The orange alert and consequent probable eruption in the Nevado del Ruiz volcano stated March 30 last by the Colombian Geological Service, left economic losses in the region of its influence (Caldas, Tolima, Quindío, Risaralda) more than 20 billion dollars.
The estimate is Cristian Gutiérrez, executive director of Fenalco Tolim a, who ensures that a trade and tourism sector or the fringes are mostly hit.
“We do not have a consolidated measure so far, but according to what the businessmen and vendors have stated, the decrease was so high that they had to fire and reduce the number of collaborators. An 80% decrease in trade sales is estimated“, the union leader said.
Meanwhile, the Colombian Hotel and Tourism Association (Cotelco) points out that Quindío and Risaralda are two of the departments that cause them the most concern.
The two experience a decrease of 4.45 percentage points and 1.77 pp in the first quarter of the year, if compared to the same period last year.
“In 13 departments of the country, economic losses were reported compared to the first week of April 2022, some of them exceeded 40%, such as San Andrés and Providencia, Cauca, Caldas, Tolima and Cesar. These losses refer to the total number of establishments and accommodations that are reported in the National Tourism Registry (RNT) and add up to an approximate value of $136,000 million, mainly due to the increase in VAT, the increase in air tickets and closures. alert of the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano”stated José Andrés Duarte, president of Cotelco.
Occupation in some regions were 10% vs. 50% which is normal for dates like Easter.
Diana Patricia López Echeverri, executive director of Fenalco Quindío ensure that people avoid traveling due to the alert.
