A favorable 2025 for tourism was confirmed by industry officials after revealing foreign tourist arrival figures for February and the summer season. They also presented inbound tourism projections for this year during a press conference held at the Le Méridien Santiago Hotel.
February once again exceeded expectations for foreign tourist arrivals to the country. Thus, the number of foreign tourists arriving in Chile in February 2025 increased by 54.8% compared to the same period in 2024, reaching 648,904 international tourists.
Argentina is the nationality with the highest share of arrivals, with 393,021, representing 60.6%. It is followed by Bolivia with 45,395 arrivals, Peru with 27,852, the United States with 27,664, and Brazil with 23,511.
Considering the months of December, January, and February, 2,143,468 international tourist arrivals were recorded during the season, representing a 57% increase compared to the 2023-2024 summer season.
In this regard, the Undersecretary of Tourism, Verónica Pardo, stated that “the balance of the 2025 summer season is extremely positive for tourism in Chile. In these three months, we welcomed more than 2.1 million foreign tourists, which represents a 57% increase compared to the same period last year and 32% more than in 2019, confirming the definitive recovery of tourism. This growth reflects the consolidation of our country as a competitive destination in the region, with a diverse and attractive tourist offer. From the Undersecretariat of Tourism, we will continue promoting actions to strengthen the industry, improve the experience of our visitors, and continue positioning Chile as a benchmark in tourism internationally.”
In addition, the authority announced that "approximately 6.1 million international tourist arrivals are projected for 2025, an increase of 16.4% compared to 2024 and 35.0% compared to 2019."
Markets
Reviewing the cumulative total for 2025, it is observed that 910,997 tourist arrivals from Argentina were recorded. This represents an increase of 143.0% compared to the cumulative total for 2024 and 102.1% compared to 2019.
Sernatur's national director, Cristóbal Benítez, confirmed that "border markets account for a large portion of arrivals to our country during the summer season. The Argentine market accounted for 60% of the total number of foreign tourists arriving in our country during the months of January and February, a 140% increase compared to last year. Looking at our priority markets, in the U.S., we're already at over 13% cumulatively this year, compared to what we had in 2019. And we have positive figures compared to what's happening in some European countries, which are also part of our marketing plan."
Among European countries, England stands out, showing a positive variation in the accumulated number of arrivals for the season, with 14,946, 16.4% more than in 2024, almost reaching pre-pandemic figures with only 0.7% less than in 2019. Spain, with 13,902 arrivals, also shows upward figures in the accumulated number of arrivals for 2025, pointing to a 9.5% increase compared to the same period in the previous year, which continues to bring us closer to pre-pandemic figures.
Border Crossings
C. Arturo Merino Benítez Airport was once again the border crossing that registered the highest number of foreign tourist arrivals with 169,821, a share of 26.2%. It was followed by the Cristo Redentor System (Los Libertadores) with 24.0% (155,452), Cardenal Antonio Samoré with 8.9% (57,934), Pino Hachado with 5.0% (32,379) and Colchane with 4.8% (31,137).
All of the aforementioned border crossings showed a positive percentage change compared to 2024 and 2019, with the two in the south showing the highest percentages of growth: Pino Hachado with +180.2% and +192.6% and Cardenal Samoré with +124.5% and +105.6%, respectively.
Source: SERNATUR.