In a ceremony held in Bogotá, Colombia, Chile was recognized as a leading destination for adventure travel in Latin America. This award was given through a direct public vote from a list of countries defined by experts and became the first award received by the country in 22 years of the award's history on a world level.
Representing Chile, this recognition was received by the Acting Ambassador of Chile to Colombia, Ricardo Rojas. Since 1993, World Travel Awards has recognized excellence in the industry and given awards to the best countries, which has led to these awards being known as "the Oscars" of the tourism industry. That is why the foundation Imagen de Chile ("Image of Chile" in English), understanding the importance of positioning Chile as an internationally recognized tourism destination as a way to strengthen the country's image, held a digital campaign in July and August to encourage citizens to vote. The campaign was supported by Chile's Under-Secretariat of Tourism, Sernatur (National Tourism Service) and Turismo Chile.
The Under-Secretary of Tourism, Javiera Montes, said that "this award is a recognition of the efforts we have made as a Government to promote ourselves as a tourist destination not only on a national level but also internationally. One example of this was the recent Adventure Travel World Summit that was held in the Los Lagos Region, which hosted more than 700 delegates from all over the world, and which gave us the valuable opportunity to spread the word about the many attractions that Chile has to offer and to raise the profile of the work we are doing to diversify our service and product offerings, with the goal of having all kinds of tourists be able to find an alternative destination that they can visit and explore, depending on their interests."
For her part, Myriam Gómez, executive director of Imagen de Chile, highlighted that "this campaign allowed us to win an internationally renowned prize for the first time, and we think that this successful outcome is an example of the valuable collaborative work that can be accomplished together by the public and the private sectors." She added, "tourism plays a fundamental role in positioning Chile internationally. Recognitions like these help us attract more visitors, which fosters the competitiveness and development of our country."
Finally, Andrea Wolleter, general manager of Turismo Chile, stressed: "This recognition as well as hosting the recent Adventure Travel World Summit make us proud because both of these are, in part, a result of the work that has been done to promote Chile as a destination in international markets, showing people the experiences that are possible in our country."
It is worth noting that Chile, in the category "South America's Leading Adventure Tourism Destination," competed against important leaders in the tourism industry, such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay. More information: World Travel Awards.