While holiday tourism has gradually recovered, slightly exceeding pre-pandemic figures, the MICE sector (business tourism) has been a slower step and barely registers a recovery close to 70%. However, on the path of growth, Colombia has made a strong commitment to this segment, which in the second half of the year has positioned itself strongly in the congress season.
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According to figures from the Procolombia meetings tourism office, in the first six months of the year, 1.95 million non-resident visitors have entered the country, and It is expected that by the end of the year, it will increase to 3.1 million, a number that includes travelers who arrive in Colombia for MICE tourism. contributing to the regional economy, not only for the event as such, but also for the consumption of goods and services from 13 additional sectors such as lodging, transportation, audiovisual aids, registration and registration, ephemeral architecture, food and beverages, among others.
“Colombia has 27 convention centers, 18 event centers, 117 non-traditional locations, and in turn we have approximately 510 hotels between national and international chains, of which 483 hotels have lounges. In other words, we have more than 44,000 rooms, which allow us to receive tourists from both the vacation segment and meetings,” said Laura González, president of the Red Convention & Visitors Bureaux of Colombia.
With this offer, the firm expects full recovery by 2024 worldwide. For this, according to the president for Colombia, he prepares to receive these travelers.
(Qatar expects to receive $17 billion in tourism revenue.)
Colombian Caribbean
The network, on the part of its associates, sees the region as very well positioned in terms of capturing events, meetings, congresses and conferences.
In the case of Cartagena, it perceives that its experience in the sector, air connectivity, location, hotel infrastructure and the different spaces for holding events are some of the characteristics that make La Heroica one of the most sought-after destinations for holding events in the country. .
“For Barranquilla, the main competitive advantages, without a doubt, are the public-private articulation, the gear between the public and private sectors, added to the diversity in hotel infrastructure, first-class event centers, sports and non-traditional venues, which which has led to the city receiving more than 764,000 national and international visitors during the first half of the year,” the report states.
Facing the challenges, it highlights the need to not only measure the economic impact of the events, but also to begin to focus on the sustainable impact of the industry and also identify the social impact generated by MICE tourism.
western andes
In the case of Medellin, the network welcomes not only the hotel infrastructure, but also the city’s air connectivity, which has allowed the growth of events focused on industries 4.0, technology, innovation and sustainability. However, despite this good responsiveness, the network sees its biggest challenge as attracting new investment to increase the capabilities of the different service providers focused on meetings.
Eastern Andes
Regarding Bogotá, the main advantage is air connectivity, since it has more than 80 direct routes, including 43 international destinations and 27 countries, through the El Dorado airport. Similarly, the capital of the country has a modern infrastructure, the only trade fair district in the region that integrates a convention center, an exhibition center and a hotel with more than 165,000 m2 available and around 45,000 beds available.
The report, however, highlights the need for greater articulation between the actors in the chain associated with meetings and events as the capital’s greatest challenge.
Paula Galeano Balaguera
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