Juan David Latorre
The Colombian Ambassador, Eduardo Ávila Navarrete, together with the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arturo Bravo, and the President of Procolombia, Carmen Caballero, hosted a reception last Thursday attended by a large number of businessmen and members of the Colombian community in Spain.
Eduardo Ávila Navarrete praised “the networking and positioning of the Colombian regions, the MSMEs and SMEs present at FITUR, which seek to internationalise their businesses and identify ongoing opportunities to promote tourism in our country”.
“To be able to have an additional space for Colombia in Madrid,” continued the ambassador, “such as the Metro station Colombia – El país de la belleza, or the audiovisual presence of Colombia in Plaza Callao and Gran Vía is something that fills me with pride, it is allowing us to show the world the biodiversity, landscapes and culture that make Colombia a power of life.”
On the occasion of the presence of Artesanías Colombia at the Colombian stand at FITUR, the ambassador pointed out that “we have a representation of the thousands of artisans of our country with their art and craft from various regions of Colombia. The launch of ‘Colombia Artesanal’ allows us to discover our cultural heritage. There are 32 artistic and artisanal tourist routes, one for each department, which once again demonstrate the importance of our regions and tourism as an engine for the country’s economic development”.
Ambassador Eduardo Ávila Navarrete concluded by mentioning the approach that the Colombian government is taking to the promotion of tourism. “Community-based and sustainable tourism, the ambassador said, is one of the routes to peace. Your contribution with your industry, your travel and your investment in the enjoyment of Colombia’s rich landscape and biodiversity helps rural and vulnerable communities to find transitional paths towards a peace economy. In line with the recent message of President Gustavo Petro in Davos, it is necessary to continue working together to combat climate change and decarbonise the economy, with the necessary transformations to address the loss of biodiversity, in transition to a productive economy based on respect for nature with the promotion of the use of clean energy.
For his part, the Colombian Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arturo Bravo, said that “we would like on this special day to reaffirm that Colombia is the Country of Beauty, and we have to transmit this beauty so that we continue to captivate many more tourists and that they venture to know our country. We have a walled city overlooking the sea, completely intact indigenous cultures, pure air in our green lung of biodiversity, a river of five colours and a sea with seven colours, the aroma of coffee and an endless number of flavours and fruits that fill the pantries of the five continents, all seasoned with unique rhythms and about 350 festivals throughout the year.
“Thanks to the dynamism of the Colombian economy, we can confirm that we are the Country of Beauty because of the results we have had in tourism at national and international level. During the year 2023 the country received around 5.7 million non-resident visitors, which represents an approximate growth of 26% compared to the year 2022. The economic impact of tourism in my country has generated around 1.5 billion foreign exchange in tourism dollars and is yet another example of how tourism can be an option for the energy transition in our country.”
