Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Colombian tour will encourage tourism, says vice-president

Claim fuels view that couple were used as ‘political pawns’ in Francia Márquez run for president next year

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s tour of Colombia was designed to encourage tourism, according to the country’s vice-president.
A lengthy statement released by the office of Francia Márquez hailed the international attention the quasi-royal tour had generated and said the couple’s presence had helped demonstrate that Colombia was an “attractive tourism destination”.
The government release also said the tour had shown that the country had moved away from the violence with which it has long been associated and was now worthy of international investment and business.
“The message is overwhelming,” it said. “We will continue working to establish Colombia on the international stage as a reference point of creativity, cultural diversity and above all, as a country that knows how to rebuild from differences and is ready to receive millions more visitors.”
Such claims will only serve to fuel the view that the Duke and Duchess were used as “political pawns” to boost Ms Márquez’s reputation ahead of next year’s election, when some speculate she may run for president, and to divert attention from various domestic scandals.
She also appears to be hoping that the Sussexes’ Archewell Foundation will support some of the social projects they visited during the four-day visit.
Ms Márquez invited the couple to visit after watching their Netflix documentary. They spent two days in Bogotá before travelling to Cartagena and Cali.
Part of the incentive for the Duke and Duchess was to highlight their relatively new online safety campaign and to learn more about the local culture.
The Colombian government confirmed that the couple had paid for their own travel but suggested that their extensive security operation, or “technical requirements”, were funded by the vice-president’s office.
Local politicians have criticised the amount of money the government has spent hosting the Sussexes.
Andrés Escobar, a Cali city councillor, accused the vice-president of “squandering public money” on “vanity” when it “could have been used to expand coverage of children’s canteens, pay salaries of community mothers, seed capital for Afro communities or adapt sports venues practically in ruins”.
The vice-president’s office said the visit had “contributed to continue demonstrating that Colombia is a country of confluence for global causes, a country capable of hosting diverse interests, as well as an attractive destination for investment, tourism and business”.
It added: “During this visit, the country received the attention of international media and the world who were given the message that Colombia is changing positively.”
It said the visit was “a success in that it was covered by media across the globe”, adding that the couple’s presence “was an opportunity to raise awareness of different regions and those who have benefited from different government programmes”.
Ms Marquez said: “The entire world set its eyes on a Colombia rich in diversity and culture. It demonstrated that we are not the country of violence. We are the country of hope, of fraternity, of good hosts. We are the country of peace.
“Colombia awaits their return. The country that they got to know is a country of beauty, diversity and cultural richness which we want the whole world to know.”
Her office said the visit allowed them to show the world a Colombia that continued to fight for change.
She added that the Sussexes’ visit to San Basilio de Palenque, the first “free town” in the Americas, created by escaped slaves, was to enable the couple “to know the essence of what we are as black people, of our spirituality, of our culture”
The government even relayed a message from Prince Harry.
He is quoted as saying: “Do not forget the message of the vice-president. You are stronger together, you are stronger united as one.”
The tour programme had many similarities to that of an official royal overseas visit, the main difference being that the couple were not there on behalf of a government, to promote national and diplomatic interests.
It followed a three-day visit to Nigeria in May, at the invitation of the West African nation’s chief of defence staff and other international trips are believed to be in the pipeline.
“There’s only so much one can do from home and over Zoom,” the Duke said in May. “So we look forward to travelling more. There will always be reasons to meet the people at the heart of our work.”