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Chile's cruise calls pass pre-pandemic levels with further growth forecast

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Seabourn Quest was among the ships visiting Chile during the 2022/23 cruise season
Chile handled 383 calls during the 2022/23 cruise season, exceeding the 275 calls in 2019/20, according to the Southern Cone Ports Corp. (Conosur).

Conosur Chairman Enrique Runín also projected further growth in the 2023/24 season, both in calls and passenger numbers.

More diverse destinations

More Chilean destinations received cruise ships in the recent season. For example, Easter Island had nine calls, Fernández six and Caleta Tortel and Niebla five each.

This demonstrates the need to better promote Chile as a destination, 'inviting tourists to visit new locations on our extensive coast,' Runín said.

Cruise ship sizes ranged from 73 meters (Ocean Nova of Antarctica XXI) to 294.1 meters (Norwegian Star of Norwegian Cruise Line