Colombia Tourism Statistics Updated November 2026

Human Written & Fact Checked · Updated

169 Colombia Tourism Statistics for 2026

Colombia received 4,677,578 non-resident foreign visitors in 2025, 3.8% more than in 2024, on preliminary figures from the trade and tourism ministry (MinCIT). From January to July 2026 foreign arrivals were 2.6% down on a year earlier, with fewer visitors from the United States. Travel and passenger air transport brought in US$11,418 million in 2025.

This page gathers the official figures on Colombia tourism in one place: foreign visitors and where they come from, 2026 so far, the destinations they head for, the seasons and the weather, why people travel, Bogotá and Cartagena, national parks, events, flights, cruises, getting around, hotels, spending and the economy, jobs, domestic and outbound travel, the national targets and recorded crime. Every number links to the document that carries it, with the date.

MinCIT counts foreign visitors from Migración Colombia entry records. Colombians who live abroad and cruise passengers are counted in separate series, and we never add them together. MinCIT's 2025 total of all non-resident visitors has been published in three versions after a change in how country of residence is recorded, so it is not used here.

Headline figures

How many foreign visitors does Colombia get each year?

Foreign visitor numbers grew each year from 2021 to 2025, though growth slowed in 2025. Arrivals then fell in the first seven months of 2026, led by fewer visitors from the United States.

3.28m 2022 4.08m 2023 4.50m 2024 4.68m 2025
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Non-resident foreign visitors to Colombia by year, 2022 to 2025, in millions. One series from one report; 2025 is preliminary.
PeriodValue
20223.28m
20234.08m
20244.50m
20254.68m
Non-resident foreign visitors to Colombia by year, 2022 to 2025, in millions. One series from one report; 2025 is preliminary. (MinCIT (monthly tourism report, Jun 2026), Aug 2026)

Foreign visitors are non-resident foreigners entering through migration posts, from Migración Colombia records compiled by MinCIT. Since 2020 Venezuelans are counted only if they give rest and leisure as the purpose of their trip. Colombians resident abroad and cruise passengers are separate series and are not included. MinCIT's total of all three groups for 2025 has been published in three versions after a change in how country of residence is recorded, so it is left out. Figures are preliminary and earlier years are revised between reports. DANE's satellite account counts overnight tourists arriving by air on UN Tourism definitions, a different measure from MinCIT's count.

Where do Colombia's foreign visitors come from?

The United States, by a wide margin, then Mexico and Ecuador. Nine of the top ten markets are in the Americas, with Spain the only European country. US arrivals dipped in 2025 while Mexico, Peru, Spain and Brazil grew.

  1. 1 United States 1.19m
  2. 2 Mexico 413k
  3. 3 Ecuador 325k
  4. 4 Peru 252k
  5. 5 Venezuela 203k
  6. 6 Panama 202k
  7. 7 Chile 201k
  8. 8 Brazil 200k
  9. 9 Spain 193k
  10. 10 Costa Rica 168k
Colombia's ten largest markets for foreign visitors by country of residence, 2025, in thousands. (MinCIT (monthly tourism report, Nov 2025), Jan 2026)

Markets are by country of residence, not nationality. Venezuelans are counted only when they travel for leisure. These figures come from MinCIT's January 2026 report, whose 2025 total was slightly lower than the later figure used above. The report's summary box gives higher growth rates for Brazil, Peru and Spain than its own table; the table's rates are used here.

How is Colombia tourism doing in 2026?

Down a little on 2025. Fewer visitors came from the United States, Ecuador and Panama, while arrivals from Brazil and Mexico kept growing.

409k Jan 410k Feb 419k Mar 350k Apr 327k May 309k Jun 424k Jul
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Non-resident foreign visitors to Colombia by month, January to July 2026, in thousands. Preliminary.
PeriodValue
Jan409k
Feb410k
Mar419k
Apr350k
May327k
Jun309k
Jul424k
Non-resident foreign visitors to Colombia by month, January to July 2026, in thousands. Preliminary. (MinCIT (monthly tourism report, Jun 2026), Aug 2026)

2026 figures are preliminary. The latest MinCIT monthly report on its site, published in August 2026, carries visitor data to July 2026. Growth rates are MinCIT's. Markets are by country of residence.

