Tourism in Colombia Increased in the First Quarter of 2024

The arrival of foreign tourists to Colombia grew during the first quarter of 2024. Between January and March, 1.6 million non-resident tourists entered the country, marking a 7.6 percent increase from the same period last year.

According to the Office of Economic Studies at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, out of these travelers, 1,062,371 are foreigners (excluding Venezuelan citizens), 318,740 are Colombian residents abroad, 52,100 are Venezuelans on vacation, and 175,059 are passengers from international cruises.

Migration Colombia reports that the main countries of origin for non-resident foreigners visiting the country in March are the United States (26.6 percent), Ecuador (7.3 percent), and Mexico (7.2 percent).

There was also notable growth in the number of visitors from countries such as Costa Rica, with an increase of 57.6 percent, Mexico with 23.7 percent, and Ecuador with 23.1 percent, compared to the same month last year.

These figures exceed the initial targets set by the government in Colombia

The Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, German Umaña Mendoza, highlighted that “in March 2024 alone, the country welcomed 510,000 visitors. This figure is the highest for March since 2015. This is due, among other reasons, to the influx of travelers during the Easter season and the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns under the narrative of Colombia, the Country of Beauty.”

Between January and March this year, the main destinations for non-resident foreigners were Bogota, with 36.7 percent of all visitors; Antioquia (whose capital is Medellin) with 23.8 percent, and Bolivar (whose capital is Cartagena) with 21 percent. Additionally, the largest annual increases in visitors during this period were recorded in the departments of Antioquia with 25.9 percent; Bolivar with 23.9 percent, and Quindio (part of the Coffee Axis) with 19.8 percent.

Minister Umaña Mendoza added, “We want Colombians to continue experiencing the Country of Beauty with tourism as both a right and a business. That’s why we have implemented and plan to implement more incentives for the tourism sector, such as the Empretur program, which is providing resources of more than 19 billion COP ($US 4.9 million), and will increase this support in 2024.”

Air connectivity to Colombia

This remarkable performance adds to the air connectivity figures reported by the Civil Aviation Authority for the first quarter of this year, indicating that approximately 13.1 million people traveled to Colombia by air from January to March 2024, a 15.7 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023.

Out of this figure, 7.6 million individuals traveled on regular domestic flights and 5.5 million travelers used regular international flights (arrivals and departures). In March 2024 alone, 4.4 million passengers traveled on regular flights, an increase of 19.4 percent compared to March 2023. The arrival of international flights in particular grew by 22.1 percent compared to last year.

Promoting domestic Tourism

Another objective of the government is to promote domestic tourism, which has a high revenue generation potential. In this context, domestic tourism was boosted in 2023, with over 10 percent of Colombians traveling within Colombia.

According to the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE)’s Internal Tourism Expenditure Survey, 14.6 percent of citizens engaged in domestic tourism and/or excursions in 2023, a figure that is 4.1 percentage points higher than in 2022.

The government’s goal for 2024 is to maintain this growth, while also promoting foreign tourism, a major source of foreign currency earnings for Colombia.