'Safer' Colombia Launches Tourism Drive

Highly publicised kidnaps, drug-related violence and general lawlessness have kept all but the most intrepid travellers away from Colombia, despite its long list of potential tourist sites including Amazon jungle, historic monuments, high Andean plateaus and white sand beaches.

But now the government of President Alvaro Uribe is intent on changing all that. The president's hardline stance against leftist rebels and the demobilisation of more than 30,000 rightwing paramilitary fighters have seen kidnappings drop 73% and murders fall 37% since Mr Uribe first took office in 2002.

Most Colombians feel their country is safer and boast that they can again travel the roads without the threat of falling into a rebel trap. The aim now is to convince foreign tourists.

"The reality of the Colombian situation is changing," said Luis Guillermo Plata, head of Proexport, the country's trade, investment and tourism promotion agency. "But the perception is lagging behind."

Colombia has launched a campaign with the slogan "Colombia is Passion". The goal is to change the country's image abroad by inviting the media, celebrities, politicians, and film stars to experience its positive aspects first hand.

With a budget of $4m (£2m) to promote tourism this year, Mr Plata is trying to convince tour operators around the world to offer Colombia as a possibility to their clients. In April the government invited 130 tour operators and event organisers from the US, Europe, and Latin America for a tourism industry fair in Bogotá.

Kiki Storstain, of the Edinburgh-based Andean Trails agency, said she took reassurances about Colombia's safety with a pinch of salt. But, she said, if the country was becoming safer and opening up to tourism "it would be good to be among the first to offer it".

The staff at Lonely Planet travel guides chose Colombia as one of the 10 top travel destinations for 2006. Colombia is "a lot safer than it's been in a long time," said Brice Gosnell, Lonely Planet's regional publishing manager for the Americas.

Nevertheless, Lonely Planet warns travellers to steer clear of the provinces of Chocó and Putumayo and "anywhere east of the Andes", areas that still see rebel activity.

The Foreign Office and US state department also warn travellers from wandering into rural parts of Colombia.

The arrival of foreign visitors to Colombia jumped 65% from 2002 to 925,000 last year, according to Proexport.

Heather London, a 29-year-old British tourist, initially had no idea that two Britons were kidnapped by leftist rebels three years ago on the same trek she was following to Ciudad Perdida, which holds the ruins of a pre-Columbian settlement.

She said: "You have to be hugely unfortunate to be kidnapped."

Country file


Size 440,839 square miles

Capital Bogotá

Population 43,593,035

GDP $337.5bn

Life expectancy at birth 71.99 years

Population below poverty line 49.2%

Famous citizens Gabriel García Márquez, writer; Pablo Escobar, drug baron; Manuel Marulanda Vélez, founder of rebel group Farc.

Source: CIA factbook, BBC