No doubt about it, 2007 has been one of the best years in the last decade if not more for Colombia and Colombian business. The stock market is booming, major companies have been bought out by overseas investors, the guerrilla seems to be on the run and the popularity of President Uribe seems to only continue to rise.
One of the new areas of opportunity for investors given this change in the outlook for Colombia is a possible boom in tourism and also the creation of investment properties initially along the Caribbean coast. The cities that have benefited most from this are Cartagena and Santa Marta. However, it seems to me that the prices now being asked for for some of the properties in Cartagena are just ludicrous. I have seen this happen in many different businesses here. So if you do decide to invest in Colombia be aware that the locals have generally little knowledge of international prices and as such tend to ask too much while generally believing that it will be paid! So if you find someone too intransigent to negotiate, I recommend looking around for a better deal.
One of the cities that has grown most, though in my opinion is not the prettiest, is Barranquilla. It is more of an industrial town situated on the delta of the Magdalena river, and a few kilometers from the actual coast. However, given that it also has a free trade zone it will surely continue to grow its industrial base.
Filed under: Hotel, Import - Export, Investments, Real Estate, Tourism | Tagged: barranquilla, business in Colombia, caribbean coast colombia, cartagena colombia, development of the colombian coast, santa marta colombia