Where in Colombia do foreign visitors go?

Bogotá first, then Antioquia, home to Medellín, and Bolívar, home to Cartagena. Bolívar's share rose in the first seven months of 2026.

  1. 1 Bogotá 35.8%
  2. 2 Antioquia (Medellín) 26.2%
  3. 3 Bolívar (Cartagena) 18.3%
Share of foreign visitors to Colombia by declared destination department, 2025, in per cent. Venezuelans are not included. (MinCIT (monthly tourism report, Nov 2025), Jan 2026)

Destination is the department a foreign visitor declares on entry, not every place visited, and MinCIT's shares leave out Venezuelans. Antioquia and Bolívar are departments, not cities. Corpoturismo's Cartagena figures come from Migración Colombia data cut at a different date and on a different basis from MinCIT's. The Bogotá figure for 2026 is a count from migration records, a different measure from IDT's survey estimate of international tourists in the Bogotá section, and the two are not compared.

When do most visitors come to Colombia?

December and July bring the most foreign visitors, and September the fewest. Hotels on the Caribbean coast fill up in the dry months around New Year, while Bogotá's hotels, where most guests travel for work, are quieter in January and December.

399k Jan 395k Feb 398k Mar 365k Apr 348k May 368k Jun 445k Jul 420k Aug 330k Sep 355k Oct 395k Nov 461k Dec
View data table
Non-resident foreign visitors to Colombia by month, 2025, in thousands. Preliminary.
PeriodValue
Jan399k
Feb395k
Mar398k
Apr365k
May348k
Jun368k
Jul445k
Aug420k
Sep330k
Oct355k
Nov395k
Dec461k
Non-resident foreign visitors to Colombia by month, 2025, in thousands. Preliminary. (MinCIT (monthly tourism report, Jun 2026), Aug 2026)

Visitors are counted in the month they enter Colombia, and monthly figures are not seasonally adjusted. Hotel occupancy is DANE's survey of larger formal lodging establishments, provisional and revised in later releases. IDT's monthly Bogotá figures are survey estimates of tourists, not border counts.

What is the weather like in Colombia?

Warm on the coasts and mild in the mountains all year, with rain the main thing that changes. Cartagena and Santa Marta are almost dry from January to March. Bogotá and Medellín have two wetter spells, around April and May and around October.

0.5 Jan 0.3 Feb 3.2 Mar 18.6 Apr 117 May 93 Jun 121 Jul 128 Aug 133 Sep 237 Oct 178 Nov 45 Dec
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Average monthly rainfall at Cartagena's Rafael Núñez airport, 1991-2020 normals, in mm.
PeriodValue
Jan0.5
Feb0.3
Mar3.2
Apr18.6
May117
Jun93
Jul121
Aug128
Sep133
Oct237
Nov178
Dec45
Average monthly rainfall at Cartagena's Rafael Núñez airport, 1991-2020 normals, in mm. (IDEAM (climate normals 1991-2020), 1991-2020)
  • Bogotá's El Dorado airport, at 2,547 m, has a mean temperature of 13.9°C, with monthly means between 13.6°C and 14.3°C. The mean maximum is 19.4°C and the mean minimum 8.3°C. (IDEAM (climate normals 1991-2020), 1991-2020)
  • Bogotá gets 877.3 mm of rain a year. April (116.7 mm) and October (108.2 mm) are the wettest months and January the driest, with 32.9 mm on 4.9 rain days. (IDEAM (climate normals 1991-2020), 1991-2020)
  • Medellín's Olaya Herrera airport, at 1,490 m, averages 23.1°C, with a mean maximum of 27.9°C and a mean minimum of 17.7°C. It gets 1,758.4 mm of rain a year on 173.4 rain days. (IDEAM (climate normals 1991-2020), 1991-2020)
  • In Medellín May (218.9 mm) and October (211.5 mm) are the wettest months and January the driest (71.5 mm). July averages 6.4 hours of sunshine a day. (IDEAM (climate normals 1991-2020), 1991-2020)
  • Cartagena averages 28.0°C, with a mean maximum of 31.7°C and a mean minimum of 25.4°C. January to March bring 0.5, 0.3 and 3.2 mm of rain, against 236.5 mm in October, out of 1,073.8 mm a year. (IDEAM (climate normals 1991-2020), 1991-2020)
  • Santa Marta, the gateway to Tayrona, averages 7.7 hours of sunshine a day and 28.6°C, with a mean maximum of 33.2°C and 562.1 mm of rain a year. October is the wettest month, with 126.9 mm. (IDEAM (climate normals 1991-2020), 1991-2020)
  • San Andrés island averages 27.7°C and 1,908.9 mm of rain a year. March and April are the driest months (28.1 and 27.4 mm) and October and November the wettest (317.1 and 317.6 mm). (IDEAM (climate normals 1991-2020), 1991-2020)

