Bogota’s tourism industry has been on the rise, with nearly half a million extra tourists paying a visit to Colombia’s capital in the first half of the year, according to the District Institute of Tourism (IDT).
Approximately 4,563,000 tourists made their way to Colombia’s largest city in the first six months of 2012, up from 4,147,935 visitors in the same period last year.
If IDT’s projections hold true, the capital will register a total of nearly one million tourists for the year.
Gonzalo Silva, the communications advisor of IDT, told Colombia Reports Monday that the growth of recognized hotel chains and the well publicized improvement to Bogota’s security situation were among the chief reasons for the increase in tourism.
However, the statistics also indicated that 90% of these tourists came from other cities within Colombia. Only 477 foreigner’s journeyed to Bogota between January and June this year. Historically, foreign tourists to Bogota have mostly come from the U.S., Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico and Spain.