Tourism between Venezuela and Colombia: an opportunity for sustainable development

Tourism is an activity that promotes the sustainable development of nations. As a source of more productive investments that generate employment, it provides more income than other traditional productive sectors of the economy. From that perspective, there is a need to generate learning spaces regarding sustainable tourism in the region through the design of strategies and examples that help promote and strengthen this economic sector. 

That was the objective of the Forum Sustainable Tourism in Latin America, innovating tourism experiences and trends in Venezuela and Colombia, organized by the Embassy of Colombia in Venezuela  with the support of CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, in Caracas, Venezuela, during the morning of July 14th, 2016. 

During the event, presentations were made regarding the learning resulting from the experience of the Circuit of Excellence with its network of lodges with quality seal, and the experience of the Tourism around the Coffee Cultural Landscape, both belonging to the category of rural tourism.  This category has the benefit of allowing the local development of the communities that participate in it. 

The Forum included the participation of tourism companies and governmental organizations focused on the promotion of tourism in both countries. Thus, an opportunity rose to consolidate the cooperation between tourism associations and travel agencies from both countries. 

In this respect, the workshop was enriched by the ample experience of four experts in the area: Jorge Daries tourism representative of TMR Experience, Cesar Ángel with the experience of the Colombia Coffee Route, Daniel Vocino, with the model of the Circuit of Excellence in Venezuela, and Paula Cortés, who presented the Scenario of Travel and Tourism Agencies for Anato.  

The web site of the event "Foro Turismo Sostenible en América Latina" allows to download the presentations of the experts, detailing their insights and successful cases of sustainable tourism.