MIAMI, May 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on solid tourism numbers in 2012, Proexport Colombia predicts to receive close to 2 million of tourists visiting Colombia in 2013. Proexport Colombia, the government entity in charge of promoting international tourism, foreign direct investment, and exports from the country will hold a destination presentation on May 14, 2013 at the Loews Hotel in Miami Beach, FL.

Colombia's tourism figures have experienced a steady growth over the last 10 years.  From 2011 to 2012, tourism into the country grew 7% reaching 1.69 million of tourists in 2012; being the United States, Canada, and Mexico among the 10 top markets for Colombia.

During the destination presentation on Tuesday, 55 American travel agents, tour operators and meeting planners will learn about the country main attractions, cities and products that can be promoted. Attendees can live vicariously through Christopher Baker's testimonial, the writer of the first tourism guide from National Geographic.  After the morning session, companies will have the opportunity to seat in one-on-one meetings to discuss products and opportunities to increase travel to the country.

Colombia has rapidly become the epicenter of attention in Latin America. Being an undiscovered destination, the country offers unique and magical experiences to amaze international visitors. In Cartagena de Indias; visitors can walk through colonial streets with over 500 years of history; in Bogota they can discover the most trendy and fashion restaurants, the unique Gold Museum featuring over 3,500 pre-Colombian gold pieces; the coffee landscape can bring to life the coffee culture while visitors stay in a boutique hotel that is actually the traditional coffee hacienda as seen in the history books; they can enjoy white sand beaches and crystal waters while visiting San Andres and Providencia; or get enchanted on the streets of Medellin with its flowers and always pleasant spring weather that makes everybody fall in love with the city.

The country caters products for every taste, either luxury excursions, adventure and ecotourism tours, cruise destinations, or meetings and incentives trips; Colombia has it all. "We envisage that 2013 will be a record-breaking year for Colombia in terms of tourism numbers," said Maria Claudia Lacouture, President of Proexport Colombia. "Colombia's tourism industry is undergoing a stunning transformation focused on promoting a broader range of tourism products (e.g. cultural tourism and adventure travel) aimed at attracting a new breed of global consumer.

"The upcoming Business Forum provides the ideal environment for American and Colombian businesses to come together to strike robust business deals."

For more information, please contact:

Angie Grosso
agrosso@proexport.com.co
Tel: +1 (305) 374-3144

Tara Mullins
SoHo Square Public Relations
Tel: +1 (646) 520-6468

http://www.proexport.com.co/

SOURCE Proexport Colombia