Cruise ship season in Chile: tourism and commerce hopeful about the arrival of foreign passengers

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Last summer was a summer to forget. There was no cruise season in Chile. The period runs from October to April, and this year the first ships have already begun to call at some national ports. Although it is good news for tourism and the local economy, the activity is resuming, which is still far from the pre-pandemic figures.

The bulk of passengers arriving at Chilean ports through this route are Europeans and Americans. In an average year, some 400,000 tourists traveling on cruise ships set foot on national soil through two available circuits.

One goes from Montevideo to Arica. The other route goes from Punta Arenas to Antarctica. For this season, 203 calls are expected for continental Chile. For the other circuit, 108 are expected.

Read also: Check out our coverage on Chile

“The Antarctic circuit is made by smaller cruise ships, with much fewer passengers. 300 or even less. Quite a bit more demanding in budget. They are mobilizing it, and the specifications are not the same as in a port like Valparaiso. It is a green cruise. For the 2021-2022 season, these two circuits have had an explosive activation,” Carlos Mondaca, president of the Southern Cone Ports Corporation, tells Pulso.

Between December 2021 and April 2022, the arrival of some 29,000 passengers is expected in the Antarctic circuit, and for the rest of Chile in the order of 22,000. Thus, the total number will be far from the 400 thousand that landed in times before the pandemic.

“Chile has a lot to offer. You start in the north seeing the Chinchorro mummies, you go to Coquimbo, you know the English quarter, the Elqui Valley. In the central zone, not to mention the Unesco cultural heritage, the museums, the coastline of the poets. There is a lot of cultures to see. There are vineyards. There are many panoramas so that a cruiser can have a good time”, adds Mondaca.

According to data from the Undersecretary of Tourism, the average age of passengers who came to Chile in the 2018-2019 season was 59.5 years old, while the average total individual expenditure was US$67.9 at the destination. That season there were 267 calls, and more than 400 thousand passengers (between cruise passengers and crew) arrived at our ports.

The following year the number of tourists arriving in the country by this route increased by 18% until last season, the pandemic reduced it to zero.

The Undersecretariat also points out that the strong point of this season will be cruise ships with less passenger capacity.

TOURISM AND COMMERCE

Last December 17, the arrival of the cruise ship Marina MS marked the return of cruise ships to Chile. To date, two cruises are cruising our oceans, and this is a cause for optimism in commerce and tourism, the latter, above all, a sector that was hit hard by the crisis unleashed by the coronavirus.

“After a season that we were at zero, these numbers, which are still low compared to a normal season, are spectacular because they allow us to have some hope that this sector, which is so important for tourism, is going to recover. In addition, Chile had achieved a critical positioning. We had managed to attract important cruise companies in the world to the country. We hope that this is the beginning of the recovery”, says Helen Kouyoumdjian, executive vice-president of Fedetur.

She adds that “the cruise industry is important, not only in terms of the arrival and what it means for the port that receives them, but also because it generates a demand for producers and small SMEs in the ports. There are a series of actors that benefit and have been having a tough time all this time”.

For the trade sector, it is also good news that foreign tourists are starting to arrive on the cruise ships that are already touching national soil and those in the pipeline for this summer.

“In general terms, the arrival of cruise ships increases foreign exchange income to the country and jobs in port cities. In addition, it boosts trade and allows more people to develop activities to supply travelers who seek, for example, to taste our gastronomic offer or buy local handicrafts during the hours of their visit on land”, says José Pakomio, president of CRCP.

On the other hand, the Regional Chamber of Commerce of Valparaíso explains that 60% of the cruise passengers arriving in the port city before the pandemic visited other destinations outside the Region.

Also, between 30% and 40% of the passengers are crew members, and they are the ones who mostly stay in local tourism services.

“As the Regional Chamber of Commerce of Valparaíso, we celebrate the beginning of this cruise season in the Region, since it is an essential part of the boost that the local economy and tourist activity needs. However, there must be a commitment from the industry and all the actors involved to maintain the sanitary protocols and be up to the demands of the cruise companies, which today visit our country with onboard laboratories, PCR tests every 24 hours for passengers, and special isolation cabins”, adds Pakomio.

Tourist cruises were born in the 1970s with trips from Miami to Caribbean destinations. By 2020, two cruise lines had 68% of the world’s capacity (Carnival and Royal Caribbean).

Before the pandemic, the global cruise industry went from strength to strength. In 2019 alone, it mobilized some 30 million cruise passengers, and the figure had been growing at 5.4% annually since 2009.

However, the pandemic dealt a heavy blow and left many ships unable to sail, so this season brings hope for tourism and local commerce.