Cartagena de Indias has been named as host for the fifth annual Routes Americas event, to be held in 2013.

Speaking at the official signing ceremony at the 17th World Route Development Forum in Berlin, Maria Claudia Gedeon, financial director of Cartagena – Rafael Nuñez International Airport said: “We are delighted to be hosting Routes Americas in 2013.

“The event will enable us to bring together the world’s network planners and inform them about the potential opportunities for development from Rafael Nuñez International Airport.

“The best way to market Cartagena is for them to see for themselves what we can offer as a destination and leave a lasting legacy in their minds.”

Luis Ernesto Araujo, chief executive of the Cartagena Tourist Board; Francisco Vergara Pineres, executive director of PROEXPORT Colombia; Peter Von Moltke, chief executive of UBM Aviation and Katie Bland, future hosts director for Routes were also in attendance at a signing ceremony.

“We are delighted to announce Cartagena de Indias as a future host of Routes Americas,” added Bland.

Cartagena, world heritage city and gateway to the Colombian Caribbean, has seen a recent rise in tourism as overall visitor numbers to Colombia have grown by 14 per cent between January and June of 2011 compared to 2010.

Rafael Nuñez International Airport is located within the limits of Cartagena de Indias, just ten minutes from the convention centre and 15 minutes from the hotel zone and receives more than 220 direct national flights every week allowing more than 700 international flights to connect to Cartagena from other cities in Colombia.

The airport is the fourth largest in Colombia handling over two million passengers for the first time in 2010 and this figure is set to grow even further in 2011.

The terminal redevelopment currently underway will expand capacity to more than three million passengers annually.

Route Development Forums

Routes organises world-renowned airline and airport networking events through its regional and global Route Development Forums.

Each year, there is one global event and one regional event in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and CIS respectively.

Berlin is presently playing host to the annual World Routes event.