One of the United States' most influential travel magazines Frommer voted Colombia's main tourist attraction Cartagena as one of the 12 best tourist places to visit in the word.

According to the magazine, the coastal city "has a highly developed tourist infrastructure, and it's just a short hop from the U.S". The magazine praises its beaches and excellent food.

Cartagena joins Frommer's top travel destinations for 2009.

Cartagena has seen an increase in interest from foreign tourists over the past few years.

It is considered one of Colombia's most beautiful colonial cities and has the most potential to become a serious worldwide tourist hotspot.

"After years of strife and violence owing to the drug cartel wars, Colombia has begun to emerge as a safe and vibrant travel destination (Crime rates in major cities are now no higher than what you'd find in an average large American city like Philadelphia or Milwaukee).

Cartagena has a highly developed tourist infrastructure, and it's just a short hop from the U.S. -- only a 2.5 hour flight from Miami.

Cartagena sits on the Caribbean coast and is a wonderfully picturesque, walled-in fishing village of pastel-painted buildings, fine cathedrals, and plenty of Spanish colonial architecture and 17th-century forts that allow you to steep yourself in history. The white-sand beaches are sublime, the restaurants are excellent, and lodging comes in all styles and prices."

Source: Frommer