The Chilean Tourism Board’s national director, Cristobal Benitez Villafranca, said this goal could be achieved in three steps – increased connectivity, improved trade relations and raising awareness of the destination.
Villafranca told TTG@WTM he would meet with British Airways at WTM London in the hope of persuading the carrier to increase its current four-times-weekly Santiago service to a daily service. “This is an important part of the recovery,” he said. “We’re trying to increase connectivity to seven flights a week.”
He revealed the tourism board was also in discussions with Latam and BA stablemate Iberia about offering more flights into Santiago.
So far this year, the number of European visitors to Chile has increased by 147% year-on-year, but remains 31% below 2019 numbers. But while overall numbers are still down on 2019, the length of stay by Europeans has increased by 20%, and they are spending 17% more, Villafranca said.
“So, despite having a lower number of arrivals, we’re generating 7% more revenue from this market,” he added.
Villafranca said part of his mission at WTM London was to convey the message that Chile had more to offer than just Patagonia. “When they discover that, they will stay even longer,” he said.
“Yes, Chile is far away from the UK, but the idea is they stay longer because it’s harder to attract more people. The overall objective is getting visitors to stay longer.”
Villafranca confirmed Chile’s 2024 marketing budget had increased by 5.3% year-on-year. “This is positive because it’s more than we had this year," he added.
