Developed in 2023, the National Strategy for Sustainable Tourism 2035 adopted a participatory approach with 32 face-to-face workshops held in the 16 regions of the country, 3 workshops in island territories (Rapa Nui and Chiloé), 19 online thematic workshops, workshops with unions and other key stakeholders, and interviews with national, regional and local authorities, which brought together 2 277 participants. This strategy is built within the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adheres to this commitment and advances towards a vision of sustainability and as a country designs a path for development to harmoniously integrate economic productivity, social improvements and environmental conservation with a regenerative perspective and from this input defines six strategic pillars: sectoral governance; sustainable tourism; positioning and unique experiences; tourism intelligence and planning; high-impact productive ecosystems; and green tourism investment. The Strategy's cross-cutting principles are: decentralisation; equity and inclusion; gender equality; participation; sustainability; and conservation of natural, cultural and gastronomic heritage.
Chile is also implementing an international tourism marketing plan aimed at attracting visitors to Chile in the short, medium and long term, fostering connectivity in the Chilean tourism sector, increasing average spending and promoting new destinations.
Chile supports social tourism with three key initiatives: Family Tourism, Study Tours, and Senior Vacations. These programmes subsidise tourism packages for families, students, and senior citizens, promoting domestic tourism and local economic development. Despite pandemic disruptions, they resumed in 2022, benefiting diverse groups. Future goals include expanding participation, engaging more tourism sectors, and fostering sustainable tourism. These programmes connect various service providers, including travel agencies, transport, lodging, restaurants, tour operators, guides, insurance companies, excursions, handicrafts, wildlife areas, and cultural services, thereby boosting productivity in mid and low seasons. During the pandemic, travel within the national territory was affected. However, after free mobility was authorised (with COVID-19 health and prevention restrictions), the programmes were reactivated, reaching more than 271 000 overnight stays in 2022.
Recent tourism policies in Chile focus on sustainability and climate resilience. The 2020 Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change in the Tourism Sector aims to enhance the sector's sustainability by 2024 through capacity building and actionable measures requiring collaboration across the industry, host communities, and tourists. As part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, the plan will be updated in 2024 to align with Chile's Framework Law on Climate Change. Additionally, the Sustainable Sanitation Systems Programme supports rural tourism microenterprises with technical advice and financing for drinking water and basic sanitation equipment (see box below).
The Biodiversity and Protected Areas Service modifies the legislation on tourism concessions in protected areas. From its entry into force in 2023, it provides for low-impact tourism concessions in protected areas, such as parks and reserves, as long as they are in line with the individual management plans of the protected areas. The Undersecretariat of Tourism may intervene in the protected area planning processes and will be part of the Technical Advisory Committee that will determine the concessions per unit and their concessional income.
The Production Development Corporation has a variety of programmes to improve the competitiveness of companies and territories for the country's different industries with growth potential. In the case of tourism, this entity has made available a series of instruments to promote the governance and productive development of the territories. To date, there is the National Transform Tourism programme, the meso regional programmes of Enotourism, Lagos Rios and Volcanoes and Patagonia Parks, as well as 7 regional programmes for the promotion of tourism.
The PAR Chile Apoya Turismo 2023 programme supports the recovery of micro, small and medium-sized tourism enterprises through financing for training, business plans, consulting, technical assistance, working capital and investment projects. The Programme was launched in March 2023 and can finance up to 100% of tourism-related projects in the 16 regions, with a maximum limit of CLP 3.24 billion.
