Colombia receives 47 nominations in the prestigious 2025 World Travel Awards, considered the most important prizes in the global tourism industry.
This recognition positions the country as one of South America’s leading tourist destinations, standing alongside iconic places like Peru’s Machu Picchu and Chile’s Atacama Desert.
Colombia’s participation spans prominent categories including Leading Cultural Destination; Leading Green Destination; Leading Adventure Destination and Leading Culinary Destination, reinforcing its image as a diverse, sustainable, and attractive country for all types of travelers.
In addition, 22 nominations correspond to specific destinations such as Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena and Cali. In the hotel sector, 11 establishments were highlighted. The Agora convention center and the Foodies Colombia travel agency were also nominated.
For the first time, the Las Lajas Sanctuary, located in Nariño, received a nomination as Leading Tourist Attraction.
Colombia receives 47 nominations for the 2025 World Travel Awards, ‘the Oscars of tourism’
Colombia solidifies its position as one of the continent’s and the world’s most significant tourist destinations after earning a total of 47 nominations in the prestigious 2025 World Travel Awards, known as the “Oscars of tourism.”
This recognition not only highlights the country’s natural, cultural, and gastronomic wealth but also reflects the sustained efforts of the Colombian tourism sector to position itself as a diverse and innovative alternative to other destinations.
The nominations cover a broad spectrum, from nature destinations and cultural cities to airlines, hotels, tour operators, and luxury resorts.
This wide range demonstrates that Colombia is not just a destination with paradisiacal beaches or lush landscapes, but a country that has successfully integrated into the global market with an offering that combines tradition, sustainability, and sophistication.
Cities like Bogotá, Medellín, Cartagena, and Cali feature in relevant categories, but less traditional destinations also appear. This points to a decentralization of tourism and a growing interest in authentic experiences in less-explored places.
Colombian cities lead the nominations
The capital, Bogota, has again been recognized as a premier cultural and business city, with infrastructure increasingly tailored to the needs of the contemporary traveler. Its events calendar, nightlife, established museums and galleries, along with the growth of urban art and gastronomy, keep it a vibrant, dynamic, and distinctive metropolis.
Medellin, meanwhile, continues to reap the rewards of its urban transformation, integrated transportation system, and commitment to innovation tourism. The city has been nominated in categories related to meetings tourism and as an emerging destination for urban tourism.
Cartagena de Indias, with its irresistible blend of colonial history, heritage architecture, and Caribbean beaches, could not be left out of these nominations. Beyond its walls and historic center, the city has diversified its offerings with ecotourism proposals on nearby islands and strengthened its role as an epicenter for weddings, honeymoons, and luxury events.
Cali is also positioning itself strongly as a cultural capital, especially regarding music and dance, attracting a growing number of visitors interested in experiential tourism.
Related: Five Colombian Cities Nominated for the 2025 World Travel Awards.
Colombia, a sustainable and nature-friendly destination
One of the most striking aspects of this 2025 edition is the recognition of sustainable and nature-based tourism. Due to its geographic location and megadiversity, Colombia is one of the planet’s most biodiverse countries per square meter, and voters have taken note.
Natural parks like Tayrona, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the Amazon, and the Coffee Cultural Landscape region have been nominated as leading ecotourism destinations, thanks to their efforts to integrate local communities, conserve the environment, and offer immersive experiences that respect culture and ecosystems.
The growth of hotel infrastructure has also been crucial. Various national and international hotel chains operating in Colombia have received nominations for their service quality, design, and sustainability.
Simultaneously, there has been a notable increase in boutique lodgings and rural tourism proposals, which have found authenticity to be their main strength. This indicates that today’s tourist seeks more than comfort: they want connection with the environment, with people, and with a story that goes beyond check-in and check-out.
Colombian gastronomy and connectivity at the World Travel Awards 2025
Gastronomy, which has seen remarkable growth in the last decade, also positions itself as one of Colombian tourism’s major assets. The nominations reflect international recognition for a cuisine that has creatively and sophisticatedly reinterpreted its roots, giving rise to chef-driven restaurants, food festivals, and culinary experiences in rural areas.
Coffee, the quintessential national symbol, remains a protagonist—not just as an export product but as a reason to discover the landscapes of Quindío, Risaralda, and Caldas, and to engage with the communities that cultivate it.
Regarding air connectivity and tourism services, Colombia has advanced by leaps and bounds. National and regional airlines have been recognized for their ability to connect domestic destinations and facilitate the arrival of international visitors, while travel agencies and tour operators have been nominated for their innovative and responsible proposals.
All this indicates that the country has matured its tourism strategy and understands that growth must go hand-in-hand with quality and sustainability. In this regard, Bogotá’s El Dorado Airport is competing in the category of “South America’s Leading Airport 2025.”
President Gustavo Petro described the 47 nominations across various categories for Colombia in the 2025 World Travel Awards as “a Colombian victory in tourism” on his X account.
Victoria colombiana en turismo. pic.twitter.com/5QBeXR9TvG
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) June 1, 2025
ProColombia competes as the ‘best South American tourism promotion agency’
ProColombia is a project launched in 1992 with the aim to “promote tourism, foreign investment in Colombia, non-mining and energy exports, and the country’s image,” as explained on its website. The agency carries out this work with the utmost dedication, yielding significant results such as various nominations in the “Tourism Oscars.”
Due to its impactful work, the organization is nominated in the “Best Tourism Promotion Agency in South America 2025” category, a recognition of its leadership and strategy in positioning Colombia as a global tourist destination worth visiting by foreigners.
Accordingly, ProColombia implements a highly innovative strategy across 26 markets, promoting cultural, natural, gastronomic, and adventure diversity. This significantly boosts the country’s visibility, attracting an increasing number of international tourists.
The 47 nominations are not just a number: they reflect the collective effort of a country that has chosen to see tourism as a path to development, reconciliation, and global recognition.
In a world where travelers increasingly seek meaningful experiences, Colombia stands out as a mosaic of landscapes, cultures, flavors, and emotions that are hard to match. The World Travel Awards 2025 have echoed this reality, and now the world looks to Colombia not just as a destination, but as a fulfilled promise.
The growing tourism industry and its benefits for Colombia
Translating all this into figures, the growth of the Colombian tourism industry has been exponential in recent years.
In 2024, tourism revenues in Colombia were US$21 billion, while by this year they could reach US$ 21.6 billion, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), or 5.1% of Colombia’s annual Gross Domestic Product.
This reality has been used by the government of President Gustavo Petro to explain the revaluation of the peso as a currency, which became the strongest currency in the region last May.
“Why is the peso revalued? Because tourism and remittances have been able to balance the decrease in oil and coal exports; because the real economy is growing more than in the U.S. and Europe,” the president wrote in his social networks.
¿Porqué se revalúa el peso? Porque el turismo y las remesas han podido equilibrar la disminución de exportaciones de petroleo y carbón; por que la economía real crece más que en EEUU y Europa.
Porque los aranceles de Trump se cayeron. https://t.co/zeeLA23apb— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) June 1, 2025