Xi Jinping, the vice president of China, has announced that China has listed Columbia as a travel destination for Chinese citizens.

When attending a Sino-Colombian entrepreneur breakfast meeting, Xi stated that China had formally approved Colombia as a tourist destination for Chinese citizens and this was conducive to the promotion of tourism cooperation and trade relations between the two countries.

Relevant departments of the two countries will now hold discussions and after they sign a formal memorandum of understanding, Colombia will become the sixth travel destination in South America for Chinese tourists following Chile, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, and Venezuela.

As an important tourism center in Latin America, Colombia features advanced tourism facilities. In 2008, the country received more than one million foreign tourists.

(China Hospitality News February 24, 2009)