These are the climate normals of the weather and environment institute (IDEAM) for the period 1991-2020, published on the national open-data portal. Each figure is for one weather station, at the city's airport, and parts of a city may differ. A rain day is a day with at least 1 mm of rain.

Why do people visit Colombia?

Visiting family and friends is the largest reason for inbound trips overall, but most foreign visitors to Cartagena and Medellín come on holiday. Bogotá draws far more business travellers.

  1. 1 Holidays and leisure 59.3%
  2. 2 Work and business 33.6%
  3. 3 Conventions 3.0%
  4. 4 Health 2.3%
Hotel guests in Colombia by main reason for the trip, 2025, in per cent of guests. (DANE (monthly accommodation survey), Oct 2026)
  • Visiting family and friends is the largest purpose of trip for international tourists arriving in Colombia, DANE says. (DANE (tourism satellite account), May 2026)
  • 92.6% of foreign visitors to Cartagena in 2025 came for tourism, against 87.6% in Medellín and 55.1% in Bogotá, where 7.8% came on business and 34.4% for other reasons. (Corpoturismo (Cartagena 2025 closing report), Feb 2026)
  • Holidays and leisure were the reason for 59.3% of hotel guests in Colombia in 2025, business 33.6%, conventions 3.0% and health 2.3%. (DANE (monthly accommodation survey), Oct 2026)
  • In Cartagena 78.4% of hotel guests were on holiday in 2025. In Bogotá 53.0% were travelling for work and business. (DANE (monthly accommodation survey), Oct 2026)
  • Non-residents made up 50.3% of hotel guests in Bogotá in December 2025 and 44.1% in Cartagena, against 27.0% nationally. (DANE (monthly accommodation survey), Oct 2026)

The three sources measure different things. DANE's satellite account covers international tourists arriving by air and gives no percentage split. The city shares are the purpose foreigners declared on entry, from Migración Colombia data compiled by Corpoturismo. Hotel guest shares come from DANE's survey of larger hotels and include Colombians. The non-resident share of hotel guests is published by month only.

How many tourists visit Bogotá?

Most of Bogotá's tourists are Colombians, on IDT's survey of departing travellers. International tourists rose above their level before the pandemic in 2025, and Monserrate and the old town of La Candelaria are the places they visit most.

