Colombians should expect the arrival of significant amounts of Chinese tourists in the near future, as the Asian country gave Colombia an official status as ‘tourist destination’.
Chinese vice-president Xi Jinping visited Colombia this week and held a closing press conference in a Bogotá hotel on Monday. Journalists from both countries attended the event.
“China has officially declared Colombia to be a tourist destination for its citizens,” said Xi, who added that other than favoring touristic cooperation, this could also improve the economic and commercial ties between the two nations.
China is currently the largest country in the world by population, with about 1.3 billion inhabitants. This number equals almost 20 percent of the globe’s population.
The country has been experiencing a major economic boom in recent years, and more and more Chinese choose to spend their holidays abroad. Around 47 million Chinese citizens are expected to travel abroad in 2009, a number that could well grow to 65 million in 2012.
The Chinese list of tourist destination currently includes 134 countries, including Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Mexico.