As Colombia’s holiday high season begins, many of the country’s roads are impassable due to landslides, flooding and embankment collapses.
The country’s Highway Patrol has reported that there are six primary roads, 20 secondary and 278 tertiary with total closures.
Carlos Rosado Zuñiga, director of the National Roads Institute (INVIAS), told newspaper El Espectador that the country has a big problem with roads, but staff have been making concessions to allow millions of Colombians to mobilize.
The strained road infrastructure has led to a decrease in hotel bookings and a scarcity in airplane tickets.
The bad state of Colombia’s road infrastructure is particularly hitting the coffee region, because the road between the capital Bogota and the city of Armenia is closed. Also Cartagena, Colombia’s most famous Caribbean tourism destination, only has a hotel occupancy rate of 40%.
Public holidays in Colombia began Thursday and will last until the second week of January.
