If that requirement is not met, the child will not be permitted to board, according to the Bogotá-based carrier.

The policy became official on May 15 for domestic and international flights operated by Avianca.

Tickets purchased before this date for children younger than 15 to fly alone, however, will still be honored, and arrangements won’t have to be accommodate the new rule.

“The airline recommends that all its customers confirm the requirements or authorizations necessary for the departure and entry of minors with the corresponding immigration authority of each country,” said Avianca in a statement. “In addition, we reiterate that the service of unaccompanied minors is not provided on any of our routes.”

The airline added that affected customers or others may reference its online help center for more information.

Photo: Venezuela Protests Maduro Flag 2017 (Photo credit: Efecto Eco)

Slated for three weekly departures from Simón Bolivar International Airport in the Venezuelan capital, this will bring much-needed capacity to a nation of people who have seen their ability to fly severely hampered in recent years.

“We are very happy to be able to return to Venezuela, thus expanding our network of international destinations and reaffirming our promise to customers to provide point-to-point connectivity to the destinations where they want to travel,” said Alex Benitez, vice president of Central America and the Andean region for Avianca.

“We are sure that customers in both Costa Rica and Venezuela will be able to expand their possibilities to travel on the Avianca network and enjoy all its attributes,” he added.

The three weekly flights will leave Caracas at 11:00 am local time each Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday — and land in the Costa Rican capital at 3:50 pm — with a total of 1,080 seats available each week.

The Colombian government is offering the free “CoronApp Colombia” for download on Android devices, and toll free information lines (within Colombia): 01-800 095-5590 or for Bogotá: 330 5041. International callers may dial +57 1 330-5041

The 34 year old man from Buga and the 50 year old woman from Medellín presented symptoms and sought health attention, where they were tested positive for the infection. Both patients are said to be in stable condition and epidemiological protocols have been established to contact and test those who may have come into contact with the patients.

Virus arrival coincides with new health minister appointment

The day before the health ministry confirmed the virus in Colombia, President Ivan Duque (above, left) swore in a new health minister after the previous official resigned in December. The new health minister, Dr. Fernando Ruíz Gomez (above, right) is a medical doctor and also holds a masters degree in economics, and one in public health, as well as a doctorate in public health.

Dr. Ruíz was vice minister of public health and social protection in Colombia from 2013 to 2016 during the Santos administration, and also served as regional health director for Bogotá.

Authorities urge that one of the most effective means of prevention is to wash hands thoroughly and frequently.

The young woman arrived without symptoms but after a coed in Mexico showed signs of infection, she went to give samples for analysis which eventually turned up positive for the virus. Though 3 Colombians have been confirmed to be infected in Brazil and Japan, and there have been several suspected cases on Colombian territory that tested negative, this is the first case confirmed as positive. Several other Colombian travelers are being held in quarantine in Bogotá until their status can be confirmed.

Out of 105,828 global cases of Coronavirus, there is only 1 confirmed case in Colombia as of publication. (Infographic courtesy of Colombian Ministry of Health)

Meanwhile air travel, meetings, and street traffic continues as normal throughout Colombia, albeit with a small but noticeable minority of people wearing respiratory masks.

Last Friday, the Colombian Minister of Health and Social Protection Fernando Ruiz Gómez met with regional secretaries of health, EPS (employee health plan providers), IPS (health services providers such as clinics), insurers, and medical associations to establish and coordinate a response plan to Coronavirus, and activate contingency plans developed over the past 8 weeks.

Colombia is now one of 96 countries that have confirmed Coronavirus cases, including China, Romania, Italy, the US, México, Ecuador, Brazil, Chile, Peru & Canada.

Medical experts say that Coronavirus is most frequently propagated from human to human through cough droplets and respiratory tract excretions and may also be transmitted by close human contact or fecal contamination. The virus is believed to have propagated from animals to human, and there have been cases reported of dogs catching the virus from humans.

The domestic arm of the global travel booking company charted historical data generated by users searching its site and found that travelers could enjoy a full week in Colombia’s “City of Eternal Spring” for just €1,089, including round-trip airfare.

This beat out all other destinations that have an average temperature of at least 18 degrees celsius from the start of December through the end of February, according to Kayak Spain.

“Colombia is gaining popularity among travelers, and the city of Medellín stands as the winning destination for this winter,” said the company in a statement. “Spaniards can enjoy a week of sun and vacations for about €1,089.”

The second cheapest, at €1,154, was Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands, which was included in the report despite being a jurisdiction of Spain.

For Medellín, the flight represents the bulk of the cost and hotels in the three- to four-star range run cheap, whereas Spanish vacationers can get good airfare to the relatively nearby Canary Islands but will need to pay more for accommodations after they arrive.

“Luckily, for travelers who seek sun during the winter and do not want to go that far, the Canary Islands are the European destination par excellence to enjoy warm temperatures throughout the year, although the low prices of the flights contrast with the price of the hotels, the highest of the list,” stated Kayak Spain.

Rounding out the top five cheapest winter getaways are Rio de Janiero, Brazil (€1,165); Denpasar, Indonesia (€1,174); and Manila, Philippines (€1,221).

In compiling the flight and hotel price data, Kayak used real-world searches from its website during the first eight months of the year for travel during December, January, and February. The final prices also include basic meal allowances, and those costs are based upon a sample taken across five days in September for each location on Numbeo.com.

