Venezuelans invited to come and enjoy the Under-20 World Cup in Colombia

– The cheerful sounds of Pollera Colorá and the swirling dresses and waving vueltiao hats lent a high note – this Tuesday – to PROCOLOMBIA’s invitation to Venezuelans to come to our country and support the continents’ teams in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, to be held between this July 29 and August 20.

The event, which was attended by some 50 wholesalers, travel agencies and the media, was presided over by Jesús Marín, the sports presenter of the Venevisión TV channel, who highlighted the importance of the World Cup as the second most important tournament of the FIFA after the men’s championship.

The presentation is part of the Latin American round that Colombia began a week ago in Central America to promote complementary activities for the sporting event in the eight host cities.

Ricardo Montenegro, chargé d’affaires of the Colombian Embassy in Caracas, emphasized the importance for the country of an event that will bring together teams from 24 countries.

He made clear that the doors of the country are wide open to all the Venezuelan tourists who can come to visit some of its cities and take advantage of their proximity to Colombian cities.

Representatives of the Manizales Culture and Tourism Institute, the Bogotá District Tourism Institute, Manizales Confamiliares, Caribe Hotel and Contactos from Cartagena, Welcome Tours, Panamericana de Viajes and World Tours from Bogotá and Valletour of Cali held business meetings with Venezuelan wholesalers interested in including tourism in their Under-20 World Cup packages.

“We sincerely hope that the information is ample and sufficient enough to convince their clients to visit Colombia and take advantage of Venezuela’s growing love of football and particularly fans among the descendants and residents from European countries,” said José Abril, director of the Commercial Office of PROCOLOMBIA in Caracas.

Víctor Díaz, from Destinos y Negocios, mentioned how significant the concept of sports tourism was. “Tourism moves large amounts of money worldwide and the fact that Colombia is to be the host to a championship of this category is interesting for the country and for all those who go to see the show”, he emphasized.

He went on to say that “Colombia is a country that is improving by the day; it has a huge biodiversity, landscapes and places to go and have fun. We are warm-hearted people and go a long way to make people feel at home.”

Raúl Silva, tour operator of Corporación Salta Venezuela, explained that passion for football in Venezuela is growing. We’re going to have lots of Venezuelans in Colombia, in all the host cities. Here we have immigrant colonies from Spain and Portugal, which are countries participating in the World Cup; I’m certain they will all be delighted to go to Colombia. For those who don’t know Colombia, it’s a fantastic opportunity,” he said.

The Under-20 World Cup promotional tour, which has the support of the Tourism Promotion Fund of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism, will move to Sao Paolo this Wednesday where it will present the Baranquilla Carnival so that the Cariocas accompany their team in the capital of the Atlantic.

There will also be a football-tennis workshop given by goalkeeper Oscar Córdoba, who has joined PROCOLOMBIA’s campaign to encourage tourism in the country.

Find out more about the host cities of the Under-20 World Cup at www.colombia.travel