The contribution of tourism to the economic growth of Medellin – Colombia

Abstract

This work aims to measure tourism’s contribution to economic growth in the city of Medellin, Colombia, using data for the period 2005-2015. Initially, the different characteris-tic of the tourism sector branches are identified in the local gdp accounts. Then, tourism’s contribution to economic growth in Medellin is measured, and the relationship between tourism activities and economic growth is determined using the methodology of Ivanov and Webster (2007). The results show that for the analyzed period, the participation of tourism in Medellin’s gdp was between 8 and 9%, which illustrates the importance of the sector for the economy of the city.