Cartagenaruns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Refining & petrochemicals
Reficar (Ecopetrol), Esenttia, Dow, Cabot, Ajover
The Mamonal industrial corridor south of the city is Colombia's petrochemical heartland — Reficar is one of Latin America's largest refineries and the reason Cartagena is an industrial city as well as a tourist one.
Ports & logistics
Puerto de Cartagena, Contecar, Compas, freight forwarders
Cartagena handles the largest container throughput in Colombia and is a major transhipment hub for the Caribbean, supporting a deep customs, freight and shipping-agency sector.
Tourism & hospitality
Hotel groups, tour operators, cruise terminal, event venues
The visible economy: hotels, restaurants, weddings, congresses and one of the busiest cruise terminals on the continent. It also shapes the housing market more than any other single force.
Naval & shipbuilding
COTECMAR, Colombian Navy, ship repair yards
Cartagena is the Colombian Navy's principal base, and COTECMAR designs and builds vessels here — an engineering employer that has nothing to do with tourism.
Construction & real estate
Bocagrande and Zona Norte developers, Serena del Mar
A long high-rise construction cycle along the peninsula and northward toward Serena del Mar, driven heavily by second homes and short-let investment rather than local demand.
Business services & outsourcing
Bilingual contact centres, shared-services operations
A growing nearshore sector taking advantage of a young bilingual workforce and costs below Bogotá's, concentrated around the Bocagrande and Pie de la Popa office corridors.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.