It’s no secret that Colombia is still undiscovered territory for most leisure travelers — especially outside of the tourist-oriented historic city of Cartagena de Indias. But business travelers who find South America on their itineraries — as well as ahead-of-the-curve vacationers — already know that there is plenty to do in the capital city of Bogota.
To help get the word out, the Bogotá Buró de Convenciones y Visitantes (Bogota Convention & Visitors Bureau) last week launched a brand-new Website, esbogota.com. The bilingual site — in English in Spanish — includes detailed listings about dining, cultural activities, hotels, concerts and events, and even “health and beauty,” focusing on cosmetic surgery, dentistry and other treatments available in the medical tourism category.
What makes this site different from most destination Websites I’ve seen in Latin America is the social media component. You can log into esbogota.com using your Facebook account, and then upload your own photos and set up your own profile. You can also rate and add comments to listings for things like restaurants and hotels, giving the site the possibility of eventually becoming a resource with multiple points of view, along the lines of a very local TripAdvisor.
Since esbogota.com is a brand-new site, it remains to be seen how effective it will be as a community-based and social site. But it’s an interesting initiative. Does anyone know of any other Latin American cities with similar sites?
Category: Colombia