MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian Tourists Fully Book Chilean Ski Resorts for Winter Holidays

Snow and cheap prices the big magnet for Brazilians

Brazilians are hanging up their swimsuits and donning snowsuits for this year’s winter ski season in Chile. Ski resorts have built strong campaigns with Chilean operators, agencies and media to increase visits from Brazil to the country’s ski slopes.

Every year in Portillo ski resort (160 kilometres from Santiago, Chile) half of the 10,000 tourists who frequent the hot spot are Brazilian. Portillo reservations manager Rafael Tobar reports that the resort is already fully booked, with July as their busiest month.

Termas de Chillán, a popular ski resort in Chile’s south, strengthened its advertising campaign after the earthquake to avoid a drop in visitors. General manager Francisco Giner estimates that Brazilian skiers will dominate this season, with Brazilians making up 90% of their reservations so far. Giner said the Brazilians come mostly from Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo and travel to Chile to learn to ski. Instructors at the resort will be brushing up on their Portuguese in preparation for the influx, he added.

In Valle Nevado, general manager Ricardo Margulis said 2,000 Brazilians have booked in for this season, a 10% increase over last year. Margulis said the large numbers are due to Chile’s “aggressive promotional campaign” in Brazil. The campaign highlights the Andes as a destination, the quality of Chilean ski tracks and special offers.

For Brazilians, Chile is relatively inexpensive. Restaurant meals in Chile, for example are about 50% cheaper than in Brazil. The National Tourism Service (Servicio Nacional de Turismo Chile, SERNATUR) said it expected a rebound in Brazilian tourists this year, after a 10% drop in 2009 due to the outbreak of human influenza.

By Laura Burgoine – Santiago Times