Last November, Chile was recognized for the fifth consecutive time as "Best Adventure Tourism Destination" in South America at the World Travel Awards (WTA), considered the "Oscars" of world tourism. This recognition is in addition to the four previous ones granted by the same organization, which chose the country as "Best Adventure Tourism Destination in the World", for its unique geography.
For this reason and understanding the great tourism potential that Chile offers, the Fundación Imagen de Chile together with the Ministry of Sports, the Undersecretary of Tourism and Sernatur launched the international campaign "Welcome to Adventure Tourism", which seeks to promote the country as the "best field for Adventure Sports" in the world and thus reactivate the tourism industry in Chile.
The campaign will show the diversity of landscapes that our country offers and the connection that its people have with them, represented by talented Chilean athletes who practice different disciplines in incomparable natural settings. The launch took place in the Metropolitan Park of Santiago (Cerro San Cristóbal), together with the executive director of Imagen de Chile, Constanza Cea, the Minister of Sports, Cecilia Pérez, the Undersecretary of Tourism Mónica Zalaquett, and the National Director of Sernatur, Andrea Wolleter.
In addition, prominent Chilean athletes who participate in the campaign and support the project attended: Henrik Von Appen, alpine skier; Paola Muñoz, cyclist; Barbara Hernandez, icy water swimmer; Valentina Diaz, bodyboarding; Cristian Merello, surfer; and through a video, Francisco "Chaleco" López, winner of the 2019 Dakar Rally. Local entrepreneurs were also present, representing all the SMEs throughout Chile that make a living from sports and adventure tourism, whether in the desert, beaches, mountains, rivers, lakes and glaciers of our country.
"In adventure sports, territory is decisive, and we have a country with great strengths and differentiating attributes to attract tourists from all over the world, especially those who enjoy direct contact with nature," said Constanza Cea, executive director of Fundación Imagen de Chile. Regarding the campaign, he said that they seek "this collaborative work seeks to promote with great force the virtuous circle that occurs with conscious and responsible visitors who care for and respect nature, and those who live in these destinations and offer their services".
The Minister of Sports, Cecilia Pérez, said that "we have always said that the geographical diversity of our country is a wonderful natural setting for physical activity and sports. That is why I want to thank and value the support we have from these six high-performance athletes, who play all year round in so many places around the world and who are the pride of Chile. In each of their sports disciplines, they are great ambassadors and inspire us to discover beautiful regions and areas of our country" and thanked them for continuing to play for Chile, enhancing the image and summoning tourists from all continents to visit us. "This is a great way to promote sports tourism and also to revive entrepreneurs and SMEs that in so many corners of Chile contribute their work and talent to develop the tourism industry," he said.
In the same vein, the Undersecretary of Tourism, Mónica Zalaquett, also called on visitors to get to know the corners of our country: "We want more Chileans and foreigners to be encouraged to visit and tour Chile. Boosting tourism activity is essential for the sector, which has been hit hard by the social crisis that has affected Chile. In our country, more than 90% of the industry is made up of small and medium-sized enterprises. In the adventure tourism sector there are more than 2,500 services registered with Sernatur and most of them are SMEs, so this promotional campaign seeks to be a support to those who move this sector".
Recent data from the Natural Tourism Service (SERNATUR) indicate that a third of the global tourism industry corresponds to sports tourism, being one of the fastest growing areas of the sector. "We are convinced that Chile has unique qualities that adventurers from all over the world prefer us. We are world leaders as an adventure and nature destination, and we have also worked hard to have a quality, inclusive tourism offer developed under sustainability criteria.
We have a wide range of adventure tourism services in the country and this summer, we call on you to prefer them because they are formal and are part of the local tourism provided by national destinations," said the National Director of Sernatur, Andrea Wolleter. Adventure tourism, meanwhile, also mobilizes millions of people globally and regionally. In fact, about 30% of foreigners who visit Chile declare that they carry out some activity of this type.
Other related news
