Between January and August Chile welcomed 2,376,000 international tourists, maintaining a good position of the inbound tourism, according to the Secretary of Tourism, Javiera Montes.
During the month of August, Chile reported 251,300 foreign visitors. The number of European tourists increased by 8.6% compared to the data from August 2013.
The Tourism Authority informed that the amount of tourist arrivals remained especially regarding the priority markets in Europe, which had a significant increase during August – UK (+20.8 %), Germany (+16%), France (+8.2%) and Spain (3.1%).
As the Secretary Montes specified, North American countries also showed a substantial increase in arrivals – USA (+ 4.6%), Mexico (13%) and Canada (0.6%), along with Colombia (+ 10.1%) in South America.
Among South American countries, Uruguay stands out with an increase of 13%, while the Brazilians had a significant increase of 14.1%, largely thanks to the favorable winter season, during which people come to Chile for winter sports and activities.
During the months of July and August, 521,684 foreign tourists entered the country, representing an increase of 2.2% over the same period last year. In particular, Brazil had a significant growth of 19.2% (July-August), which meant a total of 16,000 more arrivals than in the same period of 2013.
According to preliminary figures from a Sernatur study, 73.8% of those visiting the ski resorts of the Metropolitan region are Chileans, while the remaining 26.2% are foreign tourists. The age of Chileans who visit these resorts during the winter ranges from 25 to 29 years, while international visitors average between 30 and 34.
About 63% of foreign tourists coming to the ski resorts are Brazilian, followed by Argentines with 12.3%, Europeans with 4.9%, and Americans with 4.4%. 85.2% of international tourists come for one day only and 14.8% stay in the resorts for at least one night.