González-Denton, associate vp, government relations-Latin America and the Caribbean, said the purpose of the visit was to establish direct relations with the port. That's desired, he added, because the region—and particularly Valparaíso—offers great potential to increase cruise calls and attract larger, newer ships.
Port of Valparaiso's Pedro Torrejón, head of marketing and competitiveness, noted that Australia, which he identified as Chile's main competitor, has grown three times in recent years, reaching more than 1m passengers. No country in South America has more than 300,000 passengers now, he said.
'This continent can grow as a region, since countries depend on each other, ' Torrejón suggested.
Brazil's cabotage cruise business, however, has fallen off sharply in recent years, from a high of more than 900,000 passengers, and Royal Caribbean recently closed its owned office there.
Sea Princess already visited Valparaíso but the cruise season begins in earnest Oct. 23 with the arrival of Oceania Cruises' Insignia. The ship is scheduled to berth at the new terminal.
Some of the other vessels booked are Holland America's Zaandam, Norwegian Sun, Crown Princess, Celebrity Infinity and Costa Luminosa.
Forty calls are scheduled, and just over 110,000 passengers are projected between October and April.
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