The year 2013 brought positive results for tourism in Chile. The local tourism bureau announced that in 2014 they also expect growing tourism numbers regarding domestic as well as international visitors.
The amount of international tourists on a global scale exceeded the expectations during the first eight months of 2013. According to the records of the World Tourism Organization between January and August 2013 there were 747 million arrivals worldwide, 38 million more than during the same period in 2012. This represents a 5% growth.
In Chile, the numbers of domestic and foreign tourists are also on the rise. 8.5 million Chileans traveled within their country last summer. For 2014 the tourism board foresees 9 million domestic travelers during the same period. Almost 60% of Chileans plan some kind of a trip or holiday in the summer. Most respondents are interested in beaches, adventure sports, urban tourism and nature tours.
As for foreign visits, the number of international tourists exceeded 835,000 last summer. This season it is expected that the amount of foreign visitors will reach 876,000 which is 41,000 more (+ 5%). According to the Chilean tourism board 65% of inbound tourists come to the country for natural tours and 66% are interested in local culture and people.