Interview with José Jofré Bustos
President of the Association of Tourist Municipalities of Chile and Mayor of El Quisco – Valparaíso (Chile)
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José Jofré Bustos
President of the Association of Tourist Municipalities of Chile and Mayor of El Quisco – Valparaíso (Chile)
José Jofré Bustos has served as Mayor of the Municipality of El Quisco for the 2025–2029 term and is the national President of the Association of Tourist Municipalities of Chile.
His career is distinguished by strong experience in public administration, territorial leadership, and the promotion of tourism as a strategic driver of economic, social, cultural, and environmental development.
He leads a network of more than 54 tourist municipalities, from which he advances strategic plans, training programs, sustainability certifications, and partnerships with public, private, and academic institutions. He has promoted pioneering initiatives such as municipal tourism plans, heritage valorization projects, and sustainable waste management strategies.
He also leads municipal professionalization processes and actively participates in inter-municipal coordination forums. His approach combines collaborative governance, institutional innovation, and a long-term vision, prioritizing local identity, community participation, and climate change adaptation as pillars of sustainable territorial development. He thus consolidates a public profile recognized for his ability to build coalitions, provide institutional representation, and generate nationally relevant strategic consensus.
What do you believe are the main factors that have enabled Chile’s tourist municipalities to position themselves as competitive destinations nationally and internationally?
The positioning of Chile’s tourist municipalities is the result of a virtuous combination of structural and strategic factors. First, the country’s territorial and cultural diversity has made it possible to build a broad, authentic, and differentiated tourism offer that aligns with global trends focused on experiences, heritage, and sustainability. This is complemented by the gradual professionalization of municipal tourism management, through which local governments have incorporated planning, destination identity, and public–private coordination as core pillars of competitiveness. From the AMTC, we have contributed to this positioning by strengthening collaborative work among municipalities, promoting shared standards, and fostering a countrywide perspective that understands tourism as a local development policy—not merely as an isolated economic activity.
In what way has your experience leading the Municipality of El Quisco influenced your vision in setting strategic priorities within the Association’s national agenda?
My experience in El Quisco has been crucial in understanding that municipal tourism requires territorial leadership, technical management, and ongoing dialogue with the community. Governing a tourist destination means balancing economic development, residents’ quality of life, and environmental protection—challenges that are replicated across many municipalities in the country. This experience has reinforced my conviction that the AMTC must prioritize an agenda focused on strengthening municipal capacities, developing strategic planning tools, and promoting governance models that integrate the private sector, local organizations, and academia—always from a decentralized, place-based perspective rooted in territorial identity. Most importantly, we bring together the experience of 54 tourist municipalities, from which we learn and share best practices in tourism management.
What criteria does the AMTC use to prioritize collaborative projects among municipalities, and how are results measured?
Project prioritization is based on criteria such as territorial impact, scalability, consistency with local identity, and the ability to generate public value. At the AMTC, we give priority to initiatives that encourage cooperation among municipalities, complementarity in the tourism offer, and the strengthening of regional and national networks. Results are assessed using economic, social, and positioning indicators, such as increased visitor flows, stronger local entrepreneurship ecosystems, improved institutional capacities, and greater visibility of destinations in strategic markets.
What concrete actions does the AMTC promote to strengthen the environmental and social sustainability of municipal tourism?
We have an AMTC strategic executive development plan. Sustainability is a cross-cutting pillar of our work. We promote the development of guidelines for responsible territorial management, encourage environmental best practices, and foster tourism planning that incorporates carrying capacity and resilience. Likewise, we work to ensure tourism becomes a tool for social cohesion by integrating local communities, Indigenous peoples, and entrepreneurs into the value chain, ensuring that tourism benefits are distributed in an equitable way and with full respect for ecosystems—bringing together heritage, culture, and tourism services.
How does the AMTC address improvements in infrastructure, connectivity, and accessibility among municipalities?
Connectivity is a critical factor for tourism competitiveness. From the AMTC, we promote an integrated vision of tourism infrastructure, linking municipalities with sectoral agencies, regional governments, and the private sector. We aim to advance solutions that improve both physical and digital accessibility to destinations, understanding that efficient connectivity strengthens visitor flows, energizes local economies, and enables greater territorial integration. We want change, because the legally established Zones of Tourist Interest have not achieved the desired impact. We hope the new government will make the necessary corrections.
What role do public–private partnerships play in the AMTC’s strategy?
Public–private partnerships are essential for accelerating local tourism development. The AMTC serves as a platform that brings together municipalities, companies, industry associations, and organizations, facilitating investment, training, and joint destination promotion. We firmly believe that sustainable tourism development is only possible when the public sector provides strategic vision and governance, while the private sector contributes innovation, efficiency, and execution capacity. For this reason, we maintain agreements with the Federation of Tourism Companies of Chile (FEDETUR); we will soon sign an agreement with the Chilean Association of Tourism Entrepreneurs (ACHET); and we also have an international agreement in place with the TSTT.
