A new international campaign to promote Chile as a tourism destination was launched by the Under Secretariat for Tourism, the institution responsible for the promotion of Chile in overseas markets. The campaign was presented in parallel in Sao Paulo as part of the events at World Travel Market (WTM) Latin America.
The Chilean government efforts to develop Puerto Williams in the extreme south of the country as an austral tourism centre and gateway to Antarctica received an ‘excellent’ feedback from the recent IAATO annual meeting held in Punta Arenas.
Five Argentine and Chilean Patagonia ports have teamed up to promote their tourism attractions and potential for the cruise industry by launching a hardcover limited edition book (1.000), in English and Spanish, with digital support under the heading of “Patagonia, cruises destination”.
Chile received a total of 3.5 million foreign tourists in 2012, a 13% hike over the year before and an all-time record. The 13% gain far outpaced the 6% increase that Latin America scored as a whole last year, Chile's deputy secretary for tourism, Jacqueline Plass, said.
Chilean Under Secretary for Tourism Jacqueline Plass said that in the first eight months of the year the number of arriving international tourists increased 16%, while August became the arrivals record month since 1988.
Chile’s Under Secretary for Tourism Jacqueline Plass reported that the arrival of Brazilian tourists had soared 30% in the first half of the year, attracted mostly to the ski centres along the Andes Mountains and to Patagonia.
Chilean Tourism Under Secretariat head Jacqueline Plass made a positive balance of tourism activity during the first half of the year with over 1.85 million foreign arrivals, a 15% increase over the same period a year ago.
In the first quarter of this year, 1.2 million foreign tourists arrived in Chile, which represents a 14% increase over the same period a year ago, reported the Under Secretary of Tourism Jacqueline Plass.
Over three million tourists arrived this year to Chile, an 11% increase over 2010. The number also represents a trebling of foreign tourists in the last two decades, according to Tourism Under Secretary Jacqueline Plass.
The Chilean Senate unanimously approved this week the bill allowing cruise vessels to operate their onboard casinos while sailing in Chilean waters.