Two years have passed since the Colombian government and the entity ProColombia launched an ambitious international campaign under the slogan “Colombia, the Country of Beauty,” with the goal of repositioning the nation as a destination for tourism, investment, and exports beyond its traditional borders.

The balance after this period shows significant progress, consolidating not only international tourism in the country but also strengthening the attraction of foreign investment and the expansion of exports.

Despite global political turbulence, Colombia is experiencing a moment of growth in its international image. The arrival of tourists continues to break records year after year, and exports are growing while the government seeks to diversify them to overcome U.S. tariffs. The United States remains Colombia’s main trading partner and a key reference point for both tourism and international trade relations.

The launch of the campaign responded to the need to renew Colombia’s international image — to move beyond the stereotype tied to decades of conflict and to highlight its biodiversity, culture, people, and opportunities. According to the official platform “Colombia, the Country of Beauty,” it presented a nation “where nature, culture, and talent emerge together.”

The narrative, however, sought not only to attract visitors but also to ensure that the country’s beauty translated into tangible benefits, allowing every region and national enterprise to take part in that global projection. In the words of ProColombia’s president, the strategy “makes sense only if each region, each small- and medium-sized enterprise, and each project can become a protagonist in national growth.”

Although it is not Colombia’s first international promotion campaign, the success of this initiative is unprecedented. In tourism, the results are striking. Between August 2022 and September of this year, Colombia surpassed 20 million international visitors for the first time, a milestone driven by the opening of 68 new air routes that improved the country’s connectivity.

Beyond the numbers, there is a push to diversify destinations: Places that were once off the global radar have begun to appear in tourism offerings, generating new local economies. This diversification is key to preventing tourism from concentrating solely in traditional centers. Among these are areas that, during the years of conflict with the now-defunct FARC, were absent from tourist routes but today, following the 2016 peace agreement, are filled with visitors.

Nonetheless, challenges remain for Colombia. As many other countries have faced before, the challenge for the South American nation now lies in translating the arrival of millions of tourists into sustainable spending, quality accommodation, a positive visitor experience, and real benefits for local communities — while avoiding harmful mass tourism.

The campaign was not limited to tourism: One of its major goals was also to attract investment and expand exports. In three years, Colombia managed US$14.7 billion in foreign direct investment through 512 projects spanning 25 departments and more than 100 municipalities, with over 306,000 projected jobs.

In foreign trade, more than 11,100 companies participated — 71% of them micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) — in international promotion services; around 5,400 achieved business deals worth about US$9.9 billion in 144 countries. These figures show that the country brand is beginning to translate into concrete economic results.

Now, the task for the country is not only to consolidate these new jobs and sustain them over time but also to extend this progress to peripheral regions traditionally distant from the nation’s overall development.

In this regard, the government says that investment and the real presence of the state in these areas are the most effective ways to reduce the influence of illegal armed groups — something that must now be turned into concrete projects and large-scale investments.

The campaign draws on creativity, international visibility, and awards. For instance, the strategy earned recognition at the 2025 Cannes Lions creativity festival, underscoring that Colombia is being seen not only as a destination but also as a brand story.