Overall, during the first half of 2024, 2,389,414 international visitors arrived, which is equivalent to 1.3% compared to 2019 (pre-pandemic).
The Chilean government, through its Undersecretariat of Tourism, highlighted that the southern country has seen an increase in the arrival of foreign tourists.
In fact, during the first half of 2024, 2,389,414 international visitors arrived, equivalent to 1.3% compared to 2019 (pre-pandemic), which for the authorities demonstrates "a notable recovery of the tourism sector."
The Undersecretariat of Tourism indicated that the increase is due - in large part - to the growth in the number of tourists from Argentina, which has increased by 36.5% compared to the first half of 2023.
The depreciation of the Argentine peso and the motivation of Argentines to engage in shopping tourism have had an impact on this.
In addition, other key markets such as Brazil, Mexico and the United States have also contributed to the rebound in tourism.
In this regard, Chile's Undersecretary of Tourism, Verónica Pardo, was emphatic in pointing out that "international arrivals have increased in the first half of the year; Argentines increased by 11.5% compared to 2019."
Pardo added that “we are 1.3% above the figures for 2019,” which he described as “excellent news for the sector and for Chile’s tourism-related economy.”
“We continue to work to recover long-distance tourists, even though we have already increased international flights by 80%. In addition, we have strengthened our relationship with one of our key markets, Brazil, which was sealed with the signing of the Action Plan for tourism cooperation during the last state visit of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to Chile,” said the Undersecretary.
BILL SEEKS TO FURTHER IMPROVE CURRENT FIGURES
The law on measures to reactivate tourism and promote the audiovisual industry is one of the main objectives that Gabriel Boric's government wants to adopt to help tourism, which was one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic.
The measures included in the project seek to strengthen the sector through focuses aimed at local economic development in communities throughout the country; and increasing the international promotion budget by more than 10 million dollars, which would generate an additional arrival of one million tourists each year (according to projections).
This project is part of the economic fast track presented by the Ministry of Finance and which was sent to the Senate by the Chamber of Deputies last week, with 122 votes in favor.
