AMERICAS

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia has maritime borders with Venezuela, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Colombia is the 26th largest country by area and the 27th largest by population, and the third largest in South America after Brazil and Argentina. With over 46 million people, Colombia has the second largest population of any Spanish-speaking country in the world, after Mexico. It is also the only country in South America having coasts in the Pacific Ocean and in the Atlantic Ocean. Colombia is an outstanding middle power, with the fourth largest economy in Latin America, and the third largest in South America.

Colombia was the first constitutional government in South America, and the Liberal and Conservative parties, founded in 1848 and 1849 respectively, are two of the oldest surviving political parties in the Americas. However, tensions between the two have frequently erupted into violence, most notably in the Thousand Days War (1899–1902) and La Violencia, beginning in 1948. Since the 1960s, government forces, left-wing insurgents and right-wing paramilitaries have been engaged in the continent's longest-running armed conflict. Fuelled by the cocaine trade, this escalated dramatically in the 1980s.

Since 2000 the violence has decreased significantly, with many paramilitary groups demobilizing as part of a controversial peace process and the guerrillas losing control of much of the territory they once dominated. Meanwhile Colombia's homicide rate almost halved between 2002 and 2006. As of 2011 Colombia remains the world's largest producer of cocaine alongside countries as Peru and Bolivia, although production has been falling. According to the Institute for Economics and Peace Colombia is the most violent nation in Latin America as of 2011. In 2010, tourism in Colombia increased 11% according to UNWTO Tourism Highlights for that year.

Tourism

For many years serious internal armed conflict deterred tourists from visiting Colombia, with official travel advisories warning against travel to the country. However, in recent years numbers have risen sharply, thanks to improvements in security resulting from President Álvaro Uribe's "democratic security" strategy, which has included significant increases in military strength and police presence throughout the country and pushed rebel groups further away from the major cities, highways and tourist sites likely to attract international visitors. Foreign tourist visits were predicted to have risen from 0.5 million in 2003 to 1.3 million in 2007, while Lonely Planet picked Colombia as one of their top ten world destinations for 2006. In 2010 Colombia received 1,4 million foreign visitors, according to official statistics.
 

In November 2010 the U.S. State Department travel warning for the country stated that security conditions had improved significantly in recent years and kidnappings had been noticeably reduced from their previous peak, but cautioned travelers about continuing terrorist threats and the dangers of common crime, including hostage-taking. Rising murder rates in Cali and Medellín were also highlighted and U.S. citizens were urged to travel between cities by air instead of using ground transportation.

Attractions

Popular tourist attractions include the historic Candelaria district of central Bogotá, the walled city and beaches of Cartagena, the colonial towns of Santa Fe de Antioquia, Popayán, Villa de Leyva and Santa Cruz de Mompox, and the Las Lajas Sanctuary and the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá. Tourists are also drawn to Colombia's numerous festivals, including Medellín's Festival of the Flowers, the Barranquilla Carnival, the Carnival of Blacks and Whites in Pasto and the Ibero-American Theater Festival in Bogotá. Meanwhile, because of the improved security, Caribbean cruise ships now stop at Cartagena and Santa Marta.
 

The great variety in geography, flora and fauna across Colombia has also resulted in the development of an ecotourist industry, concentrated in the country's national parks. Popular ecotourist destinations include: along the Caribbean coast, the Tayrona National Natural Park in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range and Cabo de la Vela on the tip of the Guajira Peninsula; the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, the Cocora valley and the Tatacoa Desert in the central Andean region; Amacayacu National Park in the Amazon River basin; and the Pacific islands of Malpelo and Gorgona. Colombia is home to seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Hotels

Combination of Comfort, technology and personalized service are the hotels in Colombia.
Bogota Marriott Hotel, Hotel Casa Deco, JW Marriott Hotel Bogota, Sofitel Bogota Victoria Regia, Charleston Bogota Hotel, Hotel Boutique Alma, Holiday Inn Express Bogota.
 

Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people. It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas and the largest lusophone country in the world.
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 km (4,655 mi). It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French overseas region of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous archipelagos form part of Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz. It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile.

Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until 1815, when it was elevated to the rank of kingdom and the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was formed. The colonial bond was in fact broken in 1808, when the capital of the Portuguese colonial Empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, after Napoleon invaded Portugal. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the formation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The country became a presidential republic in 1889, when a military coup d'état proclaimed the Republic, although the bicameral legislature, now called Congress, dates back to the ratification of the first constitution in 1824. Its current Constitution, formulated in 1988, defines Brazil as a Federal Republic. The Federation is formed by the union of the Federal District, the 26 States, and the 5,564 Municipalities.

