Surge in Chinese visitors in Bogotá, says Colombian tourism official in Hong Kong
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Speaking to the Post on the sidelines of the Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit in the city earlier this week, Bogotá's Director of Tourism Andrés Santamaría Garrido said the capital had seen substantial growth in Chinese visitor numbers, and he was actively promoting it to Hong Kong travellers as an emerging South American destination.
'I think we got more than 20,000 [Chinese visitors] last year, but three to five years ago, no more than 1,000 [annually],' he said.
Garrido attributed the increase partly to the deepening commercial ties between Colombia and China.
'Because we now have a lot of projects with Chinese companies so I think [this] helps,' he explained, citing the involvement of Chinese firms in major infrastructure projects such as the Bogotá metro.
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For travellers from Hong Kong, visa-free entry to Colombia already exists, a factor Garrido considered advantageous.
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