On July 11, the ski season in Chile officially began. It is estimated that the number of visitors in Chilean winter centers will exceed 1.4 million people. One million of those visitors are strictly skiers or snowboarders. In Chile, many snow-goers (approximately 400,000) do not practice snow sports but still enjoy visiting Ski centers and the abundant snow. The latter has helped develop quality snow parks, spas and good food offers.
“Chile is a world class snow destination. We hope that this season more Chileans and foreigners will enjoy the unique experiences that populate our Andean mountain range from North to South. We are confident that the growing ski offers in Chile are being carefully matched with complementary experiences. Chile’s ski offer is has become very popular with international tourists not least because of how it’s being intertwined with the country’s wine and food tourism” explains Monica Zalaquet, Chile’s Undersecratary for Tourism.
Among all the ski centers, US $25 million have been invested this season. In 2017, the figure was slightly higher totaling US $30 million and US $ 21 million in 2016. There is a consolidated ski investment figure of US $80 million in 36 months. The private sector has helped the country better it’s infrastructure. Today, Chile counts on 108 ski lifts, 365 slopes that total 286 kilometers. Hotel and restaurants at ski centers provide the capacity to host 9,000 people eating at food-focused establishments and 14,500 available beds.
Tourists and athletes from all over the world recognize the privileged natural conditions of Chile has to practice winter resorts as well as top-notch infrastructure and safety standards.
“What distinguishes Chile is it’s high quality of the snow due to the altitude of our ski centers. We also have excellent connectivity. For example six world-class ski resorts are just one hour and a half from Santiago’s International Airport”, explains Ricardo Margulis, President of Fedetur.
Our mountain destinations are recognized and they contribute to the unique qualities that have positioned us as the best adventure destination in the World Travel Awards, a category we are nominated again this 2018.
If you wish to support our efforts and think we deserve to our World Travel Awards nomination please vote for us by clicking here.
