Recently World Travel Awards announced Barranquilla as the winner of South America’s Leading Festival & Event Destination 2024.
Barranquilla continues to establish itself as the host city for major events in Colombia and Latin America. The World Travel Awards recognized the capital of the Atlántico department as South America’s leading destination for festivals and events in 2024. This prestigious award celebrates excellence in the global tourism sector.
Mayor Alejandro Char highlighted this recognition received by the city and the ongoing efforts to strengthen the infrastructure that enables the hosting of major events.
“As a native of Barranquilla, I am proud that our city has been recognized as the leading destination for festivals and events in South America 2024 by the prestigious World Travel Awards. The world sees us as a firm land with great potential, and we will continue working to reach another level,” the mayor stated through his X account.
Similarly, the Secretary of Economic Development, Richard Fernández, expressed his pride that the city has been recognized as the leading destination for festivals and events.
“Barranquilla stands out as a tourist and business destination with impressive hotel infrastructure. With more than 15,000 beds in over 200 hotels, the city reaches an occupancy rate of 93% during major events, demonstrating its capacity to host numerous visitors,” he said.
He added, “In 2023, Barranquilla received more than 1,600,000 visitors, with projections to surpass this figure in 2024. Meetings, events, and business tourism represent 35% of these visitors, highlighting the city’s importance in this field.”
He emphasized that “this achievement highlights not only the vibrant culture and enthusiasm of our festivals but also the dedication and hospitality of our community.”
ProBarranquilla
ProBarranquilla, an organization that has worked for over 35 years for the city and the department, supported this achievement. Currently, it focuses on three strategic points: attracting and retaining investments, promoting the destination as ideal for business tourism, and managing a favorable business environment.
The executive director of ProBarranquilla, Vicky Osorio, celebrated this award as “a reflection of the commitment to sustainable economic progress and tourism” in the city.
“It is a recognition of the joint effort of the public and private sectors, through the destination team, made up of the Mayor’s Office of Barranquilla, the Atlántico Governor’s Office, the Barranquilla Chamber of Commerce, and ProBarranquilla, who have worked together to strengthen this sector, along with ProColombia as allies, supporting our promotional activities,” Osorio said.
Recent Recognitions
Oxford Economics published its annual Global Cities Index report 2024 and ranked Barranquilla as the third-best city in Colombia. This report ranks 1,000 cities worldwide based on categories such as economic performance, human capital, quality of life, environmental commitment, and governance.
In April 2024, fDi Intelligence ranked Barranquilla third for Latin American and Caribbean cities with the fastest-growing foreign direct investment.
ProBarranquilla also reported a remarkable 130% increase in foreign direct investment in 2023 by BPOs.
AIPH World Green City Awards 2024 awarded Barranquilla with a Certificate of Merit for its BAQ-Cultiva project. BAQ-Cultiva’s aim is in Strengthening Urban Forestry and Implementation of Urban Agriculture.
Lastly, in 2023, the WRI Ross Center Prize for Cities awarded Barranquilla a prize for best green initiative.