Colombia’s model of tourism with purpose provides lessons to the rest of the world

Global tourism stands at a decisive crossroads. According to the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index 2024 (TTDI), the sector is recovering from the pandemic but still grappling with major challenges – from climate change and community inclusion to infrastructure gaps, talent shortages and the need to harness digitalization for competitiveness.

In this new context, countries must rethink tourism strategies beyond promotion and growth. Sustainability is no longer a trend; it is the foundation of long-term competitiveness. In this global landscape, Colombia offers a compelling example of how to turn the sector’s challenges into opportunities for local development.

Far from an isolated case, Colombia’s experience provides a roadmap for destinations seeking to build tourism with purpose. By linking biodiversity to global narratives and fostering community innovation labs, Colombia shows that the challenges of modern tourism can be met through creative, technological and human-centred solutions.

Colombia’s strategy pivots on reinterpreting apparent disadvantages as opportunities. The country is among the most biodiverse on the planet but it ranks 50th in international tourist arrivals.

This gap thus sowed the seeds of a powerful idea: if millions of animals migrate to Colombia every year, what do they know that humans have yet to discover?

Humanimal Tourism was born – a campaign combining science, creativity and technology to connect biodiversity and tourism.

Using real-time data from more than 530 migratory species, the initiative launched targeted promotions on travel platforms such as Expedia and Despegar whenever turtles, birds or whales arrived on the country’s coasts and rainforests.

It resulted in over 60,000 bookings, 370 million global impressions and a reputational impact equivalent of $42 million in earned media. This proves that a nature-based narrative can translate into action and trust with the campaign sparking curiosity while inspiring a commitment to conservation.

Beyond the numbers, Humanimal Tourism offers a replicable lesson: destinations can transform their particularities – even their limitations – into unique market differentiators.

A gap between natural potential and visitor numbers was bridged through a new narrative that converges emotion, science and purpose. Tourism communication, therefore, becomes a value strategy that turns perception into action, rather than just promotional communication.

Colombia’s approach to inclusion provides another key lesson. During the pandemic, when tourism halted, the Tourism Product and Innovation Club emerged – a collaborative lab to strengthen communities and local businesses’ capabilities.

This initiative began so sustainable tourism could be built on meaningful experiences designed by those living in the territories.

Entrepreneurs, operators, lodges and guides work together to develop tourism products that meet international standards without losing their cultural and environmental authenticity.

In these co-creation spaces, participants learn how to tell their stories, structure prices, integrate digital tools and apply regenerative tourism methodologies. In this way, the club creates tourism products while building human and business capacities.

Dozens of these experiences appear in international catalogues covering culture, wellness, nature and community-based tourism.

Highlights include Chachita, a small lodge in Nuquí on Colombia’s Pacific coast that evolved into a resilient tourism enterprise; Rojitama, a birdwatching sanctuary founded by a family in Boyacá in the central Andes; and La Huerta, located in Valle del Cauca in the southwest, where sustainable agriculture merges with wellness experiences in a regenerative tourism model.

The lesson is that tourism competitiveness is built through cooperation and inclusion. Destinations that integrate local communities as key actors in the value chain diversify their offerings and create tourism that redistributes benefits and strengthens a sense of belonging.

The third lesson from Colombia’s model is that tourism success cannot be measured solely by arrival figures or revenues but by its capacity to balance conservation, innovation and well-being.

In 2024, Colombia welcomed over 7 million non-resident visitors, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. By the first half of 2025, there were 3.3 million travellers with the country generating more than $5.2 billion in foreign-exchange earnings.

Behind these numbers, however, tourism has evolved from being an economic goal to becoming a tool for sustainable development and social cohesion.

Humanimal Tourism transforms biodiversity into a global narrative that inspires pride and conservation, while the Tourism Product and Innovation Club sustains that narrative through tangible actions.

Both demonstrate that sustainability can drive competitiveness and that tourism can create impact without compromising natural or cultural resources.

At a time when the global industry seeks to balance growth with consciousness, the model shows that public-private cooperation, digital innovation and narrative creativity can work together to redefine tourism’s purpose.

Colombia’s strategies are ultimately adaptable principles for other contexts across three pillars:

These three pillars form a replicable proposal, showing others countries how they can turn challenge into competitive advantages, biodiversity into a narrative and cooperation into an engine for innovation.

The underlying message is universal: the tourism competitiveness of the future will depend on sustainability understood as a collective purpose. Those who manage to balance technology, inclusion and nature will be best prepared to meet the global challenges of the 21st century.