Diana Marcela Caicedo, executive director of Invest in Armenia, assures that they will seek to attract more Mexican tourists with a promotional campaign to get them to know tourist places in Quindío, Colombia, where the films Amor con Aroma de Mujer and Encanto were filmed.
“A 54 percent increase in Mexican tourism arriving in Quindío is certainly an alert to think about this market and hence it is our first exit in terms of promoting the region,” said the representative of the organization in charge of promoting the economic benefits of the Colombian region during a meeting with Mexican businessmen.
He added that the United States is the main source of tourists to Colombia, especially to Quindío, but “Mexico is the one that grows the most with 54% between January and July 2024.”
He said that more than 300 thousand Mexicans arrive in Colombia annually.
The representative stated that they have not proactively promoted tourism in Quindío so far, but rather what the Colombian government has done more in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Spain, France and Ecuador markets.
“We hope that the impact (of the tourism campaign) will be quite noticeable when the promotion is carried out, which is why there is a rapprochement with Copa Airlines and other airlines,” explained Diana Marcela Caicedo.
For Armenia, in terms of international promotion, mentioning Encanto and Café con Aroma de Mujer, which had their inspiration in Armenia, have already left a positioning and a reference in the minds of tourists, he expressed.
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“Tourism is the jewel in Colombia, since we were the inspiration for the Disney movie Encanto. The landscape that you see as the Cocora Valley is where the national tree of Colombia grows, which is the wax palm, which was a source of inspiration along with the colorful houses, with balconies and flowers,” he explained.
The director of Invest in Armenia commented that they are the experiences that have been developed around Quindío con Encanto and on the other hand the experiences around coffee.
Armenia has the largest number of municipalities certified to practice rural tourism and there are theme parks, he said.
Approximately 33% of the birds in Colombia are in the department of Quindío, and there are 261 specialized coffee shops and 260 regional coffee brands, he said.
“That is the reason why we are betting on Mexico, as one of the priority countries. In terms of volume of tourists, we not only have those from the United States and Mexico,” he added.
“After several analyzes we did, we made this commitment to Mexico as one of the priority destinations,” he recalled.
“Next year they will know more about us, I understand that it is necessary to promote it among the population of Mexico,” said Diana Marcela Caicedo.
“For us, the population of Mexico is gigantic, since we have a series of unique experiences such as getting to know the landscapes considered by UNESCO as a coffee cultural landscape,” he indicated.
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