ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Colombia was chosen as the number one trending destination for tourism in 2020 in a ranking by the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA).

This announcement was made during the USTOA Annual Conference & Marketplace that brought together more than 700 companies from around the world in Orlando, Florida.

"The fact that the leading tour operators in the United States recognize Colombia as the most attractive destination for next year shows their confidence in our country and the great potential we have as a tourist destination not only for Americans but for travelers around the world," stated Flavia Santoro, president of ProColombia, the government agency in charge of promoting non-mining-energy exports, foreign direct investment and tourism.

Also, ProColombia presented to a select group of tourist companies and USTOA members the touristic activities and products of the country. Santoro invited them to include Colombia's destinations and unique experiences in their travel packages.

Colombia was ranked in the top 10 for the second consecutive year, and for the first time it was ranked as the number one destination, along Egypt and Croatia.

During the same event, Tourism Cares —an NTA and USTOA organization dedicated to generating social development through tourism— announced that Colombia will host their Meaningful Travel Summit in September 2020.

Each year, the trip takes place in a different country, in partnership with large hotel chains, airlines, global tour operators, tourism associations, and international press, in order to explore investment opportunities in community tourism projects.

Today 20 Colombian companies are active members of USTOA, such as Avianca, Aviatur, Colombian Journeys, Medellín Convention Bureau and Hoteles Hyatt Regency Cartagena, among others. Also, 42 USTOA members from United States offer Colombia in their tourist packages.

According to figures from Colombia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Tourism, 3,484,828 non-resident travelers visited Colombia between January and October 2019 (a 2.7% increase from 2018).

On the other hand, most of travelers arriving to Colombia in 2019 came from the United States, which is one of ProColombia's key markets for tourism promotion. U.S. travelers are interested mainly in cultural (music, gastronomy, cultural events, capital cities) and nature (birdwatching, trekking, adventure, cycling, nautical, wellbeing, diving) experiences.

SOURCE ProColombia