Bigger Hordes of Tourists Visit Chile, Spend More Money

A grand total of 924,606 foreign tourists traveled to Chile in the first half of the ongoing year, up a blistering 18.6 percent hike from the first six months of 2003, the National Tourism Service (SERNATUR) reported this week.

That inflow of travelers generated $520 million worth of gains for the country, a 30 percent increase from the first half of 2003. “This is an extraordinary growth, the biggest number of tourists ever to visit Chile,” said SERNATUR Chief Oscar Santelices.

Mr. Santelices said in a press conference that these good outcomes are mostly owed to the toilsome endeavor that both SERNATUR officials and private businessmen have conducted overseas in an effort to bring in more trippers to the South American country.

“These results lay bare that the actions we’ve carried out in Spain, the United States, Germany, Brazil and in other nations are simply paying off,” Mr. Santelices pointed out.

Over a quarter of the country’s incoming tourists for the first half of the year hails from Brazil. TLC nations (Canada, Mexico and the U.S.) combined for more than a fifth of the market’s share, while Europeans finished with 18 percent of the total.

The country churned out significant first-half numbers compared to the first six months of 2003, with 14.3 more Argentineans and 19 percent more Europeans visiting Chile.

Tourism authorities are planning to spend $3.8 million in promotions and advertisements for the next months. In addition to that, new tourism bureaus will be opened in Washington, Germany and Brazil to join the travel office that’s been operating in Spain’s Madrid for the last couple of years.

As many as 1.7 million tourists traveled to Chile last year and spent a record high $1.1 billion in the country’s establishments.