Dignifying local work

All images courtesy of 5Bogotá

Knowing a new destination is a challenging activity, to enjoy traveling an unknown territory it's necessary to be willing and open to appreciating other ways of life, culture, and all the aspects that this entails. We know that the best way to discover the place entirely we visit is through direct contact with the people who live there; they are the true connoisseurs of local dynamics.

5Bogotá was born 7 years ago, conceived by its two co-founders who, in addition to being mother and daughter, share the love for their city. They added their professional experiences and decided to undertake in tourism by creating an initiative that integrates places outside the traditional tourism circuit and also connects a network of local hosts who also share in-depth knowledge and passion for Bogotá.

Diana Zuluaga lived outside of Colombia for several years. When she returned, she felt more like an ex-pat than a local; that's how she began to rediscover her own city and joined a project in La Candelaria, which is the historic center of Bogotá. She is a publicist and, at that time, was in charge of creating plans to promote entrepreneurs and artisans in the sector so that their business ideas could grow. It was at that moment that she began to discover the magic of her city and its true value, which is its people.

Those years marked the beginning of tourism in Colombia, particularly in Bogotá, which was not yet a tourist city; Diana's mother was a teacher at a tourism school and watched the industry's numbers grow dramatically. It was at this point that they decided to combine their experiences to create 5Bogotá.

All the experiences that 5Bogotá offers are inspired by creative tourism. This tourism seeks that the trip becomes an experience not only of leisure but of learning that generates connections with the local culture that is visited, and that, in this way, contributes to the development of the local social fabric. The ultimate goal is for the traveler not to be the same again after the trip and create unforgettable memories.

By practicing this type of tourism, the traveler has the opportunity to know a destination from the hand of a local friend, NOT a tour guide; in this way, your trip will be more authentic, and thus you will get to know the place you visit in a real and unique way.

Finding the experts of the local dynamics is a complex process; if the hosts cannot connect with the purpose of 5Bogotá, it is impossible to create unforgettable experiences for travelers. Finding hosts starts with getting to know the city, walking around it, exploring it, and talking to many people.

Once they find a potential host, it is important that they have something to tell, that they have their own version of the city from their particular knowledge. A host can be an architect, a photographer, someone who loves to cook, a bartender, or someone who knows something about the city and wants to share it.

Diana tells us that there are many types of travelers and audiences they reach; there are travelers of all ages. The star tours of 5Bogotá and the ones that travelers seek the most are those related to local gastronomy, the most popular tour being the visit to the market square and the cooking class afterward.

By connecting with local experts, 5Bogotá can support its entire value chain, which is built based on fair trade; Each person who participates in their tours must receive not only fair payment for their time, but the fundamental objective is that the day-to-day work of local people is dignified and that this becomes something unique and special.

An example that represents this objective is that of a lady who sells juices in a local market; she has had her juice stand in that place all her life and feels that her day-to-day activity is simply to make juices; no one stops to tell her that her juices are tasty or to talk to her. On the other hand, when travelers visit the stand, they really value the juice and the activity that she does, which immediately makes her feel that her work is important and worthwhile. In this way, the network of hosts and collaborators not only receive additional money for their activity but also feel more proud of their daily work.

This year 5Bogotá has experienced the most complex situation in the history of the business, and it actually puts it in checkmate; they will probably have to close because it is not possible to resist that long. In Colombia, foreign travelers will take a long time to return, which places them in a very complicated scenario.

To continue operating, Diana and the entire 5Bogotá team have created Cooking Rituals, a virtual version of their famous cooking class, aimed at the local public. Diana says that it has been challenging to adapt her services to a new target, which is the locals; this modality does not provide enough support for her host network, so it continues to be a difficult challenge to overcome.