Ibagué (Colombia) presents an ambitious Strategic Plan for Tourism and Trade

02-10-24

• Different actions foresee the injection of one billion dollars in projects, investments and other actions.

• One of the most outstanding initiatives is the celebration of Ibagué's 475th anniversary.

Within the framework of the forum Ibagué Turístico: Estrategias y Oportunidades, an ambitious Strategic Tourism and Trade Plan for the city has been presented, projected for two years, whose main objective is to position Ibagué as an international tourist destination and strengthen its economy through the injection of around one billion dollars.

This plan, which has the collaboration of Tourism and Society Think Tank, local entrepreneurs, travel agencies, guilds, tourism experts, Fenalco Tolima and the Mayor's Office, seeks to revitalize the city's tourism infrastructure, promote the creation of new routes and cultural experiences, and generate an attractive environment for both domestic and foreign visitors. One of the most outstanding initiatives is the celebration of Ibagué's 475th anniversary, scheduled for 2025, which will serve as a key event to attract tourists and make the city's cultural and musical offerings visible nationally and internationally.

The commemoration of the city's birthday will be a pillar of the strategy, with events throughout 2025 that will include music festivals, an international gastronomic exhibition, and a historical tour of Ibagué's most emblematic sites. The launch will take place on December 12 of this year at the Panóptico, one of the most emblematic places in the city, as well as within the framework of FITUR'2025 (International Tourism Fair). 

Similarly, proposals have been presented and approved to be developed during the year 2025 in the framework of the events of the 475th anniversary of the founding of the city, and it is expected that this celebration will significantly boost the flow of tourism and put Ibagué on the radar of the most important destinations in Colombia.

One of the most commented aspects among those attending the Forum was the non-attendance of some political and economic actors in the tourism field of the city and the Department of Tolima, whose voices would have been essential for the discussion of joint strategies between the private sector and government authorities. This lack of representation has been pointed out in the form of constructive criticism by the attendees, who stressed the importance of having all the relevant actors for the success of this ambitious project.

The forum, organized by the Secretary of Economic Development of the Mayor's Office of Ibagué and Fenalco Tolima, concluded with a call for the unity of all sectors involved in the promotion of the city as a tourist destination, leaving open the invitation to future conversations that include the strategic actors absent on this occasion.

With this effort, Ibagué is projected as an epicenter of tourism and economic development in Colombia, with a projection of sustained growth that will benefit all its inhabitants, and a historic celebration of its 475th anniversary that promises to position the city on the international stage.