Tourists in Cartagena. Cartagena is the third most popular tourist destination in Colombia, behind Santa Marta and San Andres.
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 Ibero-American 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 of Zipaquirá, the towns of Santa Cruz de Mompox, Guamal or Popayán where Roman Catholic traditions and rituals are performed, among others.[1][2]
Attractions
World Heritage Sites
There are a number of UN World Heritage Sites located in Colombia:
Attractions in Bogotá
Muisca raft in the Gold Museum, Bogotá
Other attractions
Ecotourism
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Colombia has coastline, mountainous areas, and tropical jungle. There are volcanoes and waterfalls.
Safety
- See also: Security issues in Colombia
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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]
Transportation
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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.
Notes and references
External links
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