Colombia's hotel sector saw a 3.5% drop in real revenues in October, driven by a 32.8% decline in the Pacific region. While real wages rose 3.3%, occupied personnel fell 1.8% nationally. Cotelco calls for policies to boost tourism competitiveness.
The National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) released the results of the Monthly Accommodation Survey (EMA) for October 2025, highlighting challenges in Colombia's hotel sector. Real revenues dropped 3.5% compared to October 2024, with the Pacific region posting the worst performance since the pandemic, a 32.8% decline reminiscent of the 48% fall in February 2021. In contrast, the Golfo de Morrosquillo and Sabana area showed the strongest growth, up 10.3% in revenues.
Occupied personnel nationwide fell 1.8%, with San Andrés and Providencia contributing -0.08 percentage points to the decline. Only Golfo de Morrosquillo and Sabana (+3.1%) and Bogotá (+1.6%) reported increases. José Andrés Duarte, president of Cotelco, stated: “The EMA figures confirm that the accommodation sector, where the vast majority are small and family-run establishments across the national territory, faces a challenging year, with drops in revenues, employment, and occupancy in several regions of the country”.
Real wages were the only bright spot, rising 3.3% for the sixth consecutive month. Llanos Orinoquía declined 0.7%, while the Amazon region led with +9.5%, and the Caribbean coast contributed 1.4 percentage points. Duarte added: “This behavior requires strengthening policies on competitiveness, tourism promotion, and formalization to protect jobs and ensure the sustainability of an activity key to regional economies”.
