Colombia Tourism Revenue Now Tops Coffee and Coal Exports
Colombia · TOURISM
Key Facts
- —Measure Colombia tourism revenue is balance-of-payments travel receipts, not a goods export line.
- —2025 Tourism earned US$11.42 billion, coffee US$5.79 billion and coal US$4.90 billion.
- —Congress Anato’s 30th national congress runs on August 27 and 28 in Barranquilla.
- —Arrivals Foreign visitors fell about four percent to 3.3 million between January and July.
- —Markets The United States, Venezuela and Mexico led arrivals in 2026.
Anato’s 30th congress in Barranquilla opens with figures that put travel receipts above two flagship exports.
Tourism now brings Colombia more hard currency than coffee or coal, but the comparison mixes two different official data sets. Colombia tourism revenue reached US$11.42 billion in 2025, against US$5.79 billion of coffee and US$4.90 billion of coal.
What the tourism claim actually measures
The headline number comes from the balance of payments kept by the Banco de la República. It counts what foreign visitors spend inside the country, plus fares paid to carriers.
Coffee and coal are measured differently, as free-on-board goods shipments recorded by DANE. DANE is the Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística, Colombia’s official statistics agency.
So Colombia tourism revenue and commodity exports come from two separate statistical systems. Both are export earnings, yet they are not published in the same table.
Read that way, the Colombia tourism revenue claim holds for 2025 and early 2026. It does not mean tourism is now the country’s largest single export earner.
Coffee and coal in the same period
DANE data show coffee exports of US$5.79 billion in 2025 and coal exports of US$4.90 billion. Together the two came to about US$10.69 billion for the year.
Tourism receipts of US$11.42 billion therefore edged past both commodities combined. The Asociación Colombiana de Agencias de Viajes y Turismo, or Anato, put the 2025 gain at 11.7 percent.
Last year was also the first time in 25 years that coffee overtook coal. Coffee finished about US$887 million above coal, on the same DANE series.
In the first half of 2026 coffee shipments reached US$2.36 billion and coal US$2.43 billion. Coal has edged back ahead of coffee this year, on DANE figures through June.
Live Market IntelligenceColombia — Live Market Board
Rio Times · Live Market Intelligence
Colombia — Live Market Board
-0.15%
174,586.26
+0.01%
66,191.11
-0.15%
11,369.18
-0.71%
3,024,971
+0.00%
2,504.68
-0.15%
60,449.35
+0.30%
| Instrument | Last | Change | YoY | Prev. | High | Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COLCAP | 2,504.68 | -0.15% | — | 9.04 | 9.05 | 9.02 | 4,133 |
| USD/COP | 3,140 | +0.03% | -22.04% | 3,139 | 3,141 | 3,105 | — |
| BRENT | 88.88 | -0.03% | +34.42% | 88.91 | 90.07 | 88.12 | 29,713 |
| WTI | 83.11 | -0.11% | +31.57% | 83.20 | 84.35 | 82.40 | 166,848 |
| ECOPETROL | 16.92 | -0.53% | +98.01% | 17.01 | 17.05 | 16.79 | 737,591 |
| BANCOLOMBIA | 95.87 | -2.18% | +96.15% | 98.01 | 100.36 | 95.73 | 188,740 |
| GRUPO AVAL | 5.40 | +2.66% | +76.89% | 5.26 | 5.49 | 5.32 | 146,447 |
| TECNOGLASS | 42.30 | -1.10% | -48.04% | 42.77 | 42.73 | 42.05 | 60,908 |
| CREDICORP | 375.17 | -0.49% | +49.60% | 377.00 | 384.43 | 372.27 | 88,375 |
| BUENAVENTURA | 34.45 | -1.02% | +88.07% | 34.80 | 35.62 | 34.33 | 275,831 |
| SOUTHERN COPPER | 193.97 | -0.26% | +104.01% | 194.48 | 199.36 | 192.59 | 367,102 |
A cumulative figure that is often misread
MinCIT said in July that tourism had generated close to US$34.43 billion in foreign exchange. MinCIT is the Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo, the trade and tourism ministry.
That figure is cumulative for the whole presidential term, running to December 2025. It is not an annual number, and it should not be set against one year of exports.
The ministry credited the Banco de la República with the Colombia tourism revenue data. It also said 5.7 of every 10 service export dollars now come from tourism.
Colombia tourism revenue still trails oil and its derivatives, which earned US$12.48 billion in 2025. Anato says travel receipts reached 91 percent of the oil total in early 2026.
