9,000 new hotel rooms under construction – three times more overnight stays – security situation improving every time.

Colombia is South America's new trend destination: since more than ten years the security situation is getting better and the tourism triples to more than 1.8 million visitors in the past year. About 50 percent of the foreign overnight stay guests arrive from South American countries, about a quarter are from the USA.

To supply the increasing need of hotel rooms for domestic and foreign guests, large international hotel chains such as Hilton, Marriott, Accor, Holiday Inn, Hyatt, NH, Sonesta, Carlson Rezidor (Radisson) or Best Western are investing in Colombia. Until 2016 about 9,000 new hotel rooms should be added to the already existing 60,000 rooms, which means and increase of 15 percent. This data has been revealed by TOPHOTELPROJECTS, the worldwide leading provider of global b2b hotel data.

Already in 2002 the government established a law, which gives all hotels, build until 2018, a tax concession for 30 years. This promoted the hotel construction industry during the past years. The main part of new hotels will be built in Bogotá.

The American Hyatt hotel chain will arise three new hotels in Bogotá, Cali and Cartagena until 2016. The Grand Hyatt Bogotá (below right)with 297 rooms in already under construction and will cost about 130 million US dollar; openings is scheduled for early 2015.

Also the Hyatt Regency in Cartagena is under construction, which will offer 261 rooms as well as 74 apartments and costs about 200 million US Dollar (opening: mid-2015). Further 330 million US dollar will be invested by Hyatt into a Regency hotel in Cali.

Especially the city Cali, known as "Capital of the pacific alliance", awoke hotel chain's interest. Besides business travellers the city attracts more and more tourists, who are interested in operations such as cosmetic surgeries. To cover the growing need, currently five new projects with a total number of 777 rooms are in the pipeline.

These includes hotels like the Hotel Spiwak (263 rooms, investments of 36 million US dollar), the Hotel Metro Hampton by Hilton (130 rooms), the Hotel Conservatorio Las Camias (50 rooms), the Hotel Boutique La Sagrada Familia (66 rooms) as well as the Hotel Atton (60 rooms). Currently Cali has as offer of 2,380 hotel rooms and a population of 2.3 million.

The American hotel chain Marriott International opened its third hotel in Colombia in 2013 in Cali with 170 rooms and an investment volume of 40 million US dollar. Until 2018 Marriott plans further three hotels in Medellín, Barranquilla and Bucaramanga. Accor already has two Ibis hotels in Bogotá and Medellín as well as two Sofitel hotel in Bogotá and Cartagena.

Until 2019 the chain plans further Ibis hotels in Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Cali and Cartagena. Furthermore Accor wants to arise a four star hotel by its Novotel brand in Bogotá. Early 2014 the chain opened its first hotel in Cali with 127 rooms. Until 2016 City Express will invest about 40 million US dollar into hotels in Bogotá, Medellín and Barranquilla.

The young Colombian hotel chain Movich Hotels & Resorts from the Avianca owner Germán Efromovich is also expanding. The chain has already more than seven hotels in Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Cartagena and Pereira with a total number of 1,066 rooms, further projects in Barranquilla and Bucaramanga are planned. Hotel chains, that are not presented in Colombia so far but showing interest are chains such as Viceroy Hotel Group, MGM Hospitality, Meliá Hotels International and Four Seasons.