Tourism in Colombia

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (Spanish: "Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo") is the Colombian ministry in charge of tourism affairs. During the most famous festivals such as the Cali's Fair, the Barranquilla's Carnival, the Bogota Summer Festival, the Iberoamerican Theater Festival and the Flower Festival is when the most foreign tourists go to Colombia. Many people visit Colombia during Christmas time and the celebrations surrounding the Independence of Colombia.

The Ministry of Tourism considers high seasons the holy week, summer (June, July and August) and Christmas season. During the holy week many travel to the Caribbean Region of Colombia or visit religious landmarks like Las Lajas Cathedral, Salt Cathedral, the towns of Mompox, Guamal or Popayán where Roman Catholic traditions and rituals are performed, among others. [ [http://gosouthamerica.about.com/od/culfiestas/a/SemSantaColVen.htm gosouthamerica.com Holy week in Colombia and Venezuela] ] [ [http://www.colombia.com/especiales/2002/semana_santa/ Colombia.com Holy week in Colombia] ]

Attractions

World Heritage Sites

There are a number of UN World Heritage Sites located in Colombia:

* Cartagena
* Ciudad Perdida
* Los Katíos National Park
* Malpelo Island
* Santa Cruz de Mompox
* San Agustín, Huila
* Tierradentro

Attractions in Bogotá

* Bogotá Botanical Garden
* Bolívar Square
* Capitolio Nacional
* Gold Museum
* La Candelaria
* Luís Ángel Arango Library
* Maloka Museum

Other attractions

* Colombian National Coffee Park
* Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá
* San Andres island

Ecotourism

Colombia has coastline, mountainous areas, and tropical jungle. There are volcanoes and waterfalls.
* Amacayacu Park
* Cocora valley
* Los Nevados
* Doña Juana-Cascabel Volcanic Complex
* Gorgona and Malpelo islands
* Los Katíos National Park
* Munchique National Park
* Serranía de la Macarena
* Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park
* PANACA Park
* PANACA SABANA Park
* Tayrona Park (Santa Marta)
* Desierto de Tatacoa
* Chicamocha Canyon National Park
* Mariposario enthomologic display specialized in Lepidoptera
* Peñasblancas rock climbing site.

Gambling

Casinos are located in Bogotá, Cali, Cartagena, Cucuta, Medellin, Palmira, and San Andres.

afety

Even though Colombia has been plagued with Travel advisories because of FARC and other guerrillas groups, it has continued to attract more tourists in recent years. The apparent cause appears to be the current hardline approach of President Álvaro Uribe called democratic security to push rebels groups farther away from the major cities, highways and tourist sites that may attract international visitors. Since President Uribe took office in 2002, he has notably increased Colombia's stability and security by significantly boosting its military strength and police presence throughout the country. This apparently has achieved fruitful results for the country's economy, particularly international tourism. In 2006, tourism officials are expecting approximately 1.5 million international visitors to visit Colombia, an astonishing increase of about 50% from the previous year. Even Lonely Planet, a world travel publisher, has picked Colombia as one of their top 10 world destinations for 2006. [cite news |publisher=Christian Science Monitor |title=Hot Destination: Colombia |date=May 9, 2006 |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0509/p06s01-woam.html] The World Tourism Organization reported in 2004 that Colombia achieved the third highest percentage increase of tourist arrivals in South America between 2000 and 2004 (9.2%). Only Peru and Suriname had higher increases during the same period. [ [http://www.unwto.org/facts/eng/pdf/indicators/ITA_Americas.pdf International Tourist Arrivals by Country of Destination] , Tourism Market Trends, 2005 Edition, World Tourism Organization.] Due to the improved security, cruise ships will begin returning to Cartagena in October 2007. To further point out the improved security in the country, in June 2007, the Travel Channel's show, "5 Takes Latin America", aired an episode on Colombia. Points of interest on the show were Bogota, Cocora Valley in Salento, and the Salt Cathedral. [ [http://search.travel.discovery.com/travel/5%20Takes%20Latin%20America%20Colombia Travel Channel, 5 Takes Latin America] June 2007]

Transportation

There are regular international flights into major cities including Barranquilla, Cartagena, Cali, Medellin and Bogotá as well as to other smaller cities in the borders with Venezuela and Ecuador.

There are daily direct flights to and from the U.S, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Spain, France, and South America.

Domestic air transportation is inexpensive and readily available.

Buses travel between cities but may not be safe when traveling at night.

Weather

The climate is tropical along coast and eastern plains; cold in the highlands; periodic droughts. Colombia is an equatorial country, so there are no seasons in the common sense of the word. Temperatures do not vary much throughout the year. What Colombians normally refer to as the winter is the rainy season.

References

External links

*
* [http://www.medellintraveler.com Medellin Traveler's Guide]

* [GoNOMAD story about traveling to Colombia's Pacific coast] [http://www.gonomad.com/features/0810/colombia-pacific-coast.html]