Chile is committed to developing sustainable tourism

10-01-23

"We want to promote the growth of economically viable tourism, but also environmentally responsible and socially fairer" is the strategic vision stated by the national director of Sernatur, Beatriz Román, in view of the challenges facing tourism activity for the year 2023, where it is important to accelerate the transformation processes to consolidate a tourism developed under sustainable and inclusive criteria.

Chile is rapidly advancing to become one of the leaders, not only in the continent but also worldwide, in terms of tools to promote the provision of sustainable tourism services. This was confirmed by the director of Sernatur during her participation as a speaker at the Global Sustainable Tourism Conference (GSTC) 2022, which took place from 12 to 15 December in the city of Seville, Spain. There, more than 350 leaders from 60 countries and experts in this field exchanged experiences and reached consensus on the actions that are key to triggering disruptive changes in the sector.

With regard to the instruments to guide the tourism supply on the path of sustainability, Sernatur, together with the associative work with various public and private organisations, such as Corfo's Transforma Turismo, has made available a wide range for tourism services and destinations.

As he explains, "we constantly provide free e-learning courses on tourism sustainability, in which more than two thousand entrepreneurs have already participated. We have also created seven orientation and guidance manuals to apply sustainability in the different tourism sub-sectors, an interactive guide to improve eco-efficiency in tourist accommodation and we will soon launch a circular economy tool that will allow us to evaluate the type of sustainable practices that the provider is implementing and its level of application".

Looking at the overall picture presented by the GSTC summit, it is possible to point out that Chile is in a very good scenario and leading in sustainable certification processes in tourism thanks to the S Seal and the Sustainable Commitment Certificate. "After two years of restrictions on tourism due to the pandemic, we also have a tremendous opportunity to reactivate the activity by differentiating ourselves through sustainability and enhancing our comparative advantages in these matters. Today more than ever we must accelerate this transformation process to position Chile and its destinations as leaders in the development of tourism under sustainable and inclusive criteria," says the tourism authority.

Román notes that, according to Booking figures, 83% want to spend at least one stay in an ecolodge, while 81% state that sustainability is a priority in their future trips. There is a consensus that the new traveller profile is looking for more sustainable experiences, both in terms of services and destinations, especially those that make the identity of the place visible.

In this scenario, therefore, sustainable distinctions become relevant. In Chile, the way for tourists to identify sustainable tourism services is through the Sustainable Commitment Certificate distinction, which is awarded to those providers that are beginning their journey towards sustainability and declare their good practices. At present, there are 374 throughout the country.