The luxury travel specialist was the only UK agent to join a group of US and European advisors on the five-day trip, which was hosted in February by Pro Colombia and Impulse Travel.
She has since praised the tour’s organisers for giving her the tools to finally sell Colombia as a multi-centre destination, having previously only sent clients there on city breaks.
“I definitely wasn’t confident about selling it before the fam trip,” Olivia told TTG. “I’d been to several other South American countries, including Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Uruguay, as well as the Galapagos. But I still wasn’t sure what to expect from Colombia.”
Designed as an introductory course on Colombia, the itinerary saw the group fly into Medellín – the country’s second largest city – before heading to Cartagena, a historic port city on the Caribbean coast. They finished the trip in the mountainous capital of Bogotá, which is known for its cool climate, cultural museums and vibrant murals.
Olivia, who was shortlisted at the TTG Luxury Travel Awards 2026, admits the tour completely changed her perception of Colombia.
“A lot of people think it’s a dangerous place, but I’ve been to more than 70 countries and I never felt unsafe there,” she said. “In fact, it’s the safest I’ve felt in all of South America.”
Olivia was also overwhelmed by the level of hospitality she received, hailing the locals for their “open, warm and welcoming” nature.
Olivia was the only UK advisor to join the fam trip, which took place in February
Colombia’s cuisine was another pleasant surprise for the London-based advisor, who had struggled during past trips to South America to follow her mostly vegetarian diet.
“Medellín and Cartagena were particularly good for plant-based food,” she said. “There was never a moment where I felt like I was just eating pizza or pasta, which had been the case when I’d visited Rio.”
Olivia also learned about Colombia’s efforts to move past its association with Pablo Escobar, the drug lord who inflicted a campaign of terror against its government and citizens during the ‘80s and ‘90s.
“A lot of our clients have asked about doing a Pablo Escobar-themed tour, but I realised that most Colombians just want to move past that history now,” she said.
Olivia now promotes Impulse Travel’s ‘We Don’t Talk About Pablo’ tour, which focuses on the real socio-political history of Colombia while also honouring the notorious figure’s thousands of victims.
Back to school
Olivia also enjoyed the fam trip’s training course, which provided a theoretical complement to the on-the-ground education.
Each day, the agents would gather in the hotel’s meeting room for a one-hour classes on selling the country effectively. They learned about everything from designing itineraries for Colombia to understanding its air and land connectivity, and once they had completed all five modules, were certified by Impulse Travel as a Colombia Travel Expert.
“It’s the first fam trip I’ve done where they had classrooms to teach you about the destination,” Olivia said. “I’m a geography graduate, so that was really fun for me.”
Olivia and the other agents attended daily classes on how to sell Colombia
Making the sale
Olivia has always had a “boom in bookings” for a place once she’s experienced it herself – and Colombia has been no exception.
Just one month after returning from the fam trip, she was approached by the son of an existing client. He wanted to go abroad to celebrate his 40th birthday alongside his seven friends – and South America was top of his list.
With the fam trip fresh in her mind, it wasn’t hard for Olivia to convince the client of Colombia’s merits. She ended up booking the group an 11-night holiday to the country (with stops in Belize and Panama), and was even able to secure a deal on business class flights after meticulously researching routes.
One of the other men on the trip has since booked his family holiday to the Maldives with Olivia, proving just how powerful the ROI [return on an investment] of a fam trip can be.
Managing expectations
Though luxury product does exist in Colombia, Olivia stresses the importance of working with an expert to ensure properties and experiences align with clients’ expectations.
“The average luxury UK traveller coming to Colombia has likely done a lot of luxury already, so they can be underwhelmed if they arrive somewhere and it’s not the same standard as the five-star hotels they’ve had in the Maldives or Hawaii,” she explained.
Olivia especially noticed a disparity on the Rosario Islands, where she felt the infrastructure would fall short of her clients’ expectations. A lengthy and rocky boat trip to Corona island, a tropical eco-resort situated within the archipelago, didn’t convince her otherwise.
The agents were certified by Impulse Travel as Colombia Travel Experts after completing the course
Olivia did, however, return with plenty of recommendations – even for a luxury client.
Of the hotels she visited, Olivia was most impressed by Hotel Casa San Agustín, a preserved 17th century property in Cartagena. She was also blown away by Casa Mama Luz, a rustic eatery in Bogota which specialises in Andean mountain cooking. As for entertainment, the traditional Colombian game of Tejo and a salsa class in the bohemian neighbourhood of Getsemaní were absolute must-trys.
Now several months on from the trip, Olivia has no doubts that Colombia is suitable for luxury clients – but reiterates the importance of emphasising the type of luxury on offer.
“I don’t define luxury as white glove service, but how intuitive, how tailored or how exclusive it is,” she explained. “It’s hard to put into words, but you go to Colombia, and think…wow, this is like nowhere else I’ve been in the world.”
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