How does the AMTC balance the promotion of established destinations with support for emerging municipalities?
Our approach is systemic. Established destinations play a driving role that helps position the country and create opportunities for emerging municipalities. At the AMTC, we promote integrated promotion strategies in which highly positioned destinations coexist and complement those still in the consolidation phase, strengthening their local identity, heritage, and cultural offerings as differentiating elements.
What initiatives has the AMTC developed in training and technical capacity-building?
We have launched training programs aimed at municipal teams. The first diploma program in tourism management, implemented with the Metropolitan Technological University (UTEM), has already been completed by more than 110 municipal professionals free of charge. This diploma focuses on tourism planning, destination management, territorial marketing, and sustainability. These initiatives seek to raise the standard of local public management and advance greater sector professionalization, recognizing that human capital is one of the main assets for long-term tourism development.
How does the AMTC incorporate the voices of local communities and entrepreneurs?
Citizen participation is a guiding principle. We promote territorial dialogue processes, working groups, and collaborative spaces where communities and entrepreneurs can influence tourism planning. This integration strengthens the legitimacy of local policies and ensures that tourism development responds to the aspirations and needs of each territory.
What monitoring and evaluation mechanisms does the AMTC use?
We use monitoring systems based on economic, social, and territorial performance indicators. These mechanisms allow us to assess the real impact of promotion and management strategies, adjust actions, and ensure that tourism benefits translate into local development, employment, and institutional strengthening. Chile’s Undersecretariat of Tourism has recently launched a destination evaluation model that we will adopt, and our association also follows a strategic plan that is subject to ongoing monitoring.
What are the main post-pandemic gaps in municipal tourism, and what solutions does the AMTC propose?
The main gaps are related to financing, technical capacities, and adaptation to new market demands. From the AMTC, we propose strengthening inter-municipal cooperation, fostering innovation in tourism products, advancing digitalization to develop smart destinations, and consolidating strategic alliances at both national and international levels to diversify markets and enhance the resilience of destinations.
How does the AMTC promote the cultural and historical valorization of municipalities?
Territorial identity is a strategic asset. We promote programs and events that highlight history, tangible and intangible heritage, and local cultural expressions, integrating them into the tourism offer in a respectful and authentic way. We believe tourism is a powerful tool for enhancing cultural value and strengthening a sense of belonging. In addition, we have agreements with Chile’s main television networks to co-produce full seasons of programs that showcase heritage, culture, gastronomy, and tourism activities rooted in local identity.
What flagship projects does the AMTC plan to lead in its next phase?
We envision projects of national and international scope aimed at positioning Chile’s tourist municipalities as benchmarks in destination management, sustainability, and innovation. These initiatives are designed to be replicable models, strengthening inter-municipal cooperation and projecting Chile as a leading country in locally rooted tourism. We aim to lead a project with the European Economic Community focused on developing integrated tourism destinations, promote an environmental certification for beaches called Costa Viva, and organize the first National Symposium on Tourism Legislation and Regulations in Chile, as well as the International Congress of Tourist Municipalities of Chile.
Looking ahead, how do you envision the AMTC’s role in local tourism public policy?
The AMTC aspires to consolidate itself as a strategic actor in the development of local tourism public policy, contributing territorial experience to a model that integrates sustainability, innovation, and citizen participation. Our commitment is to continue strengthening alliances, expanding international cooperation, and strongly representing the voice of more than 54 tourist municipalities in Chile in addressing future challenges.
From the Tourism and Society Think Tank, we express our sincere gratitude to the Association of Tourist Municipalities of Chile and, especially, to its president for sharing such a clear, strategic, and committed vision of strengthening local tourism as a driver of sustainable development, social cohesion, and territorial identity.
This interview confirms the importance of advancing collaborative governance models, technical planning, and public–private coordination—pillars that also guide our international work. We deeply value the leadership the AMTC exercises in representing dozens of municipalities and generating standards, applied knowledge, and projects of national and international scope.
Our registered members in Chile, fully aware of tourism’s transformative role in the country’s economic and social progress, follow these initiatives with great interest and recognize their impact. We reiterate our ongoing willingness to expand joint cooperation, promote technical exchanges, and develop projects that strengthen destinations, communities, and tourism public policies for the international positioning of Chilean territory and its local communities.
The authors are responsible for the choice and presentation of the facts contained in this document and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of Tourism and Society Think Tank and do not commit the Organization, and should not be attributed to TSTT or its members.
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