  1. 1 Monserrate 59.1%
  2. 2 La Candelaria 57.4%
  3. 3 Zona T 43.8%
  4. 4 Chorro de Quevedo 39.4%
  5. 5 Zona G 35.5%
  6. 6 Gold Museum 30.0%
  7. 7 Plaza de Bolívar 24.9%
Share of international tourists in Bogotá who visited each place, 2025, in per cent. Tourists could name several. (IDT (Bogotá travellers survey 2025), May 2026)

IDT, the Bogotá tourism institute, surveys travellers aged 18 and over as they leave the city by air and road and scales the answers up to traffic totals. Its tourists are overnight visitors. This is a different measure from Migración Colombia's counts of foreigners entering the country, and the two are not compared. Spending is IDT's estimate of direct spend, not a share of the economy. Place shares are the share of surveyed tourists who visited, not visitor counts.

How many visitors does Cartagena get?

Millions arrive each year, most of them by air and most of those on domestic flights. The Castillo San Felipe fortress draws far more visits than the city's other forts, and boats to the islands carry hundreds of thousands of passengers.

  • Domestic flights 3.02m
  • International flights 806k
Air passenger arrivals in Cartagena by type of flight, 2025, in thousands. (Corpoturismo (Cartagena 2025 closing report), Feb 2026)

Corpoturismo, Cartagena's official tourism corporation, compiles these figures from other bodies: the airport operator (OINAC), the bus terminals, the Escuela Taller that runs the forts, and Migración Colombia. Air and road arrivals are passengers, including residents coming home, not tourists. The airport operator's count differs from the scheduled-flight figures in the air section. Fort figures are visits, not people.

How many people visit Colombia's national parks?

Millions of visits a year. Two Caribbean parks, Corales del Rosario off Cartagena and Tayrona near Santa Marta, receive hundreds of thousands of visits each. The 2025 count covers more sites than earlier years, so it cannot be compared with them.

  1. 1 Corales del Rosario 1.25m
  2. 2 Tayrona 830k
  3. 3 Isla de la Corota 161k
  4. 4 Los Nevados 96k
  5. 5 Los Flamencos 45k
  6. 6 El Cocuy 31k
  7. 7 Farallones de Cali 31k
  8. 8 Chingaza 24k
Visits to Colombia's most visited national parks and sanctuaries, 2025, in thousands. (MinCIT (from Parques Nacionales data), Apr 2026)

Figures are visits (entries), not people, from Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia as republished in MinCIT's monthly tourism report. The 2025 count covers more sites than earlier years, including Isla de la Corota, and may reflect a change in how visits are counted, so no growth on 2024 is given. Only parks open to ecotourism are counted. The 2024 Sierra Nevada figure comes from an earlier MinCIT report.

How many people go to Colombia's big festivals and fairs?

Hundreds of thousands. The Barranquilla Carnival draws hundreds of thousands of visitors on its organiser's estimates, while Bogotá's book fair and music festivals are mostly attended by people who live in the city.

  • The Barranquilla Carnival in 2026 drew close to 820,000 visitors from Colombia and abroad, its organiser estimates, and more than 6 million spectators at city events. (Carnaval de Barranquilla S.A.S., Mar 2026)
  • The organiser puts the 2026 carnival's economic impact at COP 840 billion, with around 195,000 jobs and hotel occupancy above 90%. (Carnaval de Barranquilla S.A.S., Mar 2026)
  • About 563,000 people attended the Bogotá International Book Fair (FILBo) in April and May 2026. 25% were visitors from outside Bogotá, up from 14% in 2025. (IDT (FILBo 2026 report), Oct 2026)
  • Visitors to FILBo 2026 spent an estimated COP 51,472 million during their stay. (IDT (FILBo 2026 report), Oct 2026)
  • Festival Estéreo Picnic 2025 recorded total attendance of 152,000 over four days. 31.4%, or 47,720, did not live in Bogotá. (IDT (Bogotá music events 2025), May 2026)
  • Rock al Parque 2025, a free festival in Parque Simón Bolívar, recorded total attendance of 136,025. 76% of those attending lived in Bogotá. (IDT (Bogotá music events 2025), May 2026)

Carnival figures are the organiser's own estimates; spectators are counted at each event, so one person can be counted many times. FILBo and festival figures are IDT estimates from event surveys. Festival attendance is the total across all days, not unique people.