The 30th Anato congress in Barranquilla
The travel agents’ association has held this congress every year for three decades. Its 30th edition opens on August 27 at the Centro de Eventos Puerta de Oro.
The two-day meeting runs through August 28 in Barranquilla, on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. Its theme translates as travel beyond the algorithm, journeys that leave a mark.
A Cumbre Internacional de Turismo y Ciudad met the day before at the Gran Malecón. Anato has not published an expected attendance figure for the congress.
The congress is separate from Anato’s Vitrina Turística trade fair, held each February in Bogotá. That fair reached its 45th edition in 2026, with Córdoba as guest department.
The anniversary coincides with 30 years of Colombia’s Ley General de Turismo, the sector’s framework law. Anato has used the meeting to press for tourism policy that outlasts single governments.
Where the 2026 visitors come from
Anato ranked the United States, Venezuela and Mexico as the top three source markets this year. Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Chile, Spain, Costa Rica and Argentina complete the top ten.
Between January and May the United States sent 570,541 visitors, or 23.5 percent of the total. Venezuela sent 293,146 and Mexico 195,485, on the same official count.
Foreign arrivals still fell about four percent to 3.3 million between January and July. Anato reported drops of seven percent from the United States and from Venezuela.
Mexico was the exception among the leaders, growing 6.9 percent over the same months. Visits by Colombians living abroad fell close to 11 percent.
Why arrivals fall while receipts rise
A stronger peso is the explanation the sector gives most often. The rate averaged about 3,443 pesos to the dollar in June 2026, 15.4 percent below June 2025.
The official TRM rate on August 27, 2026 was 3,118.24 pesos per dollar, from the Superintendencia Financiera. TRM stands for Tasa Representativa del Mercado, the country’s official reference rate.
Fewer visitors can still spend more when each one stays longer or buys more. Anato estimates foreign visitors now spend about 54 trillion pesos (US$17.3 billion) a year.
That spending estimate is broader than the balance-of-payments measure behind Colombia tourism revenue. The two figures are not interchangeable, and Anato presents them separately.
New flights and a new ticket levy
ProColombia, the state export and tourism promotion agency, counted 20 new international routes for 2026. They start between June 4 and December 18, adding 79 weekly frequencies and about 15,438 seats.
Qatar Airways starts Doha to Bogotá on September 4, and United adds Houston and Washington to Cartagena in December. JetBlue links Fort Lauderdale with Barranquilla in October and with Cali two weeks later.
Air Europa opens Madrid to Barranquilla on December 18, and JetSmart flies Buenos Aires to Medellín from November. Avianca is due to start Caracas to Medellín on August 28.
A new levy of one dollar applies to every international air ticket sold in Colombia. Decree 0625 of 2026 created it in June, funding child protection programs at the ICBF.
ICBF is the Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar, the state family welfare agency. Anato objects that tickets already carry 19 percent value added tax.
Safety and the August earthquake
The United States keeps Colombia at Level 3, advising travelers to reconsider travel, updated March 31, 2026. Level 4 do-not-travel warnings cover Arauca, Norte de Santander and parts of Cauca and Valle del Cauca.
The advisory also warns against the strip within 10 kilometres of the Venezuelan border. Popayán and Cali are carved out of the Level 4 areas.
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck on August 10, with its epicentre in Chocó. It damaged buildings in the Eje Cafetero, including the cathedral in Manizales.
Anato has asked travelers not to cancel trips to the Eje Cafetero, Chocó and Cali. It has also asked the government for relief for agencies hit by the quake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has tourism really overtaken coffee and coal in Colombia?
Yes, on balance-of-payments travel receipts for 2025 and early 2026. Colombia tourism revenue of US$11.42 billion beat coffee and coal exports, which totalled US$10.69 billion.
Which countries send the most visitors to Colombia in 2026?
The United States leads, followed by Venezuela and Mexico, on figures Anato presented in August. Ecuador and Peru follow, with Spain the largest European market.
What has changed for travelers heading to Colombia this year?
Twenty new international routes open through December, and a one-dollar levy now applies to international tickets. The United States advisory still asks travelers to reconsider travel.
Connected Coverage
Colombia Economic Emergency Declared After Deadly Earthquake
Sources
- www.mincit.gov.co
- www.dane.gov.co
- www.dane.gov.co
- www.portafolio.co
- www.lafm.com.co
- www.eltiempo.com
- www.elcolombiano.com
- www.semana.com
- www.semana.com
- www.elcolombiano.com
- travel.state.gov
- barranquilla.gov.co
- www.larepublica.co
- www.datos.gov.co
- www.anato.org
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