Tourism to the Colombian Caribbean is expected to increase next year with cruise ship passengers forecast to grow by 35%.
For the dates October to May last year about 315,000 passengers visited the Colombian Caribbean with 7,000 going to Santa Marta and San Andres and 308,000 to Cartagena, this is compared to 350,000 which is expected for the same period for 2012/13.
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism already spoke of a decline of 26.3% in January and June compared to 2011 but the high season is expected to see a rebound and continue the growth which has reportedly increased sevenfold over the last five years.
According to the Tourism Corporation of Cartagena between 47 scale 11 vessels will first arrive including companies Kristina Cruises, Paul Gauguin, Disney and Holland America.
