By: Andrea Ballesteros

The President of the Republic, Iván Duque, presented Friday a series of ideas to stimulate the national tourism sector in the context of the conclusion of version 23 of the Congress of the National Association of Travel Agencies (Anato), which was held yesterday and today in Bucaramanga .

Information, institutions, infrastructure, industry, integration, integration and inspiration were the seven ideas that the chief executive had proposed during the event:

-Information to make the best sectoral decisions. "The satellite account must be sufficiently detailed and accurate to know how many operators there are, how many companies, how many are being marketed, for decision-making."

institutions. "If we have Bancóldex and Procolombia as two entities linked to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism, I can find no reason why this sector is not represented on the board of directors of these two entities and makes sectoral decisions."

-infrastructure. "Do we have the airport networks we need? Do we have the operational capacity we would like to attract more products? Do we have the best aeronautical policy? Do we have enough road connections?"

-industry. "We need to eliminate unnecessary expenses, reform the public administration, prevent evasion and not stifle small and medium-sized businesses, including travel agencies."

-Instruction. "That the baccalaureate students have been trained for a job in the last three years and that they have the opportunity to graduate with a double degree according to the vocation of each region, that we have technicians in tourism and hotel management."

integration. "It is necessary to develop the Aerocafé, the axis of road integration of Ánimas-Nuquí, and of the integration to expand our gastronomic offer."

-Inspiration: "We need to look for mechanisms so that small businesses can access technology, my goal is that the sector represents 8% of GDP (gross domestic product) and that the country exceeds 6 million tourists."

Duque also promised to end this year with the procedures that prevent investments in the sector and for this he asked for the cooperation of the actors of the tourist industry. "Colombia's future is tourism and we must recognize it and work for it, and I want tourism to be the new oil of Colombia, which will become the country's largest currency broker," he said.

During the event, the president also officially took over the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Juan Pablo Franky, who yesterday announced the roadmap that will manage the portfolio he represents for the development of national tourism.

The request from the tourism sector

The executive president of Anato, Paula Cortés, Friday asked the head of state to strengthen the investment in the sector.

"Our industry generates resources that are not necessarily reflected in the budget allocated by the national government.You could strengthen the investment resources by allocating the sector, the totality of the generated tourist tax," he said at the closing ceremony of the 23rd edition of the Anato congress.

In accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of Law 1101 of 2006, the tax rate for tourism is from 1 January 2012 the sum of 15 dollars or the equivalent in pesos.

On the other hand, the executive power insisted on the need to simplify procedures and tax burden for companies, as well as on the inclusion of companies in the sector in the creativity workshops organized by the "government to make them more competitive, we need the vision of the future which require global markets, and expert assistance would enable us to be more competitive and productive ".

The mayor of the capital Antioquia, Federico Gutiérrez, announced on Friday afternoon that Medellín will organize the 24th edition of the Anato Congress.

"The next year we wait for you in Medellin to rediscover the city, which is now greener, more sustainable and for everyone," said the official.

Trump in Colombia

As part of the Anato event, President Iván Duque announced that the US president, Donald Trump, will visit Colombia before the end of the year; after attending the G20 conference held in Argentina. In the thematic agenda that is considered, the possibilities for cooperation in the field of safety and the fight against drugs have been included, not only in Colombia, but also in the region.

Trump intends to visit Paris, France, on November 11, to commemorate the centenary at the end of the First World War and will also go to Ireland.