Pereira - Why buy real estate in Colombia′s coffee region now
HalloCasa conducted the third interview with Benita Glück, the founder and managing partner of CafeteraTours, a travel agency based in Pereira, Colombia. CafeteraTours offers both individual trips and group travels.
HalloCasa: "Good morning, Ms Glück. We are happy to host you to talk with us about your story and how you ended up creating your own business in Colombia. Could you tell us how everything started?”
Benita Glück: "Thank you very much for having me. I am happy to give you an interview and to tell you about my story with all my impressions and experiences in Colombia. Introducing myself, I am originally from East Germany in Thuringia and moved to West Germany in 1989. I settled in the Hohenloh region around Crailsheim where I stayed for around a decade. Conducting my formation to become a formal healing practitioner I moved to Ulm in Germany. Then, I went directly to Colombia.”
HalloCasa: “That sounds like a fast decision. How did it happen that you are emigrated to Colombia?"
Benita Glück: “I've always dreamed to live in a country which would fit my personal temperament. Germany′s legal and administrative processes can restrict the way to start a business pretty much. For each small venture you have to provide countless studies and certificates in order to finally realize that your request does not fulfill general requirements to end up without the possibility to
start your own business. So, I was looking for a destination which would help me unfold my joy towards life and my vision of how to live a fulfilling life. When evaluating all my options, I defined that it should be a country that has an incredible variety with a lot of opportunities, is crisscrossed by lush vegetation and a year-round tropical climate. I know, it was a bold dream with high requirements. Then, after several years in my office job, combined with high hurdles to become self-employed as an alternative practitioner, I realized it was the time for something new. And I
found it: the country where I could realize my dreams, my personal ideas, and my vision of a fulfilling life."
HalloCasa: “It is very interesting to hear you talking. The way you describe your goals and the Colombian landscape makes one feel sitting next to you somewhere in Colombia beneath some parrots. Coming to your business now: for foreigners who do not know Colombia, where are the most touristic areas and why should you go to Pereira?”
Benita Glück: “Well, to give you an idea, Colombia offers an incredible amount of attractions with respect to nature, art, culture and archaeological treasures. If you only count its 56 national parks and protected nature reserves, one can imagine the enormous potential for tourism. Colombia unites actually a continent in itself. Due to that complexity and variety, it is rather difficult to reduce this country to a few touristic centers. Nevertheless, there are clearly the following hot spots to mention:
- Bogotá and the surroundings with the salt cathedral in Zipaquirá and the town itself and the colonial town of Villa de Leyva.
- Santander and its surroundings with the Chicamocha Canyon, the wonderful colonial village Barichara and San Gil with its vast possibility of outdoor activities.
- The Coffee Region with its scenic diversity, the famous and very pretty villages, the variety of excursions and sports.
- Colombia′s south with the famous archaeological site San Agustín, Tierradentro and the "white" city of Popayán.
- The Caribbean coast with Cartagena de Indias, the Parque Tayrona and the Guajira desert.
- The Amazon jungle with the indigenous cultures.
- The Pacific Coast with the natural paradises Nuquí and Bahia Solano.
I could name many more regions and sights that are touristic attractions and not well known and which I personally regard as "natural pearls", as for example the Orinoco Region. Furthermore, places and landscapes that radiate an incomparable charm and authenticity and reflect the true Colombia, are further "tourist treasures"."
HalloCasa: “With all these options across Colombia, why did you decide to settle in Pereira? What is so special about the region?"
Benita Glück: “Pereira is a very attractive city. It is centrally located in the Coffee Region and has an infrastructure that is absolutely comparable to a European city. It is both a business and a trade city. Interesting to mention
might be the transport connection with the international airport, which is being expanded under high-pressure at the moment. Furthermore, the city has great medical care with modern hospitals, several universities, with the UTP being the leader with currently about 18,000 students. With respect to free-time activities, Pereira offers a vast amount of art and cultural events, modern shopping centers and everything you need to get entertained, if desired. In addition, Pereira is surrounded by a beautiful landscape and has a year-round summery warm climate. Its inhabitants are warm, very open and helpful.”
HalloCasa: “Very interesting, since Pereira is not well known among foreigners. How did you get the idea to start a travel agency?"
Benita Glück: “As already mentioned, I had dreams and visions. I have always had the dream to make my hobby to my profession in the field of natural medicine, music, travelling, exotic cultures, all that coupled with a bit of adventure. So, the fact that Colombia is still an uncovered territory on the tourist map and that there is so much to discover here, I started the travel agency. According to my philosophy you can build individual and ecological tourist offerings here while also involving and sustaining the various existing cultures and traditions while maintaining and fostering the environment.”
HalloCasa: “That sounds very ideological and like an approach which is less common in Europe or the United States. Talking about drawbacks: what were the biggest obstacles you faced when founding the travel agency?"
Benita Glück: “Fortunately, there was only one: the ignorance of the Colombian authorities. However, that was 6 years ago. Today things are very different in Pereira. The consultations for starting a company have become more professional, the information and brochures provided are absolutely well-founded. Additionally, authorities are very open and helpful, especially towards foreign company founders.”
HalloCasa: “What business error would you not make again in retrospect?”
Benita Glück: “The fact that before immigrating to Colombia I had previously prepared myself for one entire year. In particular, I was studying a lot about Colombia, reading a lot of reports, newspapers and everything I could obtain in order to be ready for a new culture. During this time I met my Colombian friend, Alexa, who has become a very good partner and advisor during the time of the foundation in Pereira. With her and my husband everything went according to plan. I started small, concentrated on the essentials and never lost my goal for the travel agency out of sight. If you asked me today, I would do it exactly like that again.”
HalloCasa: “Ok, very interesting. So, you say, that having contact to someone in Colombia beforehand helps a lot. This gives us, HalloCasa, confidence that our idea to connect Colombians with foreigners before investing here, has potential. Digging a little into the topic of networking, how did you experience the possibility to network with other business owners in Colombia?”
Benita Glück: “I have made very good experiences with respect to networking. Cafeteratours offers individual tours to all over Colombia. In order to ensure this professionally, we have built incrementally a small team of network partners which supports and accompanies our guests outstandingly in each of the various destinations. The network consists to 90% of Colombian partners and to 10% of German partners. Here, I can look back on a very constant, absolutely reliable and very good cooperation. Therefore, they deserve a very special thanks at this point! With their support and commitment we could extend our Cafeteratours-vacation portfolio perfectly.”
HalloCasa: “Great, we are very happy for you that everything has been going so smoothly! Now, having looked back, let′s take us a glance at the future: where do you see yourself in 10 years from now?"
Benita Glück: “Well, as you know, Colombia is an emerging, incredibly fast developing country, where the agenda changes daily. Therefore, it is difficult to take a longer-term look at the future. However, there is one thing I have planned: establishing Cafeteratours more towards the Spanish- and the English-speaking market. It gives me a lot of fun to provide the service to tourists from Spain, the US. and Canada, especially to be personally with the guests here in the Coffee Region.
One thing which does not coincide with my philosophy is to conduct tours where quantity overrides quality. Every vacation should be something special and individual, to the same extent as Colombia is an individual and special destination. I would like to continue this with a gentle, ecological style of tourism in Colombia. There is no bigger gratitude for me to see my guests being satisfied with the quality provided and being able to relax to the fullest during their holiday. There are a lot of guests who have already booked their second time with us. This shows us that our our philosophy is the way to go.”
HalloCasa: “What are the biggest differences to Europe, the United States, or other (western) countries with respect to Colombia as a tourist destination?”
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