Hotel reservations in Colombia were down 5.7% in August 2009 in comparison with the same period in 2008, according to a recent study by Colombian statistics agency DANE.
The study found that the average taxes payable for a standard hotel room rose by 5.8% in August 2009 in comparison with the same period in 2008.
DANE found that 55.6% of foreigners in Colombian hotels are in the country for business, 30.9% for leisure, 9.9% for conventions and 1% for health reasons.
Over the last 12 months hotel reservations in Colombia dropped by 2.5% while employment in the sector fell by 0.5%.
Large hotel chains are continuing to invest in Colombia however, especially in the cities of Bogota, Cartagena, Medellin y Cali.