We are “Official Bloggers” for Colombia

Having been here in Colombia fulltime now since 5/6 years, I have seen changes, some for the better and some for the worse in the country.  Overall however though things appear to be moving in the right direction. Ostensibly, tourism is growing exponentially and I am happy to add that the agencies in charge (governmental and non-governmental) of getting things moving have been quite groundbreaking in their policy of remaining at the vanguard of promotion and creating a world class destination of Colombia.

And so, a day like today, I did not feel all alone as a voice in the wilderness (read: the wilds of Mompós or the urban-scapes of Bogota) trying to sell this country despite all of the negative media surrounding it. I got to meet other like-minded souls all promoting their own particular enterprises be it guide literature, travel agencies, restauranteurs and travellers.

And why today? Well, today was the launch of the Official Blogger for Colombia launch held by Proexport in the remarkably swish Hotel de la Opera in Bogota’s scenic if congested colonial Candelaria area.

Apparently we number 33 in total and represent the expat community that has been the basis for the new gambit being used by the travel promotion community here: Colombia, el Riesgo es Que Quieres Quedar….Colombia, the Only Risk is Wanting to Stay.

And yes, we are all testament to this bold and positive spin on what could be a negativism about Colombia, the risk.

So, we are all Official Bloggers, and to show for it we got a goodie bag with a hat that I fear I’ll never don, a useful water canteen, a flashlight, a travel wash kit and quite a fancy backpack….and all of the aforementioned have been emblazoned with our title. This is pretty fun really. I am looking forward to being able to contribute in a much more formal fashion; at least I know that some of these ruminations will be read!

There will be blogs in English, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese and be oodles of them at that since we are contracted for two a month for a whole year. It will be very interesting to watch the dynamic of this extensive “virtual” group and who prefers to write about what. In any case, you can check in here on the official Colombia.travel page where everything will be published.