MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile targets Asian-Pacific tourists

Attracting tourists from Asia and the Pacific is the great challenge for the Chilean tourism industry”, said Chilean Economy Minister Jorge Rodríguez Grossi who is acting host for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC, tourism ministers summit currently taking place in Punta Arenas.

Talking informally with the local press Mr. Rodríguez pointed out that "in the rest of the American continent Chile is well known and we have deep historical links with most countries, but Asia where we have strong trade links because they absorb a third of our exports, there's virtually no knowledge about us and we're also different societies".

The Chilean minister revealed that only 1% of tourists arriving in Chile come from Asia and the Pacific, "so that's where out great challenge rests".

This apparently will be particularly important once closer exchange links with China are formalized next November during the APEC leaders' summit in Santiago, since Beijing authorities "are recommending Chile as a tourism destination".

However Mr. Rodríguez said that efforts must not be limited to China and the agreement to be signed next November but to other high income areas such as Singapore, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea.

"We must organize promotion tours in Asia, invite tourism reporters from China, Japan, South Korea to come and write about all the attractions Chile has to offer; that is the follow up task once the APEC meeting is over".

Further on Mr. Rodríguez indicated that "the tourism industry is right behind salmon exports as one of the most dynamic and promising sectors for Chile".

Investment in tourism keeps increasing, "silently but steadily", with great future prospects, turning it into a very potent industry.

"A growing world economy and the special interests which the industry has developed have helped Chile perform successfully in tourism; we have astronomy in the north, lakes, rivers, angling, all of Magallanes beauties and Antarctica, it's a unique offer", insisted Mr. Rodríguez.

Further on, the minister highlighted two increasingly relevant factors which are also helping attract tourists to Chile, "security, stability, far from terrorism and all the other threats other areas of the world are exposed daily".

"APEC is a wonderful almost unique opportunity to make Chile for a week the tourist showcase of the world and we must take full advantage", concluded Mr. Rodríguez.