The World Summit of Astrotourism Vicuña 2023 (Chile) is inaugurated 

09-09-23

The event is organised by the Municipal Tourism Corporation of Vicuña, with the support of institutions such as the Municipality of Vicuña, Corfo, the Undersecretariat of Tourism and the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage. This activity of global importance has been launched  

Vicuña, the "World Capital of Astronomy". The inauguration was attended by its host Rafael Vera Castillo, President of the Association of Tourist Municipalities of Chile and Mayor of Vicuña, Undersecretary Verónica Pardo Lagos, Presidential Delegate of the Coquimbo Region Rubén Quezada Gaete, Director of the Department of Science, Energy, Education and Astronomy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Julio Bravo Lubini, Director for the Americas of the UNWTO Gustavo Santos.

The future of tourism and astro-tourism worldwide, new astronomical discoveries that contribute to tourism development, the global space race, unforgettable experiences that have been lived under astronomical tourism, astro-tourism products and experiences from the communities and the global challenge in this area, were topics highlighted by the different national and international speakers, such as Sandra Carvao OMT, Heidi Hammel, Scientist of the James Webb Space Telescope, Tom Lee, Director and Founder of the Curiosity Foundation NASA - USA, Tatiana López, First Analogue Astronomer in Chile, María Teresa Ruiz, PhD in Astrophysics from the University of Princeton, National Prize of Astronomy of Chile, and María Teresa Ruiz, PhD in Astrophysics from the University of Chile. Jorge Brown, President of the Global Institute for the Future of Tourism, Timothy Spuck - PhD in Education and Director of Education and Outreach at UAI, among others.