42,876 more tourists visited Colombia in the first four months of this year than in the same period last year. The amounts to a 11 percent increase in tourists visiting the country.
The Ministry for Commerce, Industry and Tourism announced that 425,082 tourists arrived in Colombia between January and May compared to 382,206 the previous year, portafolio.com.co reported.
The Ministry emphasized that the figures did not include entries into Colombia from neighboring countries.
April was the busiest month, with 106,450 visitors compared to 85,719 in April 2008.
The 50th summit of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) held in Medellin in late March, alone brought 5,000 visitors to the Antioquian capital.
Bogota came in at first place as the most visited city in Colombia over the period.
Cruise ship arrivals to Cartagena increased by 33.8 percent with 158,000 arrivals to the Caribbean city from January to May, compared to 118,000 over the same period in 2008.
Internationally Colombia rose 12 places in a global ranking of the most popular countries in which to hold international meetings.