Thursday, May 7, 2009

Tourism in Colombia Booming


Even in the current harsh economical climate around the world, the tourism industry in Colombia is booming! 

According to the Colombian minister of trade, Mr. Luis Guillermo Plata (what a name for a trade minister: plata is slang for money in Spanish!) reports that 436,833 foreigners entered the country in the first three months of 2009, which is up 14.5% from the same period in 2008.

That makes tourism the third biggest industry of Colombia after dr.... noooo!... after coal and oil!

It's interesting to note that 25% of the tourists entered Colombia on board of one of the many cruise ships. 

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Colombia to be First Latin American Country to Come Out of Financial Crisis

The IMF (International Monetary Fund) is expecting Colombia to be one of the first Latin American Countries to come out of the current financial crisis.

As I wrote in a recent blog entry, the R word has found Colombia. The recession cannot be ignored anymore. The impact might not be as severe as in United States, but the economy has been slowing down in Colombia as well.

However, according to the IMF, Colombia has the best odds to recover quickly. The IMF recently praised the strength of the Colombian economy.

Here is what  IMF director Nicolas Eyzaguire had to say: "We generally see Colombia in a priviliged position in Latin America and the Caribbean and among the countries that have retained more solid macro-economic institutions that saved in times of the economic boom and had slowing monetary policies when the economy grew a little too much and priviliged the health of its financial system".

So let's hope the empty store fronts now found all around Parque Lleras in Medellin, the most obvious sign of the recession having hit will fill up with new life quickly.