Yesterday news broke about the abolition of British visas for Colombia, applications that have been processing for several years. Above was added the requirement of the president, Gustavo Petro, for this same strategy to be taken into account for United States visas, which represents a lot of hope for the Colombian tourism union.

In the case of Great Britain, Anato, the union of travel and tourism agencies, calculated from figures offered by Migración Colombia that in 2019 around 39,000 Colombians went to the destination, 16,500 of whom did so for tourism, events and business reasons, which is 42% .

With respect to 2022, 25,699 Colombians traveled to the UK between January and September, of which 8,726 did so for tourism, events and business reasons, i.e. 34%.

The above, says Anato, means a 71% reactivation compared to 12,279 in the same period in 2019. Colombians traveling to the UK for tourism, events and business purposes do so in greater proportions in June, July and December. , close to 40% of the total departures during the year.

“Colombia’s relations with other countries have been strengthened by the day-to-day work carried out by travel agents and the extension of the validity of visas. This will also allow for the expansion of Colombia’s connectivity by destination, because currently, according to ProColombia, in October this year, Bogotá and London are in direct contact, via 7 direct weekly frequencies,” said Paula Cortés Calle, executive president of Anato.

And for the United States?

Another request that the Government will make is visa waivers for Colombians wishing to travel to the United States, a destination that has traditionally ranked first on nationally most visited tourist lists.

In fact, according to Anato’s calculations, between 2016 and 2019 the average annual growth of national tourists to the country for tourism, events and business reasons was 3%, representing 27% of total Colombian departures abroad, driven by amusement parks, culture , sun and beach, gastronomic and cultural tourism.

“We support this national government initiative, and if it is possible to stipulate the abolition of visas for entry into the United States, it will be progress for tourism, commercial agreements will be promoted and air connectivity with new destinations in the country. countries will be encouraged, which in turn, will also have an impact on the progress of receptive tourism,” said Cortés Calle.

And he adds: “A clear and positive example was demonstrated when in 2015 this requirement was removed for Colombians wishing to visit the Schengen area, resulting in an increase in national tourist departures, for tourism, events and business reasons, to countries different from that community by 62 % in 2016, when compared to the previous year. And after the visa extension, between 2016 and 2019 there was an average annual increase of 19%.”

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