Colombia promotes nature tourism

Between September 9 and 14, a delegation of 45 international businessmen will get to know the tourist offer of the nature and adventure segment of the Six Tourist Regions of the country, through 6 familiarization trips promoted by ProColombia in alliance with tour operators that offer novel and differential experiences in the different destinations. Buyers come from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico, Poland, the Netherlands, among others.

These familiarization trips are part of the Colombia Nature Travel Mart, a nature tourism business conference, which will bring together nearly 90 national businessmen with the same number of international buyers, where it is expected to generate business for US$8 million. This macro round will take place in Manizales, the next 14 (virtual), 15 and 16 September, it is led by ProColombia in alliance with the Government of Caldas, the Mayor of Manizales and Visit Manizales.

“Colombia Nature Travel Mart will be a great platform for the internationalization of the wide range of nature tourism that our country has, one of the richest in biodiversity on the planet, and it comes at a time when receptive tourism is in clear growth. , after the slowdown caused by the pandemic. In general, we will present buyers with an offer of products that promote responsible tourism, with the transversal component of sustainability and respect for the environment and communities,” said Gilberto Salcedo, vice president of tourism at ProColombia.

Tour of the Six Tourist Regions

The offer of new tourist experiences that Colombia will present to buyers includes destinations from different tourist regions of the country, with segmented products based on the different tourist profiles. One of them consists of activities related to bird watching, aimed exclusively at women, in the Colombian Massif, specifically in destinations of Huila and Putumayo, operated by the company Nature Colombia. The companies Destination Wildlife, American Birding Association, Field Guides Incorporated, The Birding Co-Op, all from the United States, will participate in this trip; Costa Rica Focus and Avocet Tours, from Canada.

On the tour offered by the company The Colombian Project, businessmen will have the opportunity to become familiar with the coffee culture of the country, in Caldas, with experiences that range from bicycle tours through the coffee plantations to ascents to the moors and snow areas of the Park. Nacional Los Nevados, one of the most impressive places in the Colombian Western Andes. 10 entrepreneurs will take part in this tour, from countries such as France (Allibert Treking), Poland (Nomade), the United States (Inspire World Travel, Travelstore), Canada (Quivertree Family Expeditions, Wells Luxury Travel) and the United Kingdom (Stubborn Mule Travel, Last Frontiers, Journey Latin America).

Another group of 8 businessmen will tour the Colombian Pacific and part of the Western Andes, on a tour operated by the Heal And Travel company, which includes offering experiences inspired by magical realism, associated with physical and spiritual healing through direct contact with nature. The activities include a tour that includes whale watching in Chocó, lodging in ecolodges immersed in the Pacific jungle; mindful walks, coffee tastings and cocoa ceremonies, in Antioquia.

The Colombian tour operator JE Tours and Amak Colombia Travel & Living, through its Amak brand, will host 9 businessmen from Germany, Canada, France, Mexico and the United States, who will offer a tour that begins with bird and butterfly watching in Cali, passing through the San Cipriano forest reserve, the Uramba National Natural Park, Buenaventura and Bahía Málaga, where you can practice whale watching.

The Amazon – Orinoquía region will receive another 9 businessmen, who will arrive from Argentina, Canada, France, the United States, Germany, Holland, the United Kingdom and Costa Rica, to live an adventure through the jungle, on the way to La Macarena. The operator in charge of this familiarization trip is the company Go Explore, which offers as part of the experience visits to Caño Cristales, walks, hiking through the Guayabero River canyon and sighting of pink dolphins.

Another group of 7 businessmen from Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the Netherlands will visit the Orinoquía, heading to Casanare to immerse themselves in the extensive savannah of the department, in search of mammals, reptiles, birds and amphibians, in the midst of an environment that offers Also, a memorable botanical experience.

In the lobby of Colombia Natura Travel Mart, the Chain Wheel was also held, between August 25 and 26, with the participation of 48 exporters, 249 suppliers and 803 scheduled appointments. Among the novelties, an offer was submitted to hotel projects such as Ankua, an eco hotel with a differential value proposition, in the Greater Colombian Caribbean; Casa Rosé, in Carmen de Viboral and Hacienda Santa Rosanna, in Risaralda. Likewise, air taxi companies such as Fly Colombia and agencies that facilitate the diversification of the portfolios of Colombian wholesalers, such as Tolima Travel, Amazonía Travel and Colombian Bike Roads, with a unique product for tourists interested in motorcycle tours.

Likewise, prior to CNTM, a Press Trip was carried out in alliance with Swarovski Optik, an Austrian company specialized in high-end sighting devices, ProColombia accompanied 8 international journalists specialized in nature tourism, from media such as the Financial Times of London and ABA Birding Magazine from the United States and Linnut from Finland, among others, on a tour of the departments of Nariño and Putumayo.

For 8 days, the journalists experienced a journey through the different thermal floors, passing through the incredible paramos of the Colombian Massif to the Amazonian forests of Putumayo, developing flora and fauna sighting activities.