The key priorities and opportunities for tourism in Chile are identified in the National Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development 2014-18.
The main priorities are to promote sustainable development of the sector through actions in prioritised destinations, to increase recognition of tourism as an important economic sector and to improve the competitive position of Chile. Specific goals are to:
Develop new and innovative tourism experiences, considering cultural and identity elements,
Encourage more Chileans to travel, know and enjoy Chile, delivering both social and economic benefits (Box 1.17),
Capture more value from tourism, through actions to improve the offer and promotion in prioritised international markets,
Strengthen the sustainable development of destinations, from an integrated territorial approach that promotes the engagement of local and regional actors (Box 3.9).
The above goals are being addressed through the ten-year public-private Transforma Turismo programme. Its objective is to transform Chile into a sustainable, diverse and sophisticated international tourism destination, with a tourism offer based on its natural and cultural resources and achieving significant growth in the average value generated per tourist.
A diagnosis and Road Map for implementation of the programme was developed with the participation of a wide group of state entities, tourist entrepreneurs, academics and other tourism-related bodies. The programme has subsequently focused in the following two areas:
Improvement of five types of prioritised tourism experience in which Chile has comparative advantage: nature and adventure tourism (with emphasis on wild protected areas); astronomical tourism; wine tourism; indigenous tourism; and cultural, event and gastronomy tourism.
Development of tourist destinations, improving their management, sustainability and connection (with each other and with their environment), with the purpose of generating environments that give greater competitiveness to tourism products and companies that participate in the tourism value chain. It considers actions in ten selected destinations (among the 83 tourist destinations prioritized by the Under-Secretariat of Tourism in the National Plan).
According to the Tourism Law, the Under-Secretary can propose to the Committee of Ministers the declaration of Areas of Tourist Interest. These are territories that have special conditions for attracting tourists and that require conservation measures and integrated planning to promote investment by the private sector.
In 2016, Chile was recognised as the best adventure tourism destination in the world. This reflects the great potential of Chile’s natural resources and the work undertaken in the last three years around protected wilderness areas. Consideration is being given to the prioritisation of some National Parks or National Reserves for the development of sustainable tourism together with the surrounding communities. To date, a total of eight parks have been prioritised by the Committee of Ministers. However, the Action Plan prepared by the Under-Secretariat of Tourism, in conjunction with the National Forestry Corporation, includes actions in 20 Protected Areas of the State.
