Cartagena from a city with a heavy past to the Caribbean capital of luxury
Cartagena de Indias has long held a special place on the map of Latin America. Few cities in the region combine colonial architecture, Caribbean energy, the important history of Atlantic trade and a modern tourism industry so powerfully. But today’s Cartagena is no longer just a picturesque postcard of walls, balconies overflowing with flowers and narrow stone streets. It has also become one of the most ambitious examples of urban tourism transformation in the wider Caribbean area, a city that has built a new identity as a high-value global destination out of a layered and often dark past.
That change did not happen overnight. For decades, Cartagena carried the burden of stereotypes that linked Colombia with violence, smuggling and insecurity. At the same time, however, it preserved one of the most valuable historic urban ensembles on the continent, developed its cultural life and gradually expanded its tourism offer beyond the classic postcard view of the old town. Today, Cartagena is spoken of as a place where heritage, gastronomy, cultural tourism, the cruise industry, luxury hotels and increasingly important segments of event-based and experiential travel meet.
The latest symbol of that transformation arrived on April 2, 2026, when the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Cartagena was officially opened, a project that is already being described in the international tourism industry as proof that the city wants to position itself among the most prestigious Caribbean addresses. The opening of such a hotel is not just hospitality news. It is a signal that Cartagena has entered a new phase of development, one in which it no longer sells only history and climate, but also the experience of luxury, design, the restaurant scene and cultural authenticity.
A city whose core is shaped not only by beauty, but also by historical weight
To understand why Cartagena is so important today, one must begin with its historic core. Back in 1984, UNESCO inscribed the “Port, Fortresses and Group of Monuments, Cartagena” on the World Heritage List, highlighting that the city possesses the most complete system of fortifications in South America. The historic ensemble was shaped through several urban zones, among which San Pedro, San Diego and Getsemaní stand out in particular, districts that still reveal the different social layers of colonial Cartagena.
But behind the postcard façade lies a complex history. Cartagena was not only a trading port and military fortress, but also one of the key places of the colonial order in the Spanish Empire. It was an important transit point for the slave trade, a strategic maritime centre and a city built on great wealth, but also on deep inequalities. That is precisely why today’s restoration and tourism valorisation of Cartagena also carry an added responsibility: history cannot be reduced merely to décor, but must remain visible as a space of memory, identity and social self-reflection.
That layer is especially important in the Getsemaní district, which in recent years has emerged as the city’s cultural and artistic centre. Once a peripheral and popular urban zone, today Getsemaní is a place of murals, music, small galleries, bars and street life that attracts both travellers and investors. It is precisely there that the new Four Seasons is located, on Media Luna, right next to the historic core. In this way, one of the liveliest and most authentic parts of the city has entered the centre of the international luxury scene, opening both a new development opportunity and a series of questions about the cost of such transformation for the local community.
For visitors who want to stay in the historic core or directly next to it, the practical aspect of their stay is also important, so it is no surprise that alongside increasingly frequent cultural and luxury itineraries, interest in
accommodation in Cartagena is growing, especially in the old town and Getsemaní area. In a city that increasingly lives from multi-day stays rather than only short visits, the question of where to stay becomes part of the tourism experience itself.
The figures show that Cartagena is at the centre of Colombia’s tourism momentum
The broader national picture works in Cartagena’s favour. Colombia’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism announced that the country recorded 6,696,835 non-resident visitors in 2024, which is 8.5 percent more than in 2023 and a new record for Colombian tourism. Such growth does not automatically mean that all the gains end up in Cartagena, but it confirms that Colombia has entered a period of stronger international visibility, and Cartagena is one of the main beneficiaries of that trend.
Local figures further reinforce that picture. In December 2025, Corpoturismo announced that Cartagena, as of November, had received 5.5 million travellers who arrived by air, land and cruise ship. According to the same report, during 2025 the city expanded its presence in international markets, promoted eight tourism segments and further strengthened market analytics, with a focus on outbound markets such as the United States, Peru, Ecuador, Mexico and Chile.
