A lot of hotels under construction in Colombia

Colombia's Hotel Federation said sunday that 4,000 hotels are under construction in many areas of the country.

At a meeting in Manizales attended by delegates of the National Government, the president of Hotel Federation Cotelco, Juan Leonardo Correa, said that the hotels are being built in areas of ecotourism, mountain regions and in the interior of the country as well as on the coast.

According to Correa, one of the reasons for the rise has been the tax exemption, valid until 2.017, which absolves investors who build hotels from paying income tax for 30 years.

The union leader suggested that the figures warrant the increase of representation for tourism in government and further promotion in internal and foreign markets to ensure investments are recovered and industry conditions are improved.

Correa said that great progress had been made in attracting tourists to the coffee regions but this may be related to the closure of Los Nevados National Park in central Colombia because of the increased activitiy of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano.

The unstable volcano has had great impact on Manizales and the surrounding municipalities reducing tourism by 40%, according to the Cotelco president.

Correa also stressed the support of the government was essential to ensure the rights of travelers in the country and especially with regard to the issue of airline routes and services.