by Brian Major
Last updated: 2:20 PM ET, Wed April 17, 2019
The hotel and tourism association of Cartagena, Colombia has joined the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) as the organization's first commercial member in more than 15 years, association officials said.
COTELCO Cartagena is a chapter of Colombia's hotel and tourism association with 56 affiliated hotels and more than 4,000 hotel rooms, including the GHL Hotels, Hilton, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Karisma Hotels and Resorts, Movich Hotels, Radisson Hotels and Resorts, Sofitel and Hyatt Hotels brands.
COTELCO Nacional has 900 affiliate hotels in Colombia with a presence in 23 departments, said association officials. "We are absolutely delighted that COTELCO Cartagena, which represents the jewel in the crown of Colombia, has joined CHTA with its brilliant fusion of Caribbean and Latin American culture adding enormously to the rich diversity of our organization," said Frank Comito, CHTA's CEO and director general.
Cartagena is filled with historic sites and culture. The walled colonial city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the final resting place of South American liberator Simón Bolivar and also features ancient churches built as fortresses to repel pirates and foreign invaders. The Old City is now a lively pedestrian district with tiled roofs, balconies, flower-filled courtyards and lively shops, bars and restaurants.
"Cartagena is one of the Colombian Caribbean cities with the greatest tourist potential and one of the most visited in the country," said Monica Mass Tinoco, COTELCO Cartagena's executive director. "Its monumental treasure, which is a World Heritage Site, declared by UNESCO, and which is in an excellent state of preservation, constitutes one of its greatest attractions."
Added Mass Tinoco, "The perfect combination of sea, walls, legends and history, distinguish our destination as a unique brand of the Caribbean. [Cartagena] also has the archipelago of Nuestra Señora del Rosario, an island area that offers white-sand beaches and crystal-clear waters, and you can reach it in 40 minutes, by speedboat from the docks of the old city."
Cartagena is "the door of entry from the region to Latin America," said Raúl Bustamante, general manager of Intercontinental Cartagena. "And as such we have much that we can contribute to the association, (while) at the same time, learn from our new colleagues and friends who are members of CHTA."
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
