MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Punta Arenas airport traffic record.

Air traffic in Punta Arenas during 2004 increased 8% compared to the previous year, reaching 373,800 passengers.

The number of air operations to President Carlos Ibañez air terminal also jumped considerably totalling 6,139, that is 486 over 2003 with a peak during December, 831, mostly because of the activities of the two new airlines flying to Punta Arenas, Sky Airlines and Aerolineas del Sur.

The months with greater activity as can be expected were January, February and December with an average 44,000 passengers per month and the weakest June and July with 19,634 and 26,789.

Taking into account the last five years, air traffic in Punta Arenas has increased from 302,473 in 1999; 328,984 in 2000; 355,072 in 2001; 344,518 in 2002; 341,605 last year and 373,800 in 2004.

Punta Arenas Airport Director Nelson Ibañez Giordano said statistics are very encouraging since "air traffic in the region has consistently increased contrary to what has happened in other regions of Chile".

Furthermore the period extending from September to April, with the influx of tourists, "keeps increasing" with two low season months July and August showing a "good performance" which coincides with the holidays of Magallanes Region students in higher education in Santiago.

"With the incorporation of two new regular airlines we can optimistically say that Punta Arenas has definitively changed for good", underlined Mr. Ibañez Giordano.

Torres del Paine Park booming

Visitors to Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia increased 13% in 2004 compared to the previous year, with the greatest expansion among foreigners.

According to figures released by Park authorities the total number of visitors in 2004 was 98,065 and in 2003, 86,467.

Last December 15,959 visited the Park of which 13,246 were foreigners.

Comparing total figures foreign visitors actually increased from 61,583 to 73,357 (19,1%) while Chilean nationals dropped from 24,884 to 24,708.

Jose Moreira, head of Torres del Paine Works and Infrastructure said the number of visitors was in the range of "what we estimated, just below the 100,000 mark".

"The growth tendency of visitors is sustained, although percentages vary from year to year", added Mr. Moreira.