By her role as president of ProColombia, Flavia Santoro Trujillo is fully commited to promoting tourism and international direct investment in the state, as very well as strengthening international ties that bring the South American place closer to new business possibilities.
As the state seeks to remerge from the coronavirus pandemic, Trujillo below explains to Breaking Vacation Information editor Chris O’Toole what steps are currently being set in put to hold readers safe and sound as they return.
Breaking Vacation Information: The place does Colombia stand in regard to reopening publish Covid-19, in advance of a proposed relaunch at the conclusion of August? Latin The united states has grow to be the world-wide epicentre of the outbreak in recent times – does this pose a renewed threat to the tourism sector?
Flavia Santoro Trujillo: The Colombian governing administration has enacted a swift response to Covid-19 and has stored the toll of an infection and dying fairly small compared to other Latin American nations.
The state has a person of the least expensive costs of an infection and fatalities for every million inhabitants, as compared to international locations in Europe and Latin The united states.
Our country took early isolation steps, which authorized us to reinforce the wellbeing procedure capacities by growing ICUs and shopping for emergency materials and clinical machines.
The social distancing carried out throughout the state was also important in slowing the virus an infection price.
Nevertheless, these steps that intention to help you save lives, have also experienced a good effect in our financial state.
The governing administration has carried out relief initiatives to aid companies from distinctive sectors, which contain tax waivers, payroll payment assistance and forbearance on social stability obligations.
In addition to this, the governing administration has prolonged lines of credit rating as a result of governing administration managed economical institutions and has decreased desire costs.
Colombia has tried to find a equilibrium concerning satisfactory distancing and economic exercise by trying to keep open sectors that had been crucial for the financial state and our offer chain, together with foodstuff, agriculture, economical and necessary solutions.
Construction and some producing sectors have previously resumed things to do and in the coming weeks, with the proper protocols, a wider part of the financial state will reopen.
We are confident about the upcoming. We believe that that these steps that we have taken to confront the pandemic, will assistance Colombia recover its economic and social expansion route after this has handed.
In summary, we glance ahead to acquiring international travellers after much more and the objective of tourism reopening, starting off with international flights resuming on September 1st.
BTN: There are some environmentally friendly shoots of restoration – with Air Canada confirmed as the 1st international provider to announce its return to Bogotá’s El Dorado airport in September. How extended do you envisage a comprehensive restoration from the pandemic will choose?
FST: It is as well early to say when tourism will entirely recover on the other hand, Colombia is functioning in the direction of this objective and international flights will resume on September 1st.
At this time, disembarkation is only authorized in the function of a humanitarian emergency, fortuitous activities, and air cargo functions.
We glance ahead to acquiring international travellers after much more at our airports and to our state, from September 1st.
We are pretty joyful to welcome Air Canada back again to El Dorado airport and other airlines that will comply with.
BTN: How will the economical troubles, and potential personal bankruptcy, of flag-provider Avianca effect on tourism in Colombia?
FST: Latin American airlines are likely as a result of a complicated situation, not dissimilar from what is occurring in other pieces of the environment.
In the scenario of the two principal operators in the region, Avianca and LATAM, they are the two going through a method of personal debt reorganisation, acquiring filed for chapter eleven personal bankruptcy defense in the United States.
The Colombian governing administration is creating good attempts to leverage the sustainability of airline connections and operators as a result of distinctive steps, together with much more flexible regulation, higher liquidity with credits and the postponement of tax deadlines, as very well as import of inputs for servicing with zero tariffs and the advertising of air cargo solutions.
The governing administration continues to appraise options to aid the aviation field, as connectivity is a person of the keys of the economic restoration.
BTN: Colombia has grow to be the 1st state in Latin The united states with a tourism biosecurity stamp – supported by the Entire world Tourism Organisation – what can you inform us about that?
FST: We are focused on regaining the international traveller’s have confidence in in their ability to safely stop by and travel inside of Colombia.
In guidance of this aim, the Colombian Government has designed the Tourism Biosecurity Certification.
Colombia, with the guidance of the Entire world Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), is formally the 1st state in Latin The united states with this type of certification.
The Tourism Biosecurity Seal, designed by the ministry of trade, field, and tourism, with the guidance of ProColombia, aims to deliver have confidence in between travellers, minimising the risk of viral an infection and encouraging tourism throughout the state.
The certification, valid for two a long time, is voluntary and may perhaps be employed by tourism relevant solutions providers, vacationer areas, and vacationer attractions in buy to certify compliance with biosafety protocols.
BTN: At a time when numerous place administration businesses are pausing international marketing exercise throughout Covid-19, ProColombia is buying up its attempts – what are the ambitions below?
FST: We are convinced the tourism field has huge resiliency and that it will play a crucial role in the restoration of Colombia and the world-wide financial state.
We have employed this time of isolation to prepare ourselves for when tourism things to do resume.
At ProColombia we have been functioning on a restoration program concentrating our attempts on three next priorities.
The 1st is adapting to improve.
Our governing administration has supplied tools to assistance travel sector businesses maintain their companies as a result of refocusing and residing tactics, as very well as redesigning solutions and encounters according to new kinds of people and adjustments in marketplace conduct.
We need to also facilitate air transportation connectivity.
We have decreased product sales tax on tickets that have origin or place to Colombia, relevant to airlines right until December 2021, and we have started to reopen international flights.
Last but not least, we are functioning to enhance the international traveller’s have confidence in in their ability to safely stop by and travel inside of Colombia.
ProColombia designed and launched a multi-channel marketing campaign in March with the message ‘We´ll satisfy soon’, to keep front of brain with travellers all-around the environment.
It has achieved twelve international marketplaces and created 21.three million impressions.
BTN: The publish-Covid-19 traveller is anticipated to put a renewed emphasis on hygiene – what steps is Colombia placing in put to guarantee the wellbeing and basic safety of readers?
FST: As we reviewed in advance of, we are the 1st state in Latin The united states to make the Tourism Biosecurity Certification, with the guidance of the UNWTO.
In addition, the ministry of transportation, the ministry of wellbeing and social defense of Colombia with the guidance of the Intercontinental Air Transportation Association (IATA), between other organisations, are functioning on new stability protocols for all Colombian airports.
For case in point, El Dorado Airport in Bogotá will be utilizing new steps this sort of as thermal cameras, transportable sinks, sanitising stations at several places throughout the airport, as very well as electronic immigration processes.
Extra Data
Obtain out much more about browsing Colombia – when the time is suitable – on the official internet site.