How do visitors get to Colombia?

By air, and mostly through Bogotá, whose El Dorado airport handles the large majority of international arrivals. International traffic grew in 2025 while domestic traffic dipped, and both grew in the first half of 2026.

  1. 1 Bogotá El Dorado 8.00m
  2. 2 Medellín (Rionegro) 2.01m
  3. 3 Cartagena 666k
  4. 4 Cali 483k
Passengers arriving on scheduled international flights at Colombia's main airports, 2025, in thousands. (MinCIT (from Aerocivil data, Dec 2025 report), Feb 2026)

Passenger figures are Aerocivil's origin-destination counts on scheduled flights, published by MinCIT. They include Colombians and foreigners and count each trip once, so they are lower than airport totals, which also count connecting passengers. The El Dorado figure for 2024 is an airport total on a different basis and is not compared with the others. Cartagena's airport operator publishes its own, higher count of arrivals, given in the Cartagena section.

How many cruise passengers visit Colombia?

A few hundred thousand a year, almost all in the winter season. The 2025 total was below the 2023 level, and the first months of 2026 were weaker.

170k 2022 354k 2023 310k 2024 321k 2025
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International cruise passengers arriving at Colombian ports by year, 2022 to 2025, in thousands.
PeriodValue
2022170k
2023354k
2024310k
2025321k
International cruise passengers arriving at Colombian ports by year, 2022 to 2025, in thousands. (MinCIT (monthly tourism report, Jun 2026), Aug 2026)

MinCIT's cruise figures are calendar-year passenger arrivals reported by the port companies, a separate series from foreign visitors. Earlier years are revised between reports. Migración Colombia's Cartagena figures are by season, from October to April, and by nationality, so they are not compared with MinCIT's national totals.

How do visitors get around Colombia's cities?

In Bogotá, mostly by ride-hailing app. Both Bogotá and Medellín run large public transport networks, and Medellín's Metro adds cable cars that climb the hillsides.

  1. 1 Ride-hailing app car 64.4%
  2. 2 Car of family or friends 19.6%
  3. 3 Taxi 14.3%
How international tourists got around Bogotá, 2025, in per cent. Tourists could name several. (IDT (Bogotá travellers infographic 2025), Apr 2026)

Transport modes come from IDT's survey of departing travellers, and tourists could name several. TransMilenio counts fare validations, so transfers are counted each time, and Metro de Medellín counts trips across the metropolitan network. Both include residents.

How busy are Colombia's hotels?

Occupancy has slipped each year since 2022 and fell again in 2026. Hotels in Cartagena, San Andrés and Bogotá fill far more of their rooms than those in the coffee region or central Colombia.

  1. 1 Cartagena 65.9%
  2. 2 San Andrés y Providencia 65.2%
  3. 3 Bogotá 59.3%
  4. 4 Caribbean region 52.0%
  5. 5 Antioquia 50.7%
  6. 6 Amazonía 44.7%
  7. 7 Eje Cafetero 42.2%
  8. 8 Pacific region 39.5%
  9. 9 Central region 36.9%
Hotel room occupancy by DANE survey region, 2025, in per cent. Provisional. (DANE (monthly accommodation survey), Oct 2026)

DANE's monthly accommodation survey (EMA) covers formal lodging establishments with at least 10 staff or a set level of income, from a sample of 1,244. It does not cover tourist homes or short-term rentals. Results are given for the country and 12 regions only, so Medellín is inside Antioquia. Figures are provisional and revised. Real income is an index change after inflation, and room-rate changes are nominal; DANE publishes no average room rate. The Bogotá register count is IDT's, from MinCIT's national tourism register.

How much does Colombia earn from tourism?

Receipts grew again in 2025, MinCIT reports, on the balance-of-payments measure that adds air fares to travel spending.

