2022 was a year marked by the reopening and reactivation of economic activity, especially for tourism. After the Government relaxed or eliminated sanitary restrictions, the industry had an important boost that was reflected in different indicators. According to the Undersecretary of Tourism, 2,036,103 foreign tourist arrivals were registered in 2022, +971% more compared to 2021 (190,022 arrivals) and equivalent to a 45% recovery compared to 2019 (4,517,962 arrivals).
“During 2022 tourism faced enormous challenges. Since we took office, we have been working to recover this industry with a special focus on lifting or easing a series of sanitary restrictions in order to promote reactivation. The coordinated effort with the Health authorities allowed a significant increase in the arrival of foreign tourists to be registered by the fourth quarter, which also allowed us to improve the initial projections”, explained the Undersecretary of Tourism, Verónica Kunze.
Total income from tourism
According to the estimates made, the tourism industry in 2022 generated income of US$9,247 million dollars, increasing by +52.9% compared to what was registered in 2021, and +87.8% more than in 2020.
Total Tourism Income is made up of the sum of Receptive Tourism Income (US$1,320 million dollars), Domestic Tourism Income (US$7,793 million dollars) and Outbound Tourism Income (remaining in Chile, US$133 million dollars). Dollars).
“These figures confirm that tourism is a relevant economic activity, which in addition to generating employment, directly benefits various locations throughout the country. The total income from tourism in 2022 exceeded US$9 billion dollars and the domestic tourism component was highly relevant, contributing almost US$7.8 billion dollars, demonstrating that Chileans preferred to tour Chile last year,” said Undersecretary Kunze.
Projections 2023
According to estimates by the Undersecretary of Tourism, it is expected that 3,483,121 arrivals of foreign tourists will be registered in 2023, an increase of +71% in relation to 2022 and thus the levels of a normal year would be reached. The figures projected for 2023 would be similar to 2014, the year prior to the start of the massive arrival of Argentines to our country (2015 - 2019), driven by a favorable exchange rate that allowed them to develop the so-called "shopping tourism".