The beginning of 2026 brought a continuation of that pace. At the start of January, city authorities projected 78 percent hotel occupancy during a strong series of events, while mobility of approximately 1.6 million travellers was estimated for the period from December 18, 2025 to January 18, 2026. In addition, city institutions presented, at the end of 2025, a calendar with more than 40 tourism events for 2026, with the announcement that the final number could exceed one hundred when wedding, congress industry and cruise segments are added.
This points to something more important than the figures themselves: Cartagena is no longer just a “high-season” destination, but a city that seeks to distribute demand throughout the year and strengthen different motives for arrival. Visitors no longer come only for a single photographic frame on the walls, but for festivals, gastronomy, cultural routes, sea excursions, business events and increasingly for luxury urban holidays. That is why interest in
accommodation offers in Cartagena is no longer limited only to peak holiday periods, but is spreading across the entire calendar.
Four Seasons as a symbol of a new phase: luxury is no longer an addition, but a strategy
The opening of the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Cartagena has a significance that goes beyond the hotel industry. According to the company’s official information, the hotel is located in a restored complex of historic buildings in the heart of Getsemaní, just a few steps from the old walled city. The project combines historic buildings and contemporary design, and the company particularly highlights 131 rooms and suites, some of which are located in colonial-inspired spaces, while another part relies on a more modern expression. The project also includes 15 luxury private residences.
On a symbolic level, even more important is the fact that the hotel is presented as a “revival” of important city buildings. Four Seasons emphasizes that the project includes the restoration of landmark properties, including the historic Club Cartagena and buildings connected with the city’s religious and social history. In this way, luxury is not built on an empty plot and without context, but on the idea that heritage should be turned into a market-attractive product. This is a model that can be developmentally powerful, but also politically sensitive, because every such project raises the question of for whom the city is actually being restored.
In its communication, the hotel group explicitly states that it wants to combine history, local culture and contemporary comfort. In practice, this means that the new complex offers not only accommodation, but also eight dining concepts, wellness facilities, rooftop pools, event spaces and curated city experiences, from art tours through Getsemaní to trips to nearby islands. Cartagena is thus positioning itself in the same travel category in which the destination is not just a backdrop, but a complete luxury product.
For the city, this has a double effect. On the one hand, the presence of a globally recognizable brand increases international visibility and can raise average guest spending. On the other hand, it raises expectations across the entire sector, from service and design to the management of public space. When Four Seasons arrives in a city, it is no longer just about one new address, but about a message that Cartagena wants to play in a higher league of Caribbean tourism.
Heritage, events and identity: why Cartagena is not just a resort destination
One of the reasons why Cartagena succeeds in attracting both the luxury and the cultural segment is the fact that the city has a strong identity beyond hotel walls. The historic core, fortresses, squares, churches and public space are not an addition to the tourism package, but its foundation. In addition, the city is increasingly developing an events calendar through which it tries to connect culture, religion, sport, gastronomy and the coast.
Throughout 2026, city authorities and tourism institutions particularly emphasize the diversity of events, from cultural and musical to nautical and gastronomic ones. Such an approach is important because it extends the season, diversifies audiences and reduces dependence on one type of guest. A visitor who comes for a festival or congress behaves differently from a one-day cruise excursionist, just as a traveller seeking a historic atmosphere chooses a different rhythm of the city from a guest who comes exclusively for the beach.
That is precisely why Cartagena is increasingly building the image of a city where people stay for several days rather than simply pass through. Within that framework, the need for
accommodation close to event venues is also growing, especially during periods when the cultural calendar and business travel simultaneously fill the city core. This additionally changes the economy of the centre and neighbourhoods such as Getsemaní, where everyday life is increasingly intertwined with tourism demand.
The transformation is not without tension: safety, exploitation and pressure on the community
Although Cartagena today undoubtedly enjoys the reputation of one of the strongest tourism destinations in Colombia, the story is not one-sided. International travel advisories still contain warnings about crime and the need for caution when travelling in Colombia, and in its current guidance the U.S. State Department also calls for extra attention due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnappings and natural hazards in the country. This does not mean that Cartagena is a city tourists avoid, but it does mean that the image of safety cannot be reduced to a marketing slogan.