The Brazilian economy is the world's seventh largest by nominal GDP and the eighth largest by purchasing power parity. Brazil is one of the world's fastest growing major economies. Economic reforms have given the country new international recognition. Brazil is a founding member of the United Nations, the G20, CPLP, Latin Union, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the Organization of American States, Mercosul and the Union of South American Nations, and is one of the BRIC countries. Brazil is also home to diverse wildlife, natural environments, and extensive natural resources in a variety of protected habitats.

Tourism

Tourism in Brazil is a growing sector and key to the economy of several regions of the country. The country had 5.1 million visitors in 2010, ranking in terms of the international tourist arrivals as the second main destination in South America, and third in Latin America after Mexico and Argentina. Revenues from international tourists reached US$5.9 billion in 2010, not only recovering from the 2008-2009 economic crisis, but reaching its historical highest.

Brazil offers for both domestic and international tourists, an ample gamut of options, with natural areas being its most popular tourism product, a combination of ecotourism with leisure and recreation, mainly sun and beach, and adventure travel, as well as historic and cultural tourism. Among the most popular destinations are the Amazon Rainforest, beaches and dunes in the Northeast Region, the Pantanal in the Center-West Region, beaches at Rio de Janeiro and Santa Catarina, cultural and historic tourism in Minas Gerais and business trips to São Paulo city.

In terms of the 2011 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), which is a measurement of the factors that make it attractive to develop business in the travel and tourism industry of individual countries, Brazil ranked in the 52nd place at the world's level, third among Latin American countries after Mexico and Costa Rica, and seventh in the Americas. Brazil main competitive advantages are its natural resources, which ranked 1st on this criteria out of the 139 countries considered, and ranked 23rd for its cultural resources, due to its many World Heritage sites. The TTCI report also notes Brazil's main weaknesses: its ground transport infrastructure remains underdeveloped (ranked 116th), with the quality of roads ranking in the 105th place; and the country continues to suffer from a lack of price competitiveness (ranked 114th), due in part to high ticket taxes and airport charges in the country, as well as high prices and high taxation in general. Safety and security have improved significantly, ranking in the 75th place in 2011, up from the 128th position in 2008.

Attractions

Sprawling across half of South America, Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world. White-sand beaches, tropical islands, music-filled metropolises and charming colonial towns are dotting its 7,500 km (4,600 mi) long coastline. Inland, Brazil tourist attractions consist of imposing waterfalls, wetlands filled with wildlife, and the untouched wilderness of the Amazon rainforest where several isolated tribes still live without any contact with the rest of the world.

One of Brazil’s best-preserved colonial towns, Ouro Preto, meaning “black gold”, was founded at the end of the 17th century. It quickly became the epicenter of a new gold rush in the state of Minas Gerais. The city contains well preserved Portuguese colonial architecture, while modern buildings must adhere to historical standards maintained by the city. 18th- and 19th-century churches decorated with gold and the sculptured works of Aleijadinho make Ouro Preto one of the most popular tourist attractions in Brazil.

Christ the Redeemer is the famous statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro. Located at the peak of the 700 meters (2,300 ft.) Corcovado mountain, it provides a sweeping panorama from the interior of Guanabara bay to the north, to Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas to the south. The Christ the Redeemer statue stands 39.6 meters (130 ft.) tall, including its 9.5 meters (31 ft.) pedestal and has become an icon of Rio and Brazil.

At approximately 6,400 km (4,000 miles) the Amazon River is the second longest river in the world, just slightly shorter than the Nile, and the largest river by volume. The Amazon has over 3,000 recognized species of fish and new species are still being discovered. The Amazon Basin is covered by half of the planet’s remaining rainforests. Although a tenth of the world’s estimated 10 million living species live in the Amazon rainforest, jungle tours are more about the boating upriver into the damp, buzzing, oppressive ambience than actually spotting animals.

Hotels

Rio de Janeiro is without a doubt one of the most beautiful cities of the planet. Uniquely situated on a narrow strip of land between the green mountains and the deep blue sea it is surrounded by granite based mountains, coves and white sand beaches. The city's inhabitants thrive on dance, music, beach, sport and sun, and have a lust for life, which is manifested in full-scale once a year at Carnaval, good hotels that you can find there are Fasano Hotel e Restaurante Rio, Sofitel Rio de Janeiro Copacabana, Arena Copacabana Hotel, Copacabana Palace, Porto Bay Rio Internacional Hotel.
 

