Cartagena tourism operators say tourism to the Caribbean coastal city has dropped because of road closures caused by the rainy season.
In an interview with RCN Radio, Claudia Patricia Martinez, a local tourism representative, said in the holiday season there has been a notable decrease in the numbers of tourists, especially domestic tourists who arrive in the city by land.
“This has not been what we were expecting as in previous years and we think that this is a result of what the country is experiencing with the rains,” the tourism representative said.
“We hope that now in January is what we call high season, it improves because Cartagena is a tourist city and 50% of the population of Cartagena depends on tourism,” Martinez added.
According to economy magazine Portafolio, the past week’s drought has caused an increase in visitors over the past few days.
This rainy season and subsequent floods and landslides have caused total closures of 26 national, secondary and tertiary roads, and led to the partial closure of 278 tertiary roads.