The balance presented by the president of the Cauca Chamber of Commerce shows that tourism decreased significantly.
Contrary to the positive report presented at a press conference by the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Germán Umaña Mendoza, in the 2023 Easter season, “the dynamics of tourism in the country” did not increase, much less in Cauca.
The head of that portfolio affirmed that religious and nature destinations, such as “Cauca, had very satisfactory results.”
He even asserted that Popayán reached 83% hotel occupancy on Holy Thursday. It could have been, but on Holy Thursday, because the consolidated figures released by the executive president of the Cauca Chamber of Commerce, Ana Fernanda Muñoz Otoya, show that hotel occupancy in Popayán, during Holy Week 2023, was 51%, far from what was expected and from the figures of Minister Umaña, since the number of visitors fell by almost 30%, so the Government of Change cannot claim victory.
The minister also said that the figures indicated that more Colombians traveled the country’s highways. In this regard, the decrease in passengers by land to Popayán was 23%. In this regard, the threat from a group of indigenous people who took the Pan-American Highway had a lot to do with it. Although it took more than an hour, this attitude sowed anxiety and many visitors and pilgrims from Valle del Cauca, Risaralda and other departments refrained from traveling. Obviously, the most negative factor has to do with the landslide in the municipality of Rosas, Cauca, which occurred last January and to which no solution is in sight, as the president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Cauca.
The board of directors of this entity presented the report based on reports from the transportation, lodging, and gastronomy sectors, which clearly show an impact on the economy of Popayán during Easter 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. The sector of restaurants, which is so dynamic at Easter, registered losses between 23% and 24%.
Despite the decrease in tourists during Holy Week in Popayán, a time of great dynamics in the city, it was possible, according to the economist Muñoz Otoya, to articulate a tourist offer, starting from the processions of Popayán, to the municipalities of Silvia, Inzá and Timbío, which made it possible to attract people with other interests and with a higher income level.
The increase in international tourists, particularly French, called attention, which, for the executive Muñoz Otoya, could be used to get more visitors from France and, in general, from Europe, to come to Cauca, through an ecotourism offer.
The polls
This way of collecting information directly is necessary to measure many variables. The Cauca Chamber of Commerce, through its Tourist Information Point, applied 1,935 surveys (1,214 on behavior and 721 on perception), which have revealed positive and negative aspects indicated by visitors. They highlighted aspects such as the architectural beauty of Popayán and its traditions. But, equally, they indicated the negative, such as the lack of public toilets, the proliferation of street vendors that prevent free locomotion, the poor condition of the city roads, the lack of cleaning of the streets, attributed in large part to the lack of civic culture, and the feeling of insecurity.
With what is perceived by the visitors, there is a need to work not only to improve the offer during Holy Week, but also in the other events that take place in Popayán and in other regions of the department, in order to attract tourism and boost the economy. Therefore, coordinated work is required between the public and private sectors, as pointed out by the economist Muñoz Otoya, in dialogue with this media outlet.
Is Holy Week the best time in Popayán in economic terms?
A.F.M.O. It is the biggest dynamic that the city has, but it does not leave much money, on average more than 30% of people spend between $300,000 and $600,000, which is little, and that is part of what must be improved, such as the strategy of the offer so that more is spent. If more people are able to come by plane, those who pay $1,200,000 for a ticket will surely have more money to spend at Easter.
Did the tourist influx drop a lot?
A.F.M.O. According to the figures from the Transport Terminal, we went from 110,000 visitors in the week of 2022 to 77,400 in 2023, that is, the influx of tourists fell by 30% during Holy Week. According to surveys of the Tourist Information point of the Chamber of Commerce, approximately 20% arrive by plane and the rest by road. But, if the people who come by plane and those who arrive by the Transport Terminal are added (those who travel by private car are not counted, because there is no way to do it due to lack of tolls), it represents 2.53% of those who They travel by plane, which were more than 1,900 passengers. If we take the figures for the increase in air frequencies, Popayán grew by 69%, because there were many more flights to Guillermo León Valencia; from Medellín there were three flights, the one from Pasto, Easyfly put one more frequency from Bogotá, but that 69% more flights was not reflected in the fact that Popayán was filled with tourists.
Where did the foreign tourists come from?
A.F.M.O. According to the Tourist Information point, more French arrived. I think they initially arrived at Silvia; in France they were advertising the Glamping of the indigenous Misak Bibiana Tombé. This is interesting and I think that you should work with the French Embassy, with the Alliance Française and other institutions, this is the type of opportunity that you have to find and work on.
From which departments did the tourists come?A.F.M.O. The first is Valle del Cauca; second, Cundinamarca; Nariño third, but until 2022, due to the collapse in Rosas, it moved to fifth place; then Huila and Risaralda, are the five departments that visit us the most. The percentage of foreign tourists grew compared to nationals, there may also be an impact of visitors who arrived by land.