The current president of the most important hotel association in Colombia came to the industry with a very clear objective: to put his experience in city administration and marketing at the service of the sector.
by Alejandra García Vélez
Juan Leonardo Correa is the executive president of the Hotel Association of Colombia, Cotelco, he is an administrator who has dedicated the last years to the development and growth of the tourism industry in his country.
Originally from the Antioquia region, he is a business administrator from the University of Medellín with specializations in Financial and Marketing Management at the same university, also in Business Internationalization, from the Instituto de Empresas de Madrid, Spain; in City Marketing, with the University of Quilmes, Argentina and in Foresight Programs, with the Spanish Institute of Foresight in Madrid.
During his career he has gone through different roles, among them his position as President of the National Guarantee Fund; President of the Board of Directors of the Colombian Association of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ACOPI); Director of the Risk Assessor for SMEs of the Andean Development Corporation (CAF), among other positions.
After working successfully with companies in both the public and private sectors, his course turned and six years ago he guided him to the hotel industry, with his link to Cotelco in the first instance as Commercial Director and later as Vice President of Education.
Vocation to the service of hotels
His first mission when he arrived at the association was to help internationalize the guild, at that time he worked organizing business missions to different countries, he also bet on the creation of thematic events focused on tourism, among other activities that enhanced and consolidated the image of Cotelco as an engine of development for the hotel industry in Colombia.
Since his appointment as president of the organization in April of this year, Correa faces several challenges that he has been able to face from his new position. For him, the primary objective of Cotelco is "to continue contributing as a leading guild in national tourism, to the construction of public policies that benefit tourism, in addition to helping to bring together the different actors of the private sector of tourism to consolidate the industry in Colombia," he said.
Regarding the responsibility of hoteliers in this development, he emphasizes that hotels must bet on competitiveness and internationalization based on the training of human resources.
"Training of human resources, awareness of the environmental issue and the importance of marketing and commercialization linked to online resources are aspects that the hotel manager today must have at the top of his agenda," Correa also highlighted.
He also pointed out that there is a positive immediate future for the industry in the region, but that this potential must be exploited with better management of cities and destinations. In his opinion, there must be more material and immaterial attractions, the public infrastructure in the destinations must be improved and bet on the positioning of the city's brand.
Day by day
Despite the meetings and events that mark his work, Correa already has a well-established routine that he tries to fulfill most of the time; he defines himself as an early riser and has as his first activity of the day the reading of newspapers and other news sources that seem indispensable to be aware of the realities that can affect the hotel industry, the economy and the country in general.
Although each day is marked by his agenda, he confesses that he tries to spend a few hours in his office to attend to those who need it, in the same way he separates as much as possible some hours of the morning because he considers that they are the best to think, analyze and propose proposals.
The family: a support
The exercise of his work has led him to take up residence in the capital of Colombia, Bogotá; while their two children continue to develop their lives in their hometown of Medellín.
Travel is a constant, whenever he can he moves to visit them, while his wife prefers to spend most of his time in Bogotá so he can share time together.
He states that exercise and reading are his two main hobbies; and he defines himself as a calm, balanced and serene man who sees no problems, but situations to be found and opportunities to improve.
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