Cruise by boat through Cartagena in Colombia – Be ware of guides that manipulate tourists

April 13 2009. More and more cruise boats arrive now to Cartagena de Indias during the period of October to April and it’s a lot of happiness for dealers and the image of the city. However, an important problem is actually in progression and could really destroy again the confidence of tourists. Cartagena de Indias had a large decrease of stranger visitors during the 90s because of harassing sellers and guides who bothered the visitors. I know something because I’ve came here many times in vacation and by talking with tourists, many have manifested and said they would never come back here. The consequences have rapidly been measured.

Therefore, many guides (with commission) who wait for tourists at the Manga port of Cartagena have intentions to not give satisfaction to visitors by trying to manipulate them in bringing them in jewellery stores. This manipulation is produced when guides inform tourists that during their city tour (around 3 hours), they’ll pass “little time” in a jewellery store and that they’re free to enter or not, buy or not. The problem is major, this “little time” is between 30 to 60 minutes, and the tourist doesn’t want to go waste his time in a store, especially when the fees are 50% higher than in the USA… The time these tourists waste in this “little” detour is unacceptable because this prevents them in fully profiting their visit in the historic center or places to discover which allows appreciating Cartagena. The effects will be disastrous because we tourists will bring souvenirs back and will share them with friends and our souvenirs will talk about a waste of time and money without bringing us satisfaction or love.

We see that guides are like harassing sellers, they only search in satisfying their own desires without consideration for tourists… and that the responsible of the jewellery stores are also unconscious because which tourist has a real intention in seeing a jewellery store when they arrive at a destination to visit? Never they’ll say, WOW I can’t wait to see the jewellery store in Cartagena! Imagine you’re on the cruise boat and you see Cartagena at far the Popa, the San Felipe castle, colonial churches, believe that at this moment, you’re far from the idea to see jewellery stores and you hope that with your 4 to 5 available hours, you’ll have enough time to discover this nice city?

Why do Colombians don’t understand from their past mistakes?
Since strangers are rare in planes and please don’t try to prove the opposite with fake statistics, then harassing sellers rapidly saw that cruise boats are filled up of visitors easy to profit and the problem continues to exist. Who can understand that once again this will affect serious dealers and the image of the city? Certainly not the Colombians working in tourism, they must travel to understand this, because all these people don’t have the tourist point of vu, they must travel to understand this or at least… listen those who are informing them and act in consequence… but in the past we have still informed people and the consequences were disastrous for tourism in Cartagena, and still nothing has changed because people who have the responsibility to take care of tourism in Cartagena, don’t have the will to act (have an action plan and realizable objectives) and mostly, don’t listen to understand, but only to search in having reason… whether they’re right or not has no importance because tourists only have to give their justification and mostly with their lack of engagement in actions in this sense, what the dictionary defines as irresponsible.

In the past, they hide (unconsciously) this information to try to show Cartagena as a nice city, but tourists aren’t stupid and the proofs are these unbelievable deceases. So what’s stupid is to hide the truth because soon or later, it will show up. The truth is that people try to hide facts, it’s because they don’t act, don’t have the intention to create something new and they’re scared. The heal to fear is action, so we observe inactions, so words without actions. We have understood that the lack of will of the city isn’t an excuse to act and take care of tourists who come here, so to satisfy tourists coming by cruise boats.