In 2025, over two million people entered through José María Córdova Airport, of which nearly 1.2 million were international tourists. This represents an 11.7% increase compared to the previous year. Medellín is the second most visited city in Colombia and the second most popular destination for digital nomads across Latin America. National Geographic named it one of the best destinations in the world for 2026. The figures are impressive. And they also raise a question worth asking before arriving: what kind of tourist do you want to be in this city?
It’s not a moral question. It’s a practical one. Medellín has plenty of options for the consumerist tourist: narco-history tours, parties in El Poblado, anonymous Airbnbs in areas where prices have tripled in five years. And it also has a completely different city for those who arrive ready to slow down, to listen, to walk with purpose.
We at La Doble Ele are betting on the latter.
The Gentrification No One Wants to Name
The tourism boom has a dark side that the city can no longer ignore. At the end of 2024, Medellín had 8,394 tourist accommodations registered with the National Tourism Registry, a 31% drop from the 12,200 registered in 2023, partly due to regulation, partly due to saturation. The neighborhoods of Laureles, El Poblado, and Envigado have seen rental prices skyrocket, displacing original residents to the outskirts.
Medellín’s Secretary of Tourism, José Alejandro González, put it clearly: the challenge is no longer to attract more tourists, but to attract higher-quality tourists. People interested in culture, nature, and wellness. People who stay longer. Who spend money in the local economy, not in chain stores. People who aren’t part of the problem.
The current average stay in Medellín is 4.2 days. The city’s goal is to raise its rating to 6. That won’t be achieved with two-hour tours; it will be achieved with guests who want to inhabit a place, not just visit it.
What does it mean to slow down in Medellín?
Slowing down in Medellín isn’t a romantic notion. It’s a concrete decision that completely changes what you see.
It means taking the metro instead of Uber, not because it’s cheaper, but because the Medellín metro is itself a manifestation of the city project that transformed Antioquia. Inaugurated in 1995, it was Colombia’s first mass transit system and remains a source of collective pride for a city that learned to trust in public services.
It means having breakfast at a neighborhood shop, not at an Instagrammable café in El Poblado. It means walking through Laureles, named by Time Out as one of the coolest neighborhoods in the world in 2025, at the time when the locals are walking their dogs, not when the tourists arrive.
It means going up to Arví Park on a Tuesday morning, when there are no crowds, and understanding that those 16,000 hectares of native forest on the edge of the city are a rarity that few cities in the world can boast. The park has more than 54 kilometers of trails and ancestral routes dating back more than 4,000 years. In September 2025, it hosted the First National Congress of Regenerative Tourism.
The city that doesn’t appear in the rankings
The rankings show the city that has already transformed. What they don’t show is the city that is currently undergoing transformation, the most interesting one. The Perpetuo Socorro neighborhood, with its Creative District where auto repair shops and artists’ studios coexist. Manrique, where the tango of Carlos Gardel lives alongside the largest mural in the city. Comuna 8, with its women’s centers that cultivate acts of remembrance. This city is discovered by walking, asking questions, letting yourself be guided by someone who truly knows it.
Before we close
According to Booking.com, 76% of global travelers prioritize sustainable options when planning their trips. 49% of Colombians surveyed are willing to pay more for certified sustainable options. Conscious tourism isn’t a niche trend; it’s the direction the industry is heading.
Medellín can be two different cities for two different types of visitors. The choice begins before you even arrive.
Sources for this article:
- Infobae Colombia / El Colombiano — cifras de turismo Medellín 2025 (aeropuerto JMC, crecimiento 11,7%)
- Secretaría de Turismo y Entretenimiento de Medellín — estadía promedio y proyecciones 2025
- El Colombiano — reporte viviendas turísticas y gentrificación, enero 2025
- Time Out — ranking barrios más geniales del mundo 2025 (Laureles)
- National Geographic — mejores destinos del mundo 2026 (Medellín)
- Parque Arví / Gobernación de Antioquia — Primer Congreso Nacional de Turismo Regenerativo, septiembre 2025
- Booking.com / Portafolio — encuesta turismo sostenible Colombia 2024