These are the central bank's (Banco de la República) balance-of-payments figures as published by MinCIT. They combine travel with passenger air transport, so they include air fares paid to Colombian airlines, and are not travel spending alone. They are in current US dollars and revised between reports. The investment figure covers all commerce as well as tourism. These figures measure something different from DANE's peso figures for visitor spending in the next section and are not compared with them.

How much is tourism worth to Colombia's economy?

A little over 2% of gross value added, on DANE's tourism satellite account. The share has climbed every year since 2020 but is still below 2019. Air fares and food and drink take the largest parts of foreign visitors' spending.

1.90% 2015 2.06% 2016 2.07% 2017 2.56% 2018 2.64% 2019 1.25% 2020 1.68% 2021 2.17% 2022 2.25% 2023 2.30% 2024 2.35% 2025
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Tourism's share of Colombia's gross value added, 2015 to 2025, in per cent. 2024 is provisional and 2025 preliminary.
PeriodValue
20151.90%
20162.06%
20172.07%
20182.56%
20192.64%
20201.25%
20211.68%
20222.17%
20232.25%
20242.30%
20252.35%
Tourism's share of Colombia's gross value added, 2015 to 2025, in per cent. 2024 is provisional and 2025 preliminary. (DANE (tourism satellite account), May 2026)
  • Tourism's share of Colombia's gross value added was 2.64% in 2019, 1.25% in 2020 and 2.30% in 2024. (DANE (tourism satellite account), May 2026)
  • Tourism gross value added was COP 35,729 billion in 2024 and COP 25,321 billion in 2019, at current prices. It grew 10.0% in 2025. (DANE (tourism satellite account), May 2026)
  • Air passenger transport made up COP 14.0 trillion of international visitors' spending in 2025, food and drink COP 13.3 trillion and accommodation COP 7.6 trillion. (DANE (tourism satellite account), May 2026)
  • International visitors spent COP 24,412 billion in Colombia in 2019 and COP 43,235 billion in 2022, at current prices. (DANE (tourism satellite account), May 2026)
  • Tourists bought 54.7% of the output of Colombia's air passenger transport industry in 2024 and 22.6% of the output of accommodation and food services. (DANE (tourism satellite account), May 2026)
  • Accommodation and food services added COP 40,637 billion to the economy in 2025, 0.5% more than in 2024. (MinCIT (from DANE GDP data), Aug 2026)
  • Real value added in accommodation and food services fell 4.0% year on year in the second quarter of 2026, and 3.0% in the first half. (DANE (quarterly GDP), Aug 2026)

The tourism satellite account is DANE's measure of tourism within the national accounts. Value added is direct tourism value added, not total economic impact, and peso figures are at current prices with no adjustment for inflation. The 2025 figures are preliminary. International visitor spending here is in pesos on UN Tourism definitions and is not compared with the central bank's dollar receipts. The accommodation and food figures cover the whole industry, including restaurants serving residents, and are a different measure from tourism value added.

How many people work in tourism in Colombia?

Most tourism jobs are in hotels, restaurants and bars. Tourism employment grew in 2025 on DANE's satellite account, but lodging businesses cut staff in 2026.

  1. 1 Accommodation and food 592k
  2. 2 Culture, sport and recreation 202k
  3. 3 Passenger transport 118k
  4. 4 Other 46k
  5. 5 Travel agencies 38k
People employed in tourism activities in Colombia by activity, 2025, in thousands. (DANE (tourism satellite account), May 2026)

The satellite account counts jobs in tourism activities, the part of each industry that serves visitors. The household labour survey (GEIH) counts everyone working in accommodation and food services, including restaurants serving residents, so its figure is much larger and is not compared. Lodging staff figures come from DANE's accommodation survey of larger establishments. IDT's Bogotá estimate uses its own definition.

How much do Colombians travel at home?

More than before the pandemic. Holidays and visits to family are the two main reasons, and most domestic tourists stay with relatives or friends. DANE ran no domestic tourism survey in 2025, so the latest survey figures compare 2026 with 2024.