Argentina officially the Argentine Republic is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth-largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations.
Argentina's continental area is between the Andes mountain range in the west and the Atlantic Ocean in the east. It borders Paraguay and Bolivia to the north, Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast, and Chile to the west and south. Argentine claims over Antarctica, as well as overlapping claims made by Chile and the United Kingdom, are suspended by the Antarctic Treaty of 1961. Argentina also claims the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which are administered by the United Kingdom as British Overseas Territories.

A recognized middle power, Argentina is Latin America's third-largest economy, with a "very high" rating on the Human development index. Within Latin America, Argentina has the fifth highest nominal GDP per capita and the highest in purchasing power terms. Analysts have argued that the country has a "foundation for future growth due to its market size, levels of foreign direct investment, and percentage of high-tech exports as share of total manufactured goods", and it is classed by investors as an emerging economy. Argentina is a founding member of the United Nations, Mercosur, the Union of South American Nations, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the World Bank Group and the World Trade Organization, and is one of the G-15 and G-20 major economies.

Tourism

Tourism in Argentina is favored by its ample and varied natural assets (made possible by its geographical extension) and by its cultural offerings. The country is lucky to have everything a tourist would ask for. It has been compared to the United States with all of the tourist attractions that it offers, its attractions are in a much smaller region compared to the United States.

Attractions

One of Argentina's popular tourist attractions include the Metropolitan Cathedral constructed in 1745. It houses the remains of General Jose de San Martin, who was the liberator of Argentina. The façade of the cathedral has carvings that narrate the story of Jacob and his son Joseph. This architectural wonder was declared as a cathedral in 1836.

The Colon Theatre in Argentina is an ideal place for tourists to learn more about the art and culture of this beautiful country. The Colon is grand and exquisite and you can take a tour of the theatre starting from the underground rehearsal halls to main action area.

Chaco National Park is the most popular Argentina Tourist Attractions. It covers about 150 sq km of landscaped area and was established in 1954. The park was established to restore a sample of the Eastern Chaco.

Andes Mountains Argentina is another popular Argentina Tourist Attractions that extends to 7, 250 km. The Andes Mountain ranges are the world's longest mountain range that runs from Cape Horn to Panama.

Culture in Buenos Aires is awesome so be sure to get out there and see a lot of the museums. There worth every minute you spend there.

Evita Museum: The mystique of Eva Perón persists, more than 50 years after her death. The Peronist faithful still flock to her grave in La Recoleta Cemetery, and as of last year there is a new place of pilgrimage: the Evita Museum which tells the story of her life and death and features memorabilia from her careers as actress and political idol. Open 2 to 7:30 p.m. except Monday.

Museum of Modern Latin American Art: The Buenos Aires Museum of Modern Latin American Art, known as Malba, opened in 2001 and has the largest collection of its kind on the continent, worth seeing anytime. Until Aug. 18, it is also featuring the first one-man show in Buenos Aires since 1986 by the highly regarded Argentine artist Guillermo Kuitca. Closed Tuesdays, but open the rest of the week from noon to 8 p.m., Wednesdays till 9; admission $1.33.

Hotels

Buenos Aires is experiencing a tourism boom unlike any in its history. The cheap peso has made it one of the most affordable big cities, and dollar- and euro-wielding visitors are arriving in record numbers. There are many new hotels and existing ones have been renovated, so you have more choices than ever.
The real buzz these days is about boutique hotels, which have been popping up all over the city. Most of them combine a minimalist vibe to contrast the renovated spaces in which they're housed. Most are outfitted with sleek furniture, wood-paneled walls and floors, quaint outdoor gardens with reclining lounge chairs, bamboo and plants, and the requisite pool or parrilla (barbecue grill). It's a style that has been perfected in Buenos Aires in recent years.

In San Telmo, hotels are primarily grand old mansions with soaring ceilings and impressive wooden doors. Tango is big in this neighborhood, and some hotels here cater to tango tourists.
Centro and Puerto Madero are teeming with international hotel chains, and most of them are well located.
Claridge Hotel, Hotel Intercontinental, Hotel Madero, Hotel la Cayetana, Sheraton Buenos Aires, Sofitel Buenos Aires, Meliá Buenos Aires.