This sub-sector of cultural tourism presents numerous benefits, among which the most relevant are:

• Longer stays, with language learners usually staying between 3 and 12 weeks.

• As it is also an educational investment, tourists often view it as a long-term benefit, leading to higher average spending.

• A wide-ranging tourist profile, which means there is interest in many types of activities.

• Direct impact on nearly all cultural tourism sub-sectors, as well as other tourism branches.

• Strong contribution to the international projection of the language and national culture.

• Geographical diversification by bringing tourism to non-massified destinations.

• Year-round activity, helping reduce the seasonality of traditional tourism.

Latin America: A sleeping giant

With more than 420 million native Spanish speakers across 19 countries, Latin America represents a vast and largely untapped potential for the development of language tourism. Besides Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina, countries like Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras offer unique cultural contexts. These nations, rich in cultural diversity, accents, landscapes, biodiversity, mountains, paradisiacal beaches, and competitive costs, form an ideal destination for Spanish learners seeking authentic experiences.

As a bloc of countries that share the same language, regional strategic alliances could be developed to offer multi-country educational circuits, exposing learners to a variety of accents, traditions, and geographies.

Some countries are already beginning to attract Spanish-language students:

• Mexico, with private centers mainly in Guanajuato, Oaxaca, and Mexico City.

• Argentina, positioning Buenos Aires as a leading language-learning city in Latin America.

• Peru and Chile, beginning to gain ground in this niche.

• Guatemala, offering Spanish schools with nature-based experiences.

Nevertheless, Latin American countries still capture only a small percentage of the global language tourism market. This is due to several factors:

• Lack of national strategies to promote Spanish as a tourism product.

• Weak coordination between tourism, culture, and education ministries.

• Inconsistent quality and accreditation standards in Spanish language teaching.

• Poor integration among tourism sectors to offer a holistic experience to learners.

Colombia and its competitive advantage in language tourism

Colombia stands out as one of the most promising Latin American countries for learning Spanish as a foreign language. Among its key advantages is accent neutrality. In Bogotá and the surrounding Cundiboyacense savanna—a region filled with charming small towns—people speak clearly and at a moderate pace, articulating well, which is especially beneficial for beginners. Like other countries in the region, Colombia also boasts a wide variety of accents and idioms, offering learners a truly diverse and enriching exposure to the Spanish language.

Additionally, Colombia has been internationally recognized for its biodiversity by organizations such as UNEP, WWF, the Humboldt Institute, and the Convention on Biological Diversity. It is the most biodiverse country per square kilometer in the world and ranks first in bird and orchid diversity, and among the top in amphibians, butterflies, reptiles, and plants. According to UN environmental reports, Colombia has over 50,000 registered species, with more than 9,000 endemic ones. This natural wealth represents a unique draw for Spanish learners who may not have such biodiversity in their home countries.

Affordable long-term stays in Colombia are another great advantage compared to countries like Spain, Chile, Uruguay, Costa Rica, and others in the region.

However, the lack of a national strategy hinders Colombia’s ability to scale these experiences. There is no country brand promoting Spanish, no international promotion mechanisms, and no widely recognized quality certifications.

Why invest in language tourism in Colombia?

Compared to other forms of tourism (sun-and-beach, nature, urban), language tourism offers:

• Higher visitor profitability

• Longer stays

• Lower environmental impact

• Expenditure spread in rural and non-traditional areas

• Cross-sectoral benefits within the tourism industry

It can also generate new income sources for families in non-touristic areas by hosting Spanish students, thus positively impacting local economies.

To consolidate Colombia—and Latin America—as a language tourism destination, the following five action lines are proposed:

• Create a country brand centered on Spanish as a cultural product.

• Accredit ELE schools with international standards.

• Design integrated language-cultural routes.

• Promote alliances among universities, institutes, communities, and tourism stakeholders.

• Participate actively in international language tourism fairs.

Most current initiatives in Latin America are led by the private sector or isolated academic institutions, lacking strong public policy support or national language internationalization strategies. This presents a major opportunity for Latin American governments to incorporate language tourism into their economic, cultural, and educational development agendas.

Investing in this type of tourism could unlock access to new markets, revitalize local economies, attract high-profile academic and professional visitors, and position Latin America as a destination for knowledge, identity, and cultural exchange.

Author: Ninoska Gutiérrez

Licentiate in Modern Languages and entrepreneur in language tourism.