Bogotá, February 2019. With an enormous turnout of national business representatives covering almost the entirety of the tourism sector equipped for the international market, the latest edition of ProColombia Travel Mart (PTM) will be held from February 27 to March 1 with the aim of capturing the high-spending foreign tourism market. The matchmaking forum will take place during the ANATO Tourism Fair in Bogotá.
The event will be attended by close to 300 Colombian exporters and over 230 international buyers from 30 countries. More than 5000 business meetings will be held.
"ProColombia Travel Mart is a great opportunity to examine the country’s progress when it comes to strengthening our tourism sector. We will exhibit all of our products and ratify the progress made in direct international air connectivity to facilitate high-spending tourist arrivals. One positive sign is that 56% of international buyers visiting this year will be at the event for the first time," said ProColombia’s president Flavia Santoro Trujillo.
The largest international delegation hails from the United States made up of 36 business representatives, followed by Brazil with 20, Argentina with 14, Peru with 16, and Canada with 12.
Singapore and Finland are represented as well, each by one company, China by 10, Japan by 3, South Korea, Denmark and Poland by two each, and Israel by one.
From Colombia, entrepreneurs from 19 departments of the country will participate in the showcase. The region with the largest number of exporters is Cundinamarca with 87, followed by Bolívar with 62, Antioquia with 27, Valle del Cauca with 16, and Magdalena with 12.
On February 27, the first day of the event, a Synergy Roundtable will be held to support local operators and independent hotels, in addition to companies operating in emerging regions. They will have the opportunity to offer their products to the international market, national tour operators, and exporters of goods and services in export chains such as chemicals and life sciences, metal mechanics and other industries, and fashion.
Close to 400 tour operators and 36 entrepreneurs from the other sectors of the economy will participate in this round.
On the morning of February 28, there will be an academic program which will include a presentation by Deputy Minister Juan Pablo Franky on the country’s tourism strategy, as well as a panel on sector trends and international promotion.
From February 22 to 27, foreign tour operators and wholesalers will embark on 16 FAM trips to explore different regions of Colombia’s geography, from San Andrés to Leticia, including exotic destinations such as Gorgona.
In these tours, foreign business representatives will be able to learn about what Colombia has to offer in nature and adventure tourism, culture, gastronomy, sun and sand, LGBT, and other tourism niches.