46.3m 2019 19.4m 2020 28.8m 2021 43.6m 2022 46.4m 2023 46.9m 2024 50.8m 2025
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Overnight domestic tourism trips by Colombian residents, 2019 to 2025, in millions. 2024 is provisional and 2025 preliminary.
PeriodValue
201946.3m
202019.4m
202128.8m
202243.6m
202346.4m
202446.9m
202550.8m
Overnight domestic tourism trips by Colombian residents, 2019 to 2025, in millions. 2024 is provisional and 2025 preliminary. (DANE (tourism satellite account), May 2026)
  • Domestic tourism spending reached COP 23.7 trillion in 2025, up 14.8%, on DANE's satellite account. (DANE (tourism satellite account), May 2026)
  • Residents made 50.8 million overnight trips in Colombia in 2025, up 8.3% from 46.9 million, plus 30.4 million same-day trips. (DANE (tourism satellite account), May 2026)
  • 13.8% of people aged 10 and over in the 24 main cities travelled for tourism or day trips in the second quarter of 2026, against 10.2% in the second quarter of 2024. (DANE (domestic tourism survey), Sep 2026)
  • 18.7% did so in the first quarter of 2026, or 4.246 million people. (MinCIT (from DANE domestic tourism survey), Aug 2026)
  • Domestic tourists stayed 4.0 nights on average in the second quarter of 2026: 4.9 nights when visiting relatives or friends, 3.1 nights on holiday and 3.4 nights in hotels. (DANE (domestic tourism survey), Sep 2026)
  • 46.8% of domestic tourists travelled mainly for recreation and holidays in the second quarter of 2026 and 44.9% to visit relatives or friends. (DANE (domestic tourism survey), Sep 2026)
  • Domestic tourists spent COP 149,530 per person per day, against COP 137,801 in the second quarter of 2024. Food and drink took COP 49,336, accommodation COP 37,274 and road transport COP 29,476. (DANE (domestic tourism survey), Sep 2026)
  • Daily spend was COP 239,640 on business trips, COP 184,110 on holidays and COP 88,970 when visiting relatives or friends. (DANE (domestic tourism survey), Sep 2026)
  • Of 1.968 million domestic tourists in the second quarter of 2026, 1.103 million stayed with family or friends and 537,000 in a hotel or apart-hotel. 1.097 million travelled by private road vehicle. (DANE (domestic tourism survey), Sep 2026)

The satellite account covers the whole country at current prices. The domestic tourism survey (EGIT) covers people aged 10 and over in the 24 main cities only. DANE says there is no survey information for 2025 because the survey was not run, so 2026 quarters are compared with 2024, as DANE does. Fieldwork moved from phone to face-to-face interviews in 2024. Places to stay can overlap, so they do not add up.

How many Colombians travel abroad?

More than five million departures in 2025, and rising fast in 2026. The United States, Spain and Panama are the main destinations.

  1. 1 United States 1.70m
  2. 2 Spain 812k
  3. 3 Panama 626k
Departures of Colombians by destination country, 2025, in thousands. (MinCIT (monthly tourism report, Nov 2025), Jan 2026)

Departures come from Migración Colombia records compiled by MinCIT and include Colombians who live abroad going home. Outbound tourism leaves them out. MinCIT changed how it fills in country of residence in 2025, so 2025 outbound tourism may not compare with 2024. DANE's outbound trips are on UN Tourism definitions and differ from MinCIT's counts.

What are Colombia's tourism targets?

The national tourism plan for 2022-2026 set three scenarios for non-resident visitors in 2026. Its stated overall goal is about jobs in the sector.

  1. 1 Conservative 7.3m
  2. 2 Optimistic 9.4m
  3. 3 Ideal optimistic 12.0m
Target scenarios for non-resident visitors to Colombia in 2026, in millions. These are plan targets, not forecasts. (MinCIT (tourism sector plan 2022-2026), Feb 2023)

These are targets in the plan text, not forecasts. They are for all non-resident visitors, which includes Colombians resident abroad and cruise passengers as well as foreign visitors. A different target figure reported in the press at the plan's launch does not appear in the plan text and is left out. MinCIT began work on a 2026-2030 plan in July 2026.