Kayak notes that it cannot guarantee these exact prices for any specific travel bookings and that the lised costs are subject to change.

The Santiago, Chile-based airline, which was formerly known as LAN, stated that it expects to transport some 33,000 people on this route per year. Tickets are already on sale through LATAM’s website for flights that depart Colombia’s second city on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

The flight will be scheduled to leave Lima each day at 1:12 pm and land at Medellín’s José María Córdova International Airport at 4:22 pm. The return flight will depart Medellín at 6:55 pm with an estimated arrival time of 10:10 pm at Lima’s Jorge Chávez International Airport. (All times local.)

The addition of the new route is part of an ongoing push by the carrier to better connect Lima with Colombia. LATAM Airlines will also double its weekly flights between the Peruvian capital and the Caribbean coastal tourist mecca of Cartagena next year. The airline first inaugurated that route in January 2017 and has been the only airline with a direct flight from Cartagena to Lima.

Photo credit: LATAM Airlines

This was more than half a billion dollars, or 8.6% growth, above the $5.2 billion USD reported in 2015 and puts the industry second in terms of generating foreign exchange after the oil sector, which brought in some $10.1 billion USD last year, per the ministry. The two leaders were followed by coal ($4.6 billion USD) and coffee ($2.4 billion USD).

Photo: The colorful, walled city of Cartagena remains Colombia’s most iconic tourist destination. (Credit: Jared Wade)

The ministry noted that foreign tourism revenue has nearly doubled — a growth rate of 86.6% — since 2010, when the sector accounted for $3.1 billion USD in revenue. Going back to 1995, when Colombia was in the middle of the most dangerous era in its history, that number was only $887 million USD (inflation adjusted), according to United Nations World Tourism Organization.

President Juan Manuel Santos had previously set $6 billion USD as the 2018 revenue target for the sector, a sum that the nation now looks poised to reach in 2017 if the annual increase of the past two years holds. “These results confirm that the tourism industry has become a motor of development for the country,” said María Claudia Lacouture, Colombia’s minister of commerce, industry, and tourism. “The country being at peace makes it more attractive to come to Colombia, and destinations will be easier to visit thanks to the post-conflict transition.”

Overall, more than 2.5 million foreign visitors came to Colombia in 2016, a 13% jump over last year, according to the government. Travelers from the United States made up the largest percentage with about 500,000 arrivals. Europe, Venezuela, and Brazil the rounded out the top four in terms of tourists’ locations of origin.

Bogotá continues to receive the bulk of international travel, making up nearly half all arrivals. But Cartagena saw its percentage of the pie jump in 2016 to account for nearly 15% of international visits, per the ministry.

Infrastructure and Security Hurdles

Despite the ongoing growth, Bancolombia recently acknowledged that Colombia still lags even many regional peers when it comes to its tourism appeal. In a note to investors, the Medellín-based financial institution pointed out that Colombia fell outside of the top 50 countries in the recently released World Economic Forum ranking of global travel and tourism competitiveness.

“Despite overall concerns about security within the region, six other LatAm countries did make that list,” wrote Bancolombia. “For a country so rich in diverse destinations, such as the incredible Salt Cathedral, there is still much to do in order to take its rightful position.”

Mexico (22nd), Brazil (27th), Panama (35th), Costa Rica (38th), Chile (48th), and Argentina (50th) all made the top 50. In the region, Peru (51st) and Ecuador (57th) also outperformed Colombia, which came in 62nd overall worldwide (an improvement on its 68th-place finish in 2016).

“Combining the lively atmosphere with its rich natural environment makes Colombia a destination capable of attracting different types of tourists,” stated the World Economic Forum (WEF) in its report. It highlighted “the enormous travel and tourism potential of Colombia,” something that is reflected by its top-25 rankings in both natural resources and cultural resources.

Accessing the nation’s gorgeous terrain and lovely traditions is even made easy by Colombia’s “relatively efficient air transport infrastructure, which connects all domestic cities and the main overseas markets effectively,” according to the WEF. But the financial organization chastised a national ground transportation network that remains slow and outdated while also citing the “little progress” achieved in improving a business environment that is “held back by high costs to obtain construction permits” and an “inefficient legal framework.”

Most of all, the WEF pointed to the security risks still present in Colombia. “Colombia is safer than it used to be, attaining adequate levels of security, especially in the main tourist areas,” stated the report. “However, it will take longer before the peace process will drive down crime and terrorism fears in all areas of the country.”

Working to Improve

According to the Ministry of Commerce, both the public and private sector are working to improve this perception. A 30-year rental tax exemption has been enacted to foster hotel growth, and the agency says that 5,739 new rooms were added last year while another 1,538 were refurbished. In the previous six years, more then 35,000 new rooms were added.

The country has seen more flights coming online as well. Some 82 routes from 28 countries now operate in Colombia, which helped facilitate the increase in tourist arrivals last year, according to the ministry.

On top of the connectivity and lodging improvements, government-led promotional campaigns are also seeking to get the word out about Colombia’s top sites. While the coffee region and Caribbean coast hotspots continue to be heavily advertised, the tourism sector is now also looking to leverage the appeal of once-off-limits areas like the so-called “Most Beautiful River in the World” Caño Cristales and the Ciudad Perdida jungle hike that leads to the nation’s most impressive ruins.