Cartagena, January 23, 2013.- The National Police has launched actions aimed at the seizure of imitation hats that are being passed off as authentic Vueltiaos hats. Their efforts will focus on those areas where there are high concentrations of tourists and vendors of tourism related souvenirs.

Cartagena, January 23, 2013.- The National Police has launched actions aimed at the seizure of imitation hats that are being passed off as authentic Vueltiaos hats.  Their efforts will focus on those areas where there are high concentrations of tourists and vendors of tourism related souvenirs.

This was announced by the Minister of Trade, Industry, and Tourism, Sergio Diaz-Granados, after completing a meeting that his portfolio convened in Cartagena. The meeting was attended by the law enforcement authorities of the cities of Barranquilla, Santa Marta, and Cartagena. Each of these cities has committed to enforce the provisions that were issued, last week, by the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce.

The meeting was also attended by the Vice Minister of Tourism, Oscar Rueda García, and the Superintendent of Industry and Commerce, Pablo Felipe Robledo, as well as by their respective teams.

Minister Diaz-Granados noted that this move comes at a good moment, considering that the nation is fast approaching major festivals, such as the Carnival of Barranquilla, where vendors of such products can "make a killing" by cheating tourists.

"Additionally we are handing out flyers in Spanish and English at the various hotels in the region, and we are running radio spots on key stations, encouraging to tourists to avoid the imitations of the traditional Vueltiao hat, which are circulating in the market," explained the Minister.

This initiative, implemented by the National Tourism Fund (Fontur), not only seeks ward off fake Vueltiaos but also to encourage the purchase of originals, in addition to promoting the values of the Zenú culture, which produces the Vueltiao hat.

Last weekend, the Ministry and the Zenú indigenous community located in the departments of Córdoba and Sucre signed the commitment to support this culture. The two sides agreed to work on the modernization of the production of crafts by the Zenú community, as well as to promote the public procurement of Vueltiaos hats, improve marketing, and study the possibility of creating a theme park within the Zenú reserve as a means of boosting national and international tourism to the area.

PHOTO

From left to right: Pablo Felipe Robledo, the Superintendent of Industry and Commerce; Adriana Tapiero, Research Director for Consumer Protection of the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce; Major Rocio Melo, of the Sant Marta Police Department;  Colonel William Ruiz, of the Cartagena Police Department; and Sergio Diaz-Granados, Minister of Trade, Industry, and Tourism.


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