Colombia has mountains, jungles, modern and colonial cities, and resorts on both the Pacific and the Caribbean, all of which the Colombian Government Tourist Office (CORTURISMO) has aggressively promoted.
Soccer is the most popular sport, followed by basketball, baseball, boxing, and cockfighting; there are also facilities for golf, tennis, and horseback riding, and bullrings in the major cities. Tourists from Western countries generally require no visa, but all visitors need a valid passport and a return ticket for entry. No vaccinations are required.
The tourist industry in Colombia developed greatly in the late 1970s but declined in the 1980s. Spurred by the government's economic liberalization program, earnings from tourism rose from US $755 million in 1993 to $955 million in 1997. In 2000, 557,280 tourists arrived in the country and tourism receipts reached US $1.8 billion. There were 53,970 hotel rooms with an occupancy rate of 42%.
In 1999, the UN estimated the cost of staying in Cartagena at $115 per day, $108 in Bogotá, $115 in Cali, and $96 in Medellin.