Chile launches campaign to promote adventure tourism

In November, Chile was named the Leading Adventure Tourism Destination in South America by the World Travel Awards (WTA), known as the “Oscars” of global tourism. This is the fifth consecutive year that the entity recognized Chile in this way, and it also chose the country as the Leading Adventure Tourism Destination in the World because of its unique geography.

Based on this and the significant tourism potential that Chile offers, Fundación Imagen de Chile, the Sports Ministry, the Undersecretary of Tourism and Sernatur launched an international campaign named “Welcome to Adventure Tourism” that seeks to promote the country as “the best field for adventure sports” in the world and to reactivate the tourism industry in Chile.

The campaign will feature the diverse landscapes that our country offers and the connection between them and their people, who are represented by talented Chilean athletes who practice various sports in unbeatable natural settings.

The launch was held in Santiago’s Metropolitan Park (Cerro San Cristóbal), and featured Imagen de Chile Executive Director Constanza Cea; Sports Minister Cecilia Pérez; Tourism Undersecretary Mónica Zalaquett; and National Sernatur Director Andrea Wolleter.

The event also was attended by renowned Chilean athletes who participated in the campaign and support the project. They are Alpine skier Henrik Von Appen; cyclist Paola Muñoz; cold water swimmer Bárbara Hernández; bodyboarder Valentina Díaz; and surfer Cristian Merello. Francisco “Chaleco” López, the winner of the 2019 Dakar Rally, also participated via video feed. Local adventure tourism entrepreneurs were also present, representing SMEs that specialize in this field throughout Chile, from the desert to the beaches and from the mountains to the country’s rivers, lakes and glaciers.

“Terrain is key in adventure sports, and we have a country with major strengths and attributes that set it apart and can attract visitors from every part of the world, especially people who enjoy direct contact with nature,” observed Constanza Cea, the Executive Director of Fundación Imagen de Chile. In regard to the campaign, she said, “this collaborative effort seeks to strongly promote the virtuous circle that is produced between conscientious, responsible visitors who care for and respect nature and the people who live in these destinations and offer their services.”

Sports Minister Cecilia Pérez noted, “we have always said that our country’s geographic diversity is a marvelous natural setting for physical activity and sports. I would thus like to express my gratitude for and recognize the support that we received from these six high performance athletes, who work hard in so many places around the world and are a source of pride for Chile. They are excellent ambassadors in each of their disciplines, and they inspire us to discover beautiful parts of our country.” Minister Pérez thanked them for continuing to do their best for Chile by strengthening the country’s image and inviting tourists from every continent to visit us. “This is a great way to promote sports tourism and the work of the entrepreneurs and SMEs who contribute their hard work and talent to develop the tourism industry in so many parts of Chile,” she said.

Along these same lines, Tourism Undersecretary Mónica Zalaquett called on visitors to explore every corner of our country. “We want more Chileans and foreign visitors to explore Chile. Promoting tourism is fundamental for this sector, which has been harshly impacted by the social crisis. Over 90% of the industry is comprised of small and medium enterprises in our country. There are over 2,500 adventure tourism services registered with Sernatur, and the vast majority of them are SMEs. As a result, this campaign seeks to support the people who drive this sector.”

Recent Sernatur data state that one third of the global tourism industry is sports tourism, and that this is one of the areas in which the sector is experiencing the most growth.

“We believe that Chile has unique qualities that adventure-seekers from around the world will prefer. We are global leaders as an adventure and nature destination and we have worked hard to develop quality, inclusive tourism offerings that align with sustainability criteria. We have a wide range of adventure tourism services throughout the country, and this summer we are inviting people to choose them because they are formal and are part of the local tourism offered by Chilean destinations,” explained Sernatur’s National Director, Andrea Wolleter.

Adventure tourism also motivates millions of people around the world and throughout the region to travel. In fact, nearly 30% of foreign visitors report that they engage in this sort of activity during their time in Chile.