Is Colombia safe for visitors?

Official figures cover recorded crime across the whole population, not crimes against visitors. Recorded thefts fell in 2024 and 2025, while recorded homicides and kidnappings rose in 2025.

12,009 2020 13,685 2021 13,536 2022 13,555 2023 13,496 2024 14,037 2025
View data table
Intentional homicides recorded by the police in Colombia, 2020 to 2025.
PeriodValue
202012,009
202113,685
202213,536
202313,555
202413,496
202514,037
Intentional homicides recorded by the police in Colombia, 2020 to 2025. (Policía Nacional (crime statistics 2020-2026), Oct 2026)

Crime figures are counts of crimes recorded by the national police (DIJIN), including complaints, published in October 2026; 2026 figures are provisional. They are counts, not rates, so cities of different sizes are not compared. Changes in recorded theft can reflect reporting as well as crime. Police homicide counts can differ from the forensic institute's. A police table of crimes against tourists covers too few cases to be used. The Bogotá figure is a survey of how safe tourists felt, not a crime statistic.

Glossary

MinCIT
The Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo, Colombia's trade, industry and tourism ministry, whose economic studies office publishes the monthly tourism report.
Migración Colombia
The migration authority, whose entry records MinCIT uses to count foreign visitors.
Foreign visitor
A non-resident foreigner entering Colombia, on MinCIT's count. Venezuelans are counted only when they travel for leisure. Colombians living abroad and cruise passengers are separate series.
DANE
The Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística, the national statistics office.
Tourism satellite account
DANE's measure of tourism within the national accounts (CST), covering visitor spending, tourism value added and tourism jobs.
EGIT
DANE's domestic tourism spending survey of people aged 10 and over in the 24 main cities. It was not run in 2025.
EMA
DANE's monthly accommodation survey of larger formal lodging establishments, the source of hotel occupancy figures.
GEIH
DANE's household labour survey, which counts everyone in work by industry.
Banco de la República
Colombia's central bank, which compiles the balance of payments.
Aerocivil
The civil aviation authority, which counts air passengers by origin and destination.
IDT
The Instituto Distrital de Turismo, Bogotá's tourism institute, which runs a survey of departing travellers.
Corpoturismo
The Corporación Turismo Cartagena de Indias, Cartagena's official tourism corporation.
Parques Nacionales
Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia, which runs the national parks and counts visits to them.
IDEAM
The Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología y Estudios Ambientales, the weather and environment institute.

Methodology and sources

Figures come from MinCIT (the monthly tourism report, with foreign visitor counts from Migración Colombia, air passengers from Aerocivil, travel receipts from Banco de la República and park visits from Parques Nacionales, and the tourism sector plan), DANE (the tourism satellite account, the domestic tourism survey, the monthly accommodation survey, the household labour survey and GDP), the Bogotá tourism institute (IDT), Corpoturismo in Cartagena, Migración Colombia, TransMilenio, Metro de Medellín, the Barranquilla Carnival organiser, whose figures are labelled as its own estimates, IDEAM and the national police. Each figure links to the document that carries it, with the date, and MinCIT and DANE figures are labelled by report or survey. The headline measure is non-resident foreign visitors; Colombians living abroad and cruise passengers are given separately and never added. MinCIT's 2025 total of all non-resident visitors, published in three versions after a change in method, is left out. Travel receipts combine travel with passenger air transport and are not compared with DANE's peso spending. Figures we would have had to sum or calculate ourselves, including city counts from open data, are left out, as are hotel-association figures and anything we could not open at the producer. Climate figures are IDEAM's 1991-2020 normals. The page is reviewed monthly and the date is shown at the top.