Record Foreign Exchange Earnings from Tourism in Colombia

In 2023 Colombia experienced record foreign exchange income from tourism, with an increase of 22.4% over the previous year. According to a report presented by Banco de la Republica, at the end of last year Colombia experienced a never-before-reached income of more than US$9 billion from air passenger transportation and travel.

The Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, German Umaña, said that the increase in foreign exchange from exports derived from tourism services is due to the record arrival of non-resident visitors in 2023. “This created for our economy a greater dynamic of consumption and spending in the sectors associated with tourism, and had a very positive effect on the territories visited,” he said.

According to data from Migration Colombia, the arrival of non-resident visitors increased significantly in 2023, exceeding 5.8 million, which represented a growth of 26.6% compared to 2022.

Entry to the country from abroad

Although the government attributes the record to the increased arrival of non-resident foreign visitors, the role of Colombians living outside the country also helped the extraordinary figure of foreign currency arriving to Colombia in 2023.

Expatriate nationals entering Colombia last year numbered 1.5 million, a 22% increase over 2022. However non-resident foreigners accounted for 64.3% of total inflows from abroad, with 3.8 million arrivals, marking an increase of 26.2%.

Of all the sectors, the one that grew the most was cruises. In 2023, 345,285 cruise passengers arrived, an increase of 106% over the same period the previous year.

Carmen Caballero, president of the tourism and foreign investment promotion agency ProColombia, explained that “this flow of tourists contributes to the increase in foreign exchange, the result of ProColombia’s promotional work around the world. Our media plan focuses on 13 priority markets and we actively participate in more than 70 international fairs.”

Target: 10 million tourists by 2026

The Colombian government’s goal is to reach 10 million non-resident tourists by the end of its term. January of this year continued to experience an increase in foreign tourism. A total of 516,702 non-resident visitors entered the country, an increase of 1.8% over the same period last year.

Non-resident foreigners again led the tourist flow with 65.4% of arrivals, marking an increase of 13.9% compared to the previous year. In addition, 80,911 arrivals of Colombians residing abroad were recorded.

Colombia’s air connectivity with foreign countries will be vital. The increase in international connections is evident, with 28 airlines connecting 11 Colombian cities with 28 countries and 51 international cities.

Gol and Emirates are the latest airlines to join the operations between Colombia and other countries. Both will start routes this year and will add greater connectivity, together with the expansion of companies such as Avianca and Latam, which have already announced the expansion of their international routes from Colombia.