As if inflation, the skyrocketing of the dollar, the increase in wages, the slightest increase in interest rates and the return of the VAT of 19 percent for air tickets and unnecessary accommodation services, now the tourism sector is facing another hit from airline bankruptcies Viva Air and Ultra Air.
For Holy Week, the Hotel and Tourism Association of Colombia (Cotelco) projects a decrease of 9.43 percentage points in hotel occupancy in the country, compared to what was registered a year ago, when there were still some effects from the covi-19 pandemic.
(Also read: Tourism faces a challenging year that could slow down this industry)
The dynamics of the sector will already come some warning signs in January and February. There were regions of the country where it was seen
the impact of the
VAT of 19%
The lower limit of occupancy would be at 45.4 percent and the upper limit at 53.27 percent, therefore, the average could be located at 49.4 percent for this holiday season, which will end up translating into less income for this sector.
The president of Cotelco, José Andrés Duarte, highlighted that one of the most affected departments will be Saint AndrewWell, its hotel occupancy will go from 73 percent during Holy Week in 2022 to approximately 25 percent this year.
“The dynamics of the sector already showed some warning signs in January and February. There were regions of the country such as the Coffee Region, Santander, Cauca and Norte de Santander where the impact of the arrival of the VAT of 19 percenteven before the airlines suspended their operations,” he added.
To this is added that the Colombian Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (Anato) estimates a reduction in sales of about 30 percent for Eastercompared to last year’s records, as well as a 27 percent increase in operating costs given the different economic circumstances.
Cesar Melgarejo. TIME
2023 is shaping up to be complex due to these aspects and the problems in air transport
“Although in 2022 we were close to achieving the goals in terms of commercialization, 2023 is shaping up to be complex due to these aspects and the problems in air transport,” said Paula Cortés, president of Anato.
Given this scenario, the union leader asks people who have had problems with their flights to do not cancel your lodging reservationsbut rather postpone them to enjoy your vacation another time.
If this is not possible, an alternative is to change the original destination for closer cities to have the opportunity to discover a new tourist offer.
“We hope that the Government can respond, hand in hand with the Congress of the Republic and within the framework of the National Development Plan, with strategies that stimulate demand. VAT is a topic that should be discussed if we really want tourism to be a great source of opportunities and job creation,” said Duarte.
While travel agencies and the hotel sector see a decrease in their activity, airlines bet on increase your flights in order to meet the high demand that is expected for this week, and more so now that two companies that controlled more than 25 percent of the Colombian air market are no longer operating.
(Also read: ‘We exhausted all options, but the resources did not arrive on time’: Ultra Air)
New seasonal routes
For Easter Easyfly is offering new seasonal destinations with attractions for this time that commemorates the most important religious festival in the country.
Between April 1 and 10, the Medellín-Mompox, Apartado-Quibdó, Bogota-Popayan, Medellin-PopayanMedellín-Paipa (Boyacá) and Medellín-Tolú, Coveñas.
Travelers who are in Medellin should take into account that Easyfly flights depart from the Olaya Herrera Airportwhich allows to reduce the transport time to and from the place.
And to support passengers stranded by the Ultra Air and Viva Air bankruptcies, the airline has routes available. from Medellín to Bogotá, Cali, Armenia, Montería, Pereira and Bucaramanga, with protection rates for flights until next April 15. It will also fly from these cities to the capital of Antioquia.
Affected passengers can make use of this benefit only at Easyfly points of sale located in each of the airports and can only be made in person by presenting the confirmed printed reservation of Ultra Air and Viva Air airlines.
More than 4,900 flights for Easter
During this holiday season, Avianca will operate 66 additional flights which are added to the 4,900 already scheduled for these dates, to complete an offer of 4,966 flights in total.
These additional flights will be focused on San Andrés, Cartagena, Santa Marta and Medellín. Thus, the airline offers a total of 896,800 chairsof which, 11,800 will be destined to strengthen connectivity in tourist regions that have a greater need for flights.
“We know that Easter is a critical season for the tourist economy of Colombia and for the rest of Colombians. For this reason, we added 66 flights to our operation this season, thinking about Colombians and the regions of the country with the highest influx of tourists,” said Felipe Andrés Gómez, director of Institutional Relations and Sustainability at Avianca.
In addition, from June 2 the airline will operate the route San Andres-Cali-San Andres, which are added to the more than 50 weekly flights between the island and Bogotá. The flights will be made on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
(Also read: Pay attention, Ultra Air passengers: these are the reliefs for Easter)
Wingo increases its domestic operation
Given the difficult situation that the Colombian air sector is going through, Wingo is increasing its domestic operation by 79 percent to provide a greater offer of seats at low cost on domestic flights.
This will be through three new routes from Bogota which will have four weekly frequencies, and which will start operating in stages: Barranquilla (May 15), Pereira (June 5) and Bucaramanga (June 12).
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We have decided to increase our capacity on domestic flights to expand the offer from the low-cost model
In total, the airline will make available to the market about 19,000 a month on these routes and the tickets can be purchased with promotional launch rates that start in the 99,900 pesos each way.
Additionally, it will increase by 58 percent the operation of its two active routes to San Andrés that take off from Cartagena and Barranquilla. And as of April 16, it offers an additional flight per week from the Rafael Núñez, as well as from the Ernesto Cortissoz from May 21.
This is in addition to the charter flights that are being made from Bogotá and Medellín to the archipelago. In total there will be 516 additional flights for the rest of 2023.
As a complement to its strategy to strengthen the Colombian domestic market, Wingo also will add 196 flights to its current route network. The main routes benefited are those that connect Bogotá with Medellín, Santa Marta and Cartagena.
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“We have decided to increase our capacity on domestic flights to expand the offer, from the low cost modeland thus continue contributing to the growth of the national air market”, said Jorge Jiménez, Commercial and Planning Director of Wingo.
