth as compared to 2009.

The encounter also helped consolidate the idea of the Coffee Triangle as a single region, united to promote tourism.  "We have nothing to lose if we work together; on the contrary, we have a lot to win. We are all a part of the Coffee Triangle," said Martha Cecilia Botero, owner of the farm-hotel Bosque del Saman.