Tourism in San Andrés ‘leaves intensive care’ and begins recovery

The local tourism sector has faced great challenges since the 19% tax on products in this category returned in 2023. In addition, coupled with the current macroeconomic situation, companies have had to swim against the tide to get their tourism products afloat. .

Some of the destinations most affected by this situation is San Andrés, which, after the departure of the two low-cost airlines from the island that served 60% of air demand, has had strong contractions in its indicators. However, the market is beginning to show signs of improvement in recent months.

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According to the latest report from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (Dane), its monthly accommodation survey showed that while other regions of the country are experiencing contractions in hotel occupancy, finally in July an increase of 6.6 points in occupancy was revealed. hotel ranking at 65.9%. However, in this segment the employed personnel has fallen 5.3% for this same month on an annual basis, the same as in Providencia (5.3%).

However, for the Hotel and Tourism Association of Colombia (Cotelco) in the mid-year holiday season (June and July) in general San Andrés had a decrease of 17.44 percentage points in its hotel occupancy and 21.22 points in Providencia .

“We have sales growth of 11% in this semester, compared to last year’s semester, but this is because 2023 was not good. Right in the middle of last semester the two airlines went bankrupt. Furthermore, this 11% growth is driven by international tourism. “When prices are high, people check whether it is better for them to travel within the country or abroad,” Paula Cortés, executive president of Anato, explains the trend.

Added to this is the trend of Airbnb, short-term rental apartments that are being a great attraction when it comes to saving on a trip. According to Fedelonjas, this type of accommodation has already managed to consolidate 14.7% of the tourist GDPand this trend in San Andrés and Providencia is no exception.

This culture of saving is very present when planning a trip. Other trends along these lines are evident in the Dane Domestic Expenditure on Tourism (EGIT) survey, in which, for the second quarter of the year, 6.4% of the population undertook tourism. The reason that presented the most negative variations was business, which decreased 48.4%, going from 106,000 to 55,000 from one year to the next. This was followed by visiting relatives or friends, which fell 36.7%, going from 868,000 to 550,000 annually. For recreation, the decrease was 12.3%, since while in 2023 876,000 people traveled for this reason, this year only 768,000 did so.

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And while people spent more on their trips, they did so in order to pay more for experiences and nights at the destination. According to the survey, people who traveled in this period of time stayed 4.1 nights per trip, while in 2023 they stayed 3.9 nights. Those who notably increased the number of overnight stays were those who did so to visit their friends or relatives, as they went from 4.1 nights to 5.4. The other reasons for travel did present decreases, such as recreation went from 3.8 to 3.3 and business went from 4.4 to 3.5.

Those who traveled did so mostly by private land transportation, however, they did so in better numbers than in 2023, going from 965,000 travelers to 749,000. Those who used public transportation were 402,000 (a year ago they were 531,000) and air transportation was used by 252,000 while a year ago 335,000 did.

Air mobilization

In air mobilization, according to data from the Civil Aeronautics, 46,918 passengers were transported to the island from Bogotá in August, one of the best months of the year, and 25.2% higher compared to the same month of the previous year, in which 37,476 were reported. From the Rio Negro airport in Antioquia, 18,249 travelers traveled to San Andrés, 32.5% more than the previous year with 13,772. From Cali, in the eighth month of the year, 14,729 travelers traveled, while in 2023 there were 11,834, that is, an increase of 24.4%.

In general, 33,693 travelers traveled to the island during August, while a year ago 31,779 did so, that is, an increase of 6%.

This phenomenon could be explained by the arrival of JetSmart to Colombia six months ago, the only low-cost airline in the country, which would be leveraging arrivals to the island and which already has an 8% share of the market.

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Nature tourism

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recess week

According to data from the Colombian Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (Anato), for this season they achieved sales 10% higher than in previous years in the segment of travel packages abroad, while, in domestic tourism, sales fell 5%. %, according to a survey carried out among its associated travel agencies.

In international tourism, the best-selling destinations are Spain, the United States, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Panama; and in the case of experts in travel in Colombia, the most requested places are Cartagena, Santa Marta, Eje Cafetero, Medellín, San Andrés, Bogotá and La Guajira.

PAULA GALEANO BALAGUERA
Portfolio Journalist