Chilean President Highlights Tourism Growth

Chile´s President Ricardo Lagos said today the number of tourist arrivals to his country was up a staggering 22.9 percent during January and February this year, and showed optimism toward the fast-growing pace the local travel industry is taking right now.

During the grand opening of the Radisson Ciudad Empresarial Hotel in Santiago de Chile, President Lagos pointed out that some 440,000 tourists visited the country in the first two months of 2004 for a 22.9 percent jump compared with the same span of time the year before. Those sunbathers -he said- spent $219 million in all.

During his remarks, Mr. Lagos announced the establishment of the Committee for the Making of Tourism Guidelines and Standards, a body in charge of outlining a regulatory system to gauge service quality within the sector.

"We want to turn Chile into a trustworthy country in may ways, including the quality of tourist services. These services must be in line with the same international standards Chile wants to base competition upon," the Chilean President commented.

The opening of the new hotel, following an $8 million investment package, came through thanks to the country´s growth in a number of fields.

"This is based on a new infrastructure that begins to emerge in Santiago, either the Vespucio Highway, the Northern Coastal Road or the new tunnel that must be built to allow motorists to make it to Santiago´s downtown area in only 10 to 15 minutes," Mr. Lagos concluded.