Tourism authorities highlight the solid growth in international tourist arrivals, which have not only surpassed 2019 figures, but continue with a sustained rise, driven by a diversified offer and a strategic marketing approach towards priority markets.
The Undersecretary of Tourism and Sernatur celebrate the continuous growth in the arrival of international tourists to Chile, both through the Santiago Airport and border crossings. These figures reflect the successful reactivation of the tourism sector after the effects of the pandemic.
This growth is the result of hard work, with a focus on strategic markets. Verónica Pardo, Undersecretary of Tourism.
According to the data provided, the country has maintained a solid recovery in foreign tourist arrivals. In October 2024 alone, the country received 456,569 international tourists, making it the third highest month of visitor arrivals, after January (506,231) and July (460,267).
Through October, Chile has received a total of 4,085,940 international tourists, representing an increase of 38.8% over 2023 and 7.7% more than in 2019.
As a result of these figures, the Undersecretary of Tourism, Verónica Pardo, said that "this year's figures are the best news for 2024. This growth is the result of hard work, with a focus on strategic markets. International promotion has been key, especially with initiatives such as the segmentation of Brazil, which has allowed us to open new air routes and significantly increase arrivals from that country, with an increase of 71.2% over 2023 and +43.6% compared to 2019."
"In addition, next year will be crucial to consolidate these advances. We have two major international events that will put Chile in the world spotlight" added the Undersecretary.
In this regard, the national director of Sernatur, Cristóbal Benítez, said that "we are very pleased to announce these figures, which confirm that this year marks the recovery of tourism in our country, because we can confirm that we have recovered the level of foreign tourist arrivals we had before the pandemic and that we have even set new trends with markets such as Brazil, thanks to the work we are carrying out through our International Marketing Plan". The authority also pointed out that "we are planning to reach close to 5 million tourist arrivals this year, which will be excellent news for inbound tourism".
Major tourist source countries and recovered markets
So far this year (January to October), Argentina continues to be the leading outbound market for tourists, accounting for 38.5% of total arrivals in 2024, which is 26.9% more than in 2019 and 60% more than in 2023. Brazil ranks second, with 16.7% of total tourist arrivals, highlighting its best year ever, up 71.2% over 2023 and 43.6% compared to 2019.
As for the recovered markets, tourists coming from the United States stand out, with a total of 184,787 up to October, +6.1% compared to 2019; tourists coming from Uruguay, have increased 87.7% more than in 2023 and 0.7% compared to pre-pandemic figures (2019).
In addition, this year there have been historical figures of travelers coming from Colombia and Mexico, who accumulated a total of 127,624 and 46,627 respectively, meaning +19.1% and +14.3% compared to 2019.
Chile, various entry routes
Santiago Airport continues to be the main gateway, receiving a total of 1,859,827 international tourists so far in 2024, or 45.5% of total arrivals to the country.
As for border crossings, the Valparaíso region leads with 683,735 entries, of which 99.94% are through the Cristo Redentor System. It is followed by the Magallanes Region, with 283,239 entries, highlighting the Dorotea Border Crossing as the main entry point, with 39.32% of the regional total. For its part, the Los Lagos Region maintains a constant flow through the Cardenal Antonio Samoré Border Crossing, with 209,069 entries up to October.
Check out the original article on the Undersecretary of Tourism's website.
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