Medellin Reports

[Zeos1]

Why the hell would monger tourism hurt other tourism?

Normal tourists with families, etc. Avoid hotels with a reputation for hosting sex tourism. And why hotels that cater to tourists often have policies to discourage or not allow prostitution. If mommy and kids start noticing things like that it shows up on reviews, etc. Which is why there are laws in many of these countries to try to discourage sex tourism.

[Dinosaur9]

Monger tourism is a drop in the bucket, not something that would be missed economically. Tourism, that's a different story. And monger tourism hurts other tourism, so guess what needs to go.

Why the hell would monger tourism hurt other tourism?

[Kazeu]

I sure hope so. More for me.

It will drive it underground and raise prices all around. Not a good thing.

[Kazeu]

Monger tourism is a drop in the bucket, not something that would be missed economically. Tourism, that's a different story. And monger tourism hurts other tourism, so guess what needs to go.

I suspect the percentage of tourism that is monger tourism is higher than you would think. Whenever I'm on a flight to Colombia, its mostly colombians and a bunch of dudes. Its not like the country has great beaches. Bogota is a kind of a shit city for tourism, I'm not wandering around looking at the great architecture or history, more likely walking around looking over my shoulder. Medellin, has nice weather, but not much else besides the big rock. Cartagena has a cool old town, but shitty beaches for the most part. So many better places to go for real tourism.

[Franklinzed]

That is idle talk. The new right wing regime is very US friendly and will do its best to be on good terms with the US and its citizens.

You mean being on good terms with the US by treating their sex tourists well? The US which has harsher prostitution laws and enforcement?

It seems Colombian policy on the matter is catching up to the US.

[GringoLoko]

What exactly the posters warned against? Soliciting prostitutes in public places?

I posted a detailed post this morning that something is indeed happening in centro, I noticed it a few months earlier. Not sure where my frigging post went.

I saw a poster yesterday on facebook or instagram it was big and red and in english. I don't remember what it said exactly as I saw it and was like wtf is this and thought it was fake. If I see it again I will screenshot it and upload it here.

[Alex Deuce]

What exactly the posters warned against? Soliciting prostitutes in public places?

I posted a detailed post this morning that something is indeed happening in centro, I noticed it a few months earlier. Not sure where my frigging post went.

" The posters are everywhere. The task force has been in the daily news and has been for about a year now. If you read the travel advisory, it details the crackdown on sex tourism and addresses solicitation, filming and other conduct associated with sexual exploitation and prostitution in public areas.

This isn't simply a Medellin police operation. The enforcement effort involves multiple Colombian and USA Agencies, including Migración Colombia, the Colombian National Police, DIJIN / SIJIN, the Fiscalía General de la Nación, the Medellin government and ICBF. On the USA Side, documented cooperation includes the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the USA Marshals Service and the Department of Justice, with INTERPOL involved in international law-enforcement cooperation.

Authorities are also sharing information through immigration and criminal-record systems, INTERPOL alerts, international law-enforcement channels and platforms such as Angel Watch and NCMEC. Migración Colombia has also acknowledged using social-media information when investigating suspected sex-tourism activity.

So this isn't a situation where someone can simply show up at the airport, say, "I'm here for tourism," and assume that's the end of it. Immigration officers can question travelers about their plans and determine whether the stated purpose of the trip is consistent with the information available to them. There are documented cases of foreigners being denied entry after authorities determined that their stated reason for visiting did not match the evidence.

The important distinction is between adult consensual sex work and criminal conduct such as sexual exploitation, trafficking or anything involving minors. The current enforcement campaign is heavily focused on exploitation and trafficking, while also targeting solicitation and related public-order violations in specific areas.

The bottom line is that Colombia's enforcement environment has changed substantially. The country remains open to legitimate tourism, but foreigners suspected of coming specifically for sex tourism or associated with exploitation, trafficking, solicitation violations or other criminal activity can face significantly greater scrutiny and, depending on the circumstances, denial of entry, removal or referral for further investigation. "

[Knowledge]

I don't recall seeing street corner fingerprinting in the past. I wonder is that is more about a new piece of tech. Document checks are nothing new.

When was the last time they were fingerprinting mongers and checking passports in the streets?

[Knowledge]

This weekend the police disabled an explosive device that was left in front of the museum in Plaza Botero. Suspects were detained, more news to come.

What exactly the posters warned against? Soliciting prostitutes in public places?

I posted a detailed post this morning that something is indeed happening in centro, I noticed it a few months earlier. Not sure where my frigging post went.

[Plan77]

Monger tourism is a drop in the bucket, not something that would be missed economically. Tourism, that's a different story. And monger tourism hurts other tourism, so guess what needs to go.

Very true. Look at CR. They are happy to lose such travelers.

[Plan77]

I haven't been able to post photos but they have prominent massive posters in English that state that the park in being monitored and that you may be next. It has created a chilling effect in the park.

What exactly the posters warned against? Soliciting prostitutes in public places?

I posted a detailed post this morning that something is indeed happening in centro, I noticed it a few months earlier. Not sure where my frigging post went.

[BlueChange]

Just checking here, I've been dropping some gems of reviews for providers and everytime I check back it's just chit chat.

Hope to inspire others to use this for reports.

[KeviKev68]

I have seen several news reports that the new regime in charge of Colombia wants to eliminate sex tourism. Imigration with the police are going into Lleras and Centro asking for passports from guys and actually fingerprinting them with mobile devices. They plan on denying entry to these guys the next time they come.

I haven't been able to post photos but they have prominent massive posters in English that state that the park in being monitored and that you may be next. It has created a chilling effect in the park.

[AmorPorFavor]

Come on now. Every regime they've had, right or left wing, says they want to end sex tourism.

When was the last time they were fingerprinting mongers and checking passports in the streets?

[Zeos1]

Isn't this something that happens in cycles? Countries that have high tourism will have political parties that run on ending it to sway the locals who have to deal with rowdy visitors, drunks, loud parties, and the higher prices as a result of businesses tailoring towards foreigners. The problem is their economies are reliant on these tourists and can cause stunt growth or help cause a recession if the drop is too sharp. Then when the public inevitably grows tired of the current political party, they'll vote for the opposite and the cycle reverts back.

Monger tourism is a drop in the bucket, not something that would be missed economically. Tourism, that's a different story. And monger tourism hurts other tourism, so guess what needs to go.