Tourism in Colombia: Sun and Beach, the most popular mid-year destinations | Business

The holiday season approaches the middle of the year, which is l tourism One of the most important moments in sales dynamics.

(Read: Travel restrictions still apply in 88% of the world)

As is well known among the new normal, traveler bookings start today a few weeks before the event, which is why agencies are already recording their movements.

(Read: New York plans to immunize tourists visiting the city)

“Cartagena tops travel preferences during the June holidays, which confirms that the beach is one of the favorite destinations for Colombians to share with the family,” said Dirk Zandi, Despegar’s Andean Director.

(Read: G20 agrees to support vaccination)

Consolidated reserves of San Andres and Santa Marta, respectively, appear in the second and third places for this company, although Bogota and Medellin also stand out in the “Top 5”.

For Josiane Chevalier, vice president of sales and co-founder of Viajala, “The social tensions currently in Colombia are affecting the desire to leave the country, but the numbers are positive, given this context.”

“We believe that by the end of May, if the epidemic numbers decrease, then travel searches will increase,” he said.

There is Cartagena, although it is down by 13% in searches, compared to what was recorded in March and April, it is still the preferred national destination with a share of 19%, but it is more closely reached by Santa Marta (14%), San Andres. (10%) and Medellin (4%).

On the other hand, it is important to bear in mind that in the midst of these trends, companies offering tours in the country are focusing on providing the best conditions for passengers.

This is why Maria Fernanda Rosero, Product Manager at Viajes Falabella, assures that in the case of this company, travelers will be able to find plans with exchange flexibility without penalty, on certain hotel and ticket dates.

According to the analysis of this company, recently San Andrés has become the focus of the appearance and reservations of Colombian buyers.

Although the trend shown by domestic tourism, as is already evident in the previous cases, is towards sunny and beachy places, which have somewhat less favorable conditions for the spread of the virus.

Vaccination tourism

In the international arena, when compared to previous seasons such as Easter or the beginning of the year, there is now a greater dynamic that is also driven by economic issues, as announced by the companies.

“In May, we saw a slight rebound,” says a Viagala spokesperson, compared to the fall in April. “Right now, destinations in the United States are on the rise and in full growth because of the possibility of vaccination in cities like Miami and New York.”

The growth of searches by Colombian users in this search engine, compared to last week, is around 20%. And compared to the first 10 days in April and the first ten days in May, 27%.

“Bookings against the previous months of April and May increased 32%, supported by recent growth in bookings to the United States in tickets, car rentals and other tourism products,” says Rosero of Viagues Vallabella, which may be linked to vaccination. .

In addition, on this point, he adds that for the next few days this country is expected to remain one of the most conservative among Colombians.

Outside, however, the direction of the sun and sand is also evident and the destinations traditionally preferred by tourists in the country such as the beaches of Mexico are still there.

With a consolidated bookings record recently, on platforms like Despegar, Cancun is appearing in third place in preferences after American destinations, but the capital (Mexico City) is not excluded and appears fourth.

The first mentioned destination in Mexico also appears in Viajes Falabella and in Viajala searches, and in the latter where the main destination is at 6%.

Finally, it is noteworthy that Madrid in Spain continues to enter the international classification, although, as Chevalier mentions, some centers have declined, compared to other seasons, due to restrictions imposed on entering Europe.