In this context, Travel2latam spoke with Verónica Pardo, Undersecretary of Tourism of Chile.
What expectations did you have when you arrived at Fitur? What are you promoting?
Spain is a place that we love very much, it is the largest European destination that comes to our country. We know that the Spanish feel at home. In fact, even when there has been an economic crisis, Chile has always welcomed them. And I think that is part of the challenge, that they feel at home when they are tourists.
Chile is a country with wonderful gastronomy, along with its wines. The pairing we make is spectacular. We are the fourth largest wine producer. Our challenge is to show that in Chile you can take a trip that feels far away, because it takes many hours, but that is infinite in experiences. We have five different macro-zones; with desert, high plateau, flamingos, salt flats and high plateau food.
Chile has something exotic about it, it is a country that is really little known, with all the space of the river route, lakes and volcanoes, where we have rapids. We have the mountains and the Pacific, with a maximum width of 120 kilometers and a minimum width of 60 kilometers, therefore, we are a country where traveling along rivers is wonderful and fast, which is very interesting.
We have to show here in Spain that we have a wide range of products and that in one country you can find an infinite diversity. The development of astrotourism is very present and it is a very interesting offer. Chile also offers a variety of cocktails and local cuisine that is closely associated with goats, goat cheese and meat. There is a cultural and artistic offer, which is why this stand also shows handicrafts, from at least four very typical sectors of our country, and which we offer.
We know that the natural appeal is what sets us apart, but it is not the only thing that people are looking for. That is why I want to show the Spanish and Europeans in general the whole experience around nature that goes hand in hand with the stories behind each craft, the gastronomy, the local products and the uniqueness of each region.
What are the objectives for source markets for 2025?
We certainly want to go deeper into Europe, but first we want to consolidate America, which is an important place for us. We always look at Europe as a destination where we need to move forward, but in America we have enough to share with each other. That view is Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Central America is also a space where we can exchange a lot. Certainly Argentina too, but I count it as a sister country, since we have more than a third of the tourists who come from Argentina crossing the Andes.
In Europe in general we have four countries that are stronger, but we are opening up two spaces that are very necessary for us, Italy and Portugal. The best known are undoubtedly those where the strongest tourism fairs are: Spain, Germany, England and France. We are also looking towards India and Asia.
For all of this you mention, connectivity is needed. What's new in this regard?
We have certainly strengthened our talks with LATAM and Iberia, which are the main airlines with which we are currently generating direct connectivity with Europe. LEVEL is also part of that offer. And in the talks to expand to Asia and Australia we are effectively making progress. We already have a sky agreement with Australia that will make us more easily empowered.
The other point would be conversations with hotel entrepreneurs. How is the investment situation in Chile?
Yesterday I had a presentation at a breakfast held by CAF, precisely to show the different countries where there is a possibility of investment, and I had a conversation with two hotel chains to be able to think about Chile. My first objective was to recover the number of tourists we had before the pandemic, which we already did. The projections for this year are even much better than those of last year, and together with the Ministry of Economy we have been working on simplifying procedures to be able to speed up investments. Now is when those conversations begin and I hope they bear good fruit.