It is also important that as tourism grows, debates about the social consequences of such development intensify. Cartagena remains a city of major social inequalities, and the tourism boom is not distributed evenly among residents. The problem of exploitation, including the sexual exploitation of minors, remains a serious topic in public warnings and international guidelines. That is precisely why any story of “Caribbean luxury” that wants to be serious must also acknowledge the other face of growth: pressure on housing, the risk of pushing local residents out of attractive neighbourhoods, and the moral and security responsibility of the tourism industry.
Getsemaní may be the best example of that ambiguity. Its authenticity and street life are now key elements of the city’s brand, but the district’s success itself increases the pressure of investment and prices. What travellers see as “charm” can, for local residents, also mean expensive rents, a change in the structure of shops and the weakening of everyday neighbourhood life. The future of Cartagena will therefore also depend on whether the city can preserve the communities that created the atmosphere that made the destination desirable in the first place.
A city between tradition and a technological shift
Interestingly, Cartagena is changing not only through large hotels and arrival statistics, but also through symbolic interventions in public space. At the beginning of 2026, the city began replacing traditional horse-drawn carriages with electric carriages, after prolonged criticism from animal rights activists. The city administration presented a new fleet of vehicles that look like the old carriages, but run on battery power.
That move can be read on several levels. On the one hand, it is a response to objections related to animal welfare and unsuitable working conditions for horses in a hot and busy urban space. On the other hand, it is an attempt to preserve the tourism imaginary, but adapt it to new standards. Cartagena thus shows that it is not ready to give up the romanticized image of a historic city, but it is ready to change the way in which that image is produced.
At the same time, the transition did not pass without resistance. Owners of traditional carriages warned of economic consequences and requested compensation, which is a reminder that every urban modernization also has a social price. This example neatly summarizes Cartagena’s broader dilemma: how to remain faithful to its own identity without the city becoming a museum backdrop for wealthier guests and investors.
Can Cartagena remain itself while becoming ever more luxurious
In the best-case scenario, Cartagena could become a model of a city that successfully combines heritage, local culture and high-value tourism. Serious foundations for that already exist: UNESCO protection, strong international interest, record national tourism figures, growth of the events scene and the arrival of global premium brands. At the same time, the city is also trying to build elements of sustainability, including the promotion of shared and local tourism routes and stronger institutional coordination of tourism policy.
But it is equally clear that success will not depend only on the number of visitors or luxury rooms. It will depend on whether Cartagena manages to retain its own social and cultural nerve, protect public space, control negative phenomena linked to mass tourism and maintain a balance between investment capital and residents’ interests. A city that for centuries was a crossroads of power, trade and migration is once again living through a period of major change. The difference is that it is now competing not only for geopolitical importance, but also for the status of one of the most desirable urban destinations in the Caribbean.
Cartagena is therefore today more than a beautiful backdrop and more than a story about luxury. It is a model example of how a city can emerge from the shadow of a heavy past as a globally attractive address while still fighting for its own measure, authenticity and a fairer distribution of the benefits of tourism growth. That is both its greatest strength and its greatest test.
Sources:- UNESCO World Heritage Centre – official description of Cartagena’s historic core, fortifications and urban ensembles (link)- Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia – official data on 6,696,835 non-resident visitors in Colombia during 2024 (link)- Alcaldía Mayor de Cartagena / Corpoturismo – report on 5.5 million travellers who arrived in Cartagena by November 2025 by air, land and cruise ship (link)- Alcaldía Mayor de Cartagena – official projection of the 2026 tourism calendar with more than 40 events and estimates of sector strengthening (link)- Alcaldía Mayor de Cartagena – data on the expected hotel occupancy of 78 percent at the beginning of 2026 and the impact of events on the local economy (link)- Alcaldía Mayor de Cartagena – projection of approximately 1.6 million travellers in the season from December 18, 2025 to January 18, 2026 (link)- Four Seasons – official announcement of the opening of Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Cartagena on April 2, 2026 and data on the concept, location and amenities (link)- Four Seasons Cartagena – official presentation of the hotel in Getsemaní, directly next to the walled old city, with a description of the amenities and destination positioning (link)- U.S. Department of State – current travel guidance for Colombia, including safety warnings and legal notes for travellers (link)- Associated Press – report on Cartagena’s transition from traditional horse-drawn carriages to electric carriages and the social reactions to that change (link)
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