South Korea and Japan, among the countries seeking to expand tourism to Colombia

Bogotá, May 3 (EFE) .- South Korea, Japan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are some of the countries that want to increase tourism to Colombia and have raised this at the Colombia Travel Mart (CTM), which is held virtually due to the covid-19 pandemic until May 4.

In the most important business meeting of the year for the recovery of the Colombian tourism industry, 315 international businessmen participate, meeting with 162 companies in the country, ProColombia detailed in a statement.

"We are committed to the recovery of tourism and we see in this business meeting the opportunity to strengthen our offer in countries where Colombia is beginning to have a presence, but also in distant markets," said Flavia Santoro, president of ProColombia.

In this sense, the country is "in the crosshairs" of 35 countries for tourism, especially sustainable experiences that range from vacation tourism plans to the meetings industry.

"We identified the interest of companies from these destinations that have seen how our country has prepared for the situation and is offering high-quality, sustainable and reliable experiences," added Santoro.

INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION

Entrepreneurs from the United States, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru and Argentina participate in the meeting, representing about 40% of the attendees and who are priority destinations for the promotion of Colombia.

They are joined by markets such as India, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates or China that are part of the country's commitment to diversify its offer.

One such company is Royal Ambassador Consultancy, an Emirati company offering consulting, marketing and business growth services and exploring expanding its offering to find partners and suppliers.

Indian Grand Travel Planners, a travel company created in 1983 and whose business focuses on organizing luxury trips in the vacation segment in niches such as culture, nature, community tourism, sun and beach, nautical and well-being, also participates.

The Japanese Tobu Top Tours also appears, created in 1956 and seeking the opportunity to consolidate business with Colombia, since the South American country is not yet in its portfolio of services.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Bear Travel Service, a tour operator and travel agency created in 2012, is interested in organizing travel groups to various destinations in Colombia in the vacation and meeting tourism segments.

Finally, the South Korean Millennium Destinations participates, which will try to focus its portfolio on destinations such as Colombia, since it has identified that the country has advanced sustainable tourism development initiatives.