Julián Guerrero, tourism vice president at ProColombia, tells Routesonline about the organisation's hopes at Routes Americas 2019.

What have been your most notable route successes?

In the last few years Colombia has increased its connection with the world, opening new routes with countries like the Netherlands, Turkey, Germany and United States, which means an increase of 7.1 percent in numbers of operating routes.

Some of the routes that stand out are:

• Turkish Airlines with Istanbul – Bogota (2016)
• LATAM with Lima – Cartagena (2017)
• KLM with Amsterdam – Bogota – Cartagena (2017)
• Spirit with Orlando – Medellin (2018)
• Spirit with Fort Lauderdale – Cali (2018)
• VivaAir with Miami – Santa Marta (2018)
• Avianca with Munich – Bogota (2018)
• Avianca with Chicago – Bogota (2018)
• American with Miami – Pereira (2018)

What are you next targets for route development?

We are working on improving our connectivity with key cities around the globe. Our efforts are focused on new routes including:

• Bogota – San Francisco
• Bogota – Montreal
• Bogota – Roma
• Bogota – Guadalajara
• Medellin – Santiago
• Medellin – San Jose
• Medellin – Sao Paulo
• Bucaramanga – Miami
• Cartagena – Madrid
• Santa Marta – Panama City
• Barranquilla – Mexico City
• Barranquilla – New York City

What is your main message at Routes Americas?

One of the priorities of the Colombian Government is to promote international tourism. In order to do so we are paying special attention to improving our air connectivity with key cities around the globe.

Just last year, we opened 17 new routes, including direct flights from Chicago, Munich and Amsterdam, among others. We are also improving our airport and tourist infrastructure to provide our visitors with a remarkable travel experience.

Colombia is an incredible country to visit, rich in biodiversity and cultural expressions. A country with varied regions such as the Caribbean Sea, the Pacific Ocean, the Andean mountains, the Amazon, and the Orinoco plains.

With a strategic geographical location right in the middle of the American, Colombia is a place awaiting to be discovered, where you will live unique, memorable and transformative experiences.