Tourism and aviation authorities from Brazil and Chile, alongside senior executives from major airlines operating between the two countries, held a high-level meeting at Embratur’s headquarters in Brasília to boost bilateral collaboration. The meeting aimed to foster international tourism growth, enhance air connectivity, and promote regional integration, following discussions between Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Gabriel Boric.

Representing Chile were Verónica Pardo, Undersecretary of Tourism and the country's top tourism official; Holger Paulmann, CEO of Sky Airline; Estuardo Ortiz, CEO of JetSMART; and Juan José Toha, Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at LATAM Airlines Group. The Brazilian delegation included Marcelo Freixo, President of Embratur; Tomé Franca, National Secretary of Civil Aviation at the Ministry of Ports and Airports; and Julia Lopes, Director of Promotion and Planning at the same ministry, among other officials.

The tourism relationship between Chile and Brazil is expanding rapidly. Chile is now Brazil’s third-largest source of international tourists and the fastest-growing market. The number of Chilean visitors to Brazil rose from 202,000 in 2022 to 653,000 in 2024, marking a 223% increase. This trend continues in 2025, with 286,000 arrivals in Q1 alone, a 30% year-on-year increase.

Currently, there are 15 air routes linking destinations in both countries, including 10 direct flights and 5 with layovers in Uruguay or Argentina. In 2024, Brazil recorded 10,057 flights from Chile, up 260% compared to 2022. Projections for 2025 forecast an additional 25% increase in flight offerings. Brazilian cities receiving these flights include Fortaleza (CE), Recife (PE), Salvador (BA), Brasília (DF), Belo Horizonte (MG), Rio de Janeiro (RJ), São Paulo (SP), Curitiba (PR), Foz do Iguaçu (PR), Florianópolis (SC), and Porto Alegre (RS).

One of the key goals of the meeting was to identify strategies to reduce air travel costs and improve accessibility, as well as to explore opportunities for joint international tourism promotion. Participants agreed that deeper regional integration would strengthen both economies and create new business opportunities.

Marcelo Freixo emphasized that tourism and South American integration are part of an economic agenda that drives prosperity, jobs, and income for the region. He also highlighted the need to promote Brazil’s under-connected North Region, which currently lacks direct air links to Chile, stating: "More flights mean more trade, more travel, and more tourism. Expanding international flight frequencies and routes is one of Embratur’s main strategies to attract more foreign visitors."

According to Aeroin, Freixo added: “Connectivity with Latin America is crucial for boosting intraregional tourism, much like what we see in Europe and North America. Chile is already Brazil’s third-largest tourism source market [...] We’ve made significant improvements to the air networks in both Brazil and Chile, and our relationship with the airlines is strategic. The more joint promotion we can do, the better.”

Verónica Pardo underscored the importance of developing new routes while investing in established ones. She also proposed a binational collaboration to attract tourists from distant markets, such as Asia. Referencing previous discussions between Presidents Lula and Boric, she stated: “This is a step we must take. We need to move toward a model more like the European Union’s, where people can travel freely within South America without the high costs of flying between countries.”

From Brazil’s Ministry of Ports and Airports, Tomé Franca presented ongoing infrastructure investments and joint initiatives with Embratur aimed at attracting new international routes. Expressing optimism for Brazil’s aviation sector, he noted: “There is plenty of room for growth.” During the meeting, Chilean delegates were introduced to Brazil’s International Tourism Acceleration Program (PATI). In response, Pardo noted that while Chile lacks a similar program, there is openness to discussing support mechanisms or flight subsidies.

Also present were representatives from Chile’s National Tourism Service (Sernatur), the Association of Ski Centers of Chile, and Andino Travel, alongside directors and managers from various departments at Embratur. Both sides expressed strong interest in deepening connectivity, advancing regional integration, and lowering the cost of flying within South America to levels comparable with domestic travel. Another topic discussed was the improvement of data-sharing mechanisms between the two countries to enhance coordination and tourism promotion

AUTOR

Aeroin

AEROIN es el medio líder de aviación en Brasil, y uno de los más leídos del mundo, con el que Aviacionline posee un acuerdo de intercambio editorial. https://www.aeroin.net

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