[caption id="attachment_6548" align="aligncenter" width="640"]A stunning street in the city of Bogotá A stunning street in the city of Bogotá / source[/caption] It might be a cliché to refer to Colombia as a country of jungles, paradisiacal beaches, salsa dancing, and yes, even if we hate to hear it, drugs cartels and guerrillas. Well, stereotyping is an easy way for humans to classify the world based on a set of attributes that represent a social group or a culture. The problem with stereotypes is when you create prejudices or discriminate but hopefully, one of the benefits of the increasing number of outbound travellers around the world is that people will be able to dismiss the negative news and stereotypes, to accept different approaches of life. Back to the Colombian case, for a long time Colombians were stereotyped due to bad news in the media - not that I´m blaming the press here, Colombia certainly lived through decades of violence - so Colombians developed some cultural antidotes to deal with the hard times. By learning to always see the glass half full and to smile even in the most difficult times; living a magical realism sort of life that makes every family or story similar to any tale or character from a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel; and by exuding friendliness, especially with foreigners, Colombian people were shouting to the world: we're far more than what you see in the news.

The new Colombian travel stereotype ...

With a true commitment to pacification and healing, Colombia is finally being taken seriously and is positioning itself in the international landscape as the place in South America to explore, to invest in and to enjoy. It took many years to open our boundaries to other economies and to be accepted by the international community as a fair trade partner. It took also decades to see again the cafeteros national football team putting on an impeccable performance in the FIFA World Cup, and to place a couple of gorgeous stars in the international show business scene to make all our positive qualities shine. So yes, we survived the bad stereotype and now we're turning it into something more positive, into the stereotype of people determined to achieve peace and to do things properly, anxious to show off all Colombia’s wonders to the world, and to spread all our happiness around. Colombians will always encourage you, with a humble pride, to discover the characteristics of their people and will emphasise their country’s cultural and ecological diversity, shown by the exciting variety of sub cultures, green plants, exotic flowers, pristine beaches, colonial architecture and modern urban centres. This is definitely the new Colombian stereotype we want people to talk about. An honest smile and a warm welcome to Colombia is waiting for you at the international airport!

Colombia4u, a small dream that became a big reality

[caption id="attachment_42" align="aligncenter" width="610"]Bogota Night View | Colombia4u Take the cable car up Monserrate and enjoy the view of Bogota / source[/caption] Colombia has reached a new era and so have we. It was 14 years ago when the dream of creating a business that would promote the country around the world was born, and that concept takes shape today with a website that gathers the best tour operators in the country with the sole objective of offering an outstanding travel experience to all those travellers wanting to discover the true face of Colombia. From day tours in Bogota's surroundings, to fishing in Cartagena or taking salsa lessons in Cali, Colombia4u is ready to show you a face of Colombia you didn't think existed, you just need to open your mind. To all those who collaborated with Colombia4u, we want to say gracias and to all our readers and future customers we would like to say bienvenidos! Mi casa es su casa and like our casa, we have many historias to share and we hope that you can join us on this new adventure. It only requires an open mind and a curious wanderlust to get on board!

For further information, tours and activities in Colombia, check out our website Colombia4u!

Happy travels! By Nohelia Sanchez, Marketing director and Co-founder of Daytours4u.

Nohelia believes that South America is the best place on earth to live, that's why she decided to work doing what she knows to do best: promoting the continent’s beauties. She loves dancing, laughing, exploring cultural nuances, and to have fun because life is too short to be upset.