Chile drops six places on list of most attractive countries for tourism

SANTIAGO.- Today, Chile registered a six-place drop compared to last year on the latest ranking of the most competitive and attractive countries for travel and tourism, generated by the World Economic Forum.

According to the report, Chile is located in 57th place among the 133 nations included in the study, which was carried out for the third time to analyze 14 aspects including regulations, security, health and hygiene, air and road infrastructure, as well as human and cultural resources.

The World Economic Report indicates that Chile's slump on the list "can be principally attributed to the fact that the nation has shown weak progress on priorities for the sector, as well as a feeble affinity for tourism".

For the Forum, the main competitive advantages for Chile are, among others, the prevalence of foreign-owned property, visa requirements, environmental regulations, the international air transportation network, the quality of highways, the extensive use of Internet among businesses and the hotel prices.

Meanwhile, the report cites the country's disadvantages as being endangered species, a low aperture of tourism, the priority the government gives to the travel industry and tourism, the denseness of highways, the quantity of students registered in primary schools, and the effectiveness of marketing and branding, among other items.