Results of studies carried out by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (Dane) of Colombia, establish that the jobs generated by the hotel sector in that country grew by 3.4% in the month of May 2012.
"Tourism, and hotels in particular, continue to generate formal jobs; the increase in employed people in the first five months of this year was 3.7% compared to the same period in 2011, when it was 1.1%. Policies to encourage the formalization of the sector are yielding results, as well as the incentive for the construction of new rooms in the country," said the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Sergio Díaz-Granados.
But the level of employment was not the only factor that showed evident improvement in the fifth month of the current year: the gains for the hotel sector were also noticeable. According to the Dane this item had an increase of 6.6% compared to the figure obtained in May 2011.
Likewise, the general accumulated real income in the sector so far this year is 11.2%, and in the last year it is 10.1%.
"The numbers speak for themselves; according to the Dane, in May 2012, the percentage of hotel occupancy was 50.8%, a figure 0.8 percentage points higher than that registered in May 2011, demonstrating that both Colombians and foreigners continue to travel through the country, "emphasized the Minister.
The study carried out by the Dane also revealed that the main reason for travel of Colombians who spend the night in hotels in the same country is corporate or business travel in 45.3% of travelers, while those who do it for leisure or conventions reach a percentage of 42 and 9.1% respectively.
