Colombian backpackers who have made it to Colombia in the past two years have found their new home.
In a country where only 3.3 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, Colombia’s government has been working hard to create an alternative for backpackers and travellers.
The country’s new Tourism Authority has been providing support for backpacker accommodation in Colombia.
The authorities have also created a website where travellers can register their hotel reservations and get an address for their accommodation.
“This is something that is happening on a daily basis, and it is not a one-off event,” said Manuel Guzman, who runs a tourist agency in Cartagena.
Guzman’s agency is among the many that has opened new hotels and offered accommodation in Cartigena in the last two years.
But many travellers who have managed to get into Colombia say the Government has been slow to respond to the demand for accommodation in the country.
“The Government has given us very little,” said Ana Menezes, a backpacker from Colombia.
Menezes has been living in Cartgena for four years.
“We had to go to Colombia to study, because they wouldn’t give us the chance to go back to Colombia,” she said.
The Government did not provide the Colombian government with any information about how many tourists it has sheltered and the number of places it has offered accommodation to, Menezas added.
According to the government, more than 2,000 backpackers have been sheltered in Colombia over the last year.
And, according to Guzman’s tourism agency, there are currently more than 10,000 hotels in Cartugena.
But Menezys experience with Colombia’s accommodation program has been very different from that of Guzman.
“I came here because I was thinking of getting out of Colombia,” said Menez, who has two young children in Colombia and a backpack that she says has been a big help in her journey.
She also said the accommodation program is not just for tourists.
“It’s for families too.
There are families who have been here for a year or more,” Menez said.
The Government in Cartags last week announced that it will create a new backpacker camp in Cartelgán, a city about 60 kilometers (40 miles) east of Cartagal, and set up a new centre for the sheltering of tourists.
The Government says it will offer a place for travellers to live, study and work while also providing accommodation to people who have never set foot in the capital.