Sernatur highlights recovery, formalization, and sustainability in its 2025 Public Account
From the Aysén Region, the national director of Sernatur reported on the tourism sector last year, the main achievements during this period, and the challenges on which its work will focus in 2025
The National Tourism Service (Sernatur) presented its public report, detailing the most significant achievements of 2024 and the future challenges for the tourism sector in Chile. Before more than 100 people gathered in the MOP auditorium in Coyhaique, Sernatur National Director Cristóbal Benítez highlighted the remarkable recovery of the national industry post-pandemic.
During 2024, global tourism experienced a significant recovery, with 1.465 billion international arrivals, an increase of 12.2% compared to 2023, approaching pre-pandemic levels. In this context, Chile ranked fourth in South America for tourism, welcoming more than 5.2 million international visitors, a figure that represents a 16% increase compared to 2019 and an impressive 40.4% increase compared to 2023.
These results, according to Cristóbal Benítez, "are largely the result of collaborative efforts between the public and private sectors. As the agency responsible for promoting tourism, we implemented our International Marketing Plan, which has allowed us to effectively focus our efforts on priority markets. Furthermore, in 2024, as a country, we participated in more than twenty international events and conducted more than one hundred training sessions in different markets. Thanks to these actions, the increase in visitors meant that more than $3.6 billion in tourism spending came to Chile, 22.8% more than in 2019."
Domestically, the balance was also positive: in 2024, the total number of overnight trips exceeded 60 million, a higher figure than in 2019.
A strategy to consolidate tourism as a driver of sustainable development.
A key milestone in the country's tourism management last year was the implementation of the National Sustainable Tourism Strategy. This roadmap for 2035 is based on six pillars that outline Sernatur's actions toward strengthening and diversifying the tourism industry in Chile.
Along these lines, Sernatur has strengthened the comprehensive management of tourist destinations, assessing their development levels and attractiveness. The Municipal Tourism Distinction was key, recognizing municipalities that have demonstrated a minimum standard of tourism development and excellence in their internal management. Currently, 54 municipalities have been recognized—19 of them in 2024—and another 32 are in the process.
Last year, Sernatur contributed to business development in the regions through tools aimed at improving business competitiveness, such as the Quality (94 Q Seals) and Sustainability (132 S Seals and 945 Sustainable Tourism Commitments) awards, as well as the Learn Tourism courses that provided training for the sector's human capital. Likewise, the design and implementation of the Tourism Business Competitiveness System has begun in conjunction with the Inter-American Development Bank, with the aim of measuring the competitiveness of tourism MSMEs and developing roadmaps to close gaps.
The formalization of the industry has been another priority, with the officialization of the Tourism Services Regulation Program, through which technical and operational tools have been adopted to ensure valid and timely information on the more than 37,000 services registered in Sernatur's National Registry of Tourism Service Providers. In 2025, a new national inspection model will be designed to increase inspection coverage and frequency, in addition to a new registry validation methodology that will incorporate adventure tourism activities.
In this regard, Director Benítez explained that "we will implement a new registry validation methodology, aimed at improving the quality of available information, strengthening inspection processes, and providing transparent and useful data for travelers. This methodology will also allow us to incorporate adventure tourism activities into the registry that previously could not be formalized due to the lack of a specific technical standard, thus expanding the scope of inspections and promoting the inclusion of new services within the current regulatory framework."
Another topic addressed by Sernatur's report was the contribution of the Domestic Tourism programs (Senior Citizen Vacations, Study Tours, and Family Tourism), key initiatives to reduce tourism seasonality in 56 national destinations, benefiting thousands of families, seniors, women, youth, children, and adolescents with access to quality tourism services.
Source: SERNATUR.