Cartagena “Sex Island” tour raises ire of local tourism authorities

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If you were planning on having an “all-inclusive” dinner on the naked body of a prostitute, you may have to re-think that trip to Colombia, after the country’s immigration authority Migración Colombia has vowed to deport any tourist participating in the so-called “Sex Island” holiday.

A promotional video by The Good Girls Company, which shows bikini-clad escorts dancing on a yacht somewhere near the rocky coastline of the Barú peninsula, 40 kilometers south of Cartagena, offers “unlimited sex” on a “private island.” This tour has raised the ire of the country’s tourism officials.

In the sex-romp video with reggaettonesque visuals, a resort complex on Isla Grande is clearly visible, and final destination for some 30 men willing to shelve-out US$5,000 to spend four days in November with 60 prostitutes. But, while airport and boat transfers are supposedly included to reach this “drug-friendly” paradise, and where “working girls are available 24-hours,” sex tourists could find themselves in a sea of red-tape at immigration, should local authorities have their way.

Cartagena’s interim mayor Sergio Londoño told the local media that these events “damage the good name of Cartagena and all Colombians.” The 32-year old politician also reiterated that one of the city’s main objectives, is not be sold worldwide as a sex-tourism destination. “Cartageneros will not tolerate this offense to women,” said Londoño. “We are all ramparts,” he insisted, referring to one of this colonial city’s main attractions, and which once kept British pirates away.

The mayor has also called on the national government and law enforcement to identify individuals taking part in this all you can drink, drug-infused orgy. Since the scandal broke, YouTube has removed the promotional video.

What the tour doesn’t offer, however, is 24/7 protection against the deadly chikungunya virus, which remains a public health concern in this archipelago of the Colombian coast, as well as the legal fees for being arrested for consuming drugs. So, if your “most intimate desire” is to not spend four days in a Cartagena jail, best look for another destination.

The jewel in the crown of this country’s tourism portfolio has been hardly immune to sex scandals involving “working girls.” In 2012, three DEA agents engaged in sex parties with Cartagena prostitutes hired by a drugs cartel.

The scandal involving the drug enforcement officials followed a sexcapade in April that same year, in which US Secret Service agents, as they prepared the security detail for President Obama’s trip to the Summit of the Americas, held an orgy at the Hotel Caribe.

While adult consensual sex with a prostitute is not a criminal offense in Colombia, and the rights of all women “to freely conduct their work” is protected in the Constitution, the country’s criminal law 1336 of 2009 incarcerates those implicated in the trafficking of minors for sexual exploitation, pornography and sex tourism.

In Bogotá, the barrio Santa Fe is the only “tolerance zone” where prostitution is permanently regulated and monitored by the capital’s health authorities.

The Colombian Government has been actively promoting this country worldwide through aggressive campaigns aimed at stopping sex tourism and Migración Colombia, announced it will investigate bank accounts of those who purchased the “Sex Island” tour.

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