News Releases

Jan 20, 2010

IDB supports improvement of Chile’s tourism industry

A $31.57 million loan will help reach new travelers, reduce seasonality and promote new sites

The Inter-American Development Bank announced the approval of a $31.57 million loan to improve the competitiveness of Chile’s tourism industry, one of the country’s strategic economic options to generate external revenues and boost domestic development.

By helping attract special-interest segments and promote new tourism destinations in Chile, the funding will contribute to reduce the sector’s seasonality and boost geographic decentralization. It will also strengthen public tourism management and promote higher levels of competitiveness among local tourism entrepreneurs.

The program will promote three different regions of the country: the Norte Grande, the South, and the Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego area. In the Norte Grande, it will seek to develop attractions related to the highlands culture and the region’s historic saltpeter industry, including the ghost town of Humberstone. In the South, the program will promote investments related to light and extreme nature adventure tourism, while in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego it will support exploration and sailing tourism.

The program will finance, among other things, highway improvements, implementation of interpretive and scenic trails, visitors centers, a network of shelters and campgrounds, small marinas, infrastructure and equipment for trekking, horse riding and cycling, and improvements in access and facilities at protected areas.

At the institutional level, the program will support the improvement of the national tourism information system and the implementation of interinstitutional coordination mechanisms and of local planning instruments.

For the private sector, it will support the creation of business networks, experience and know-how sharing, benchmarking, partnerships, quality system support mechanisms, and promotion and marketing support tools.

These actions expected to strengthen Chile’s tourism industry and help raise tourists’ average stay from 0.56 days to 3.66 days and the daily spending average from US$53 to US$190 by 2021.

The loan is for 15 years, with a 5 1/2-year grace period, at a LIBOR-based interest rate. Chile will provide US$19 million in local counterpart funds.

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