Chile nicked over $1 billion out of tourism in 2003

The arrival of tourists to Chile soured 12.8 percent this year with dramatic increases in the number of European travelers, the country’s National Tourism Service (SERNATUR) reported this week.

A grand total of 1,676,976 visitors spent $1.04 billion in Chilean territory for a solid 8.4 percent growth compared to last year’s digits, the state-run service informed.

These figures are revealed at a time when the nation’s high-peak summertime season is red hot in the northern and central beaches, as well as in the lakes and southern rural areas.

Though the biggest chunk of tourists hailed from Latin America –over half a million from neighboring Argentina- SERNATUR officials underscored a blistering 22.2 percent jump in the amount of European trippers that tallied 286,192 in all.

“The heart of the matter is that we’ve managed to branch out into different markets. That bears out hikes in hard-currency collection and tells us we’ve put our smart money on the right places,” SERNATUR chairman Oscar Santelices said.

Mr. Santelices’ assertion was upheld by the latest report issued by the Higher Tourism Council (HTC), an entity that gathers the local industry’s private tour operators.

Chile has positioned itself as a luring tourist circuit on the heels of aggressive promotional blitzes and actions carried out by entrepreneurs and state officials in recent years.

HTC chairman Gabriel Delano said he’s upbeat with the way the ongoing high-peak summertime season –stretching out through March next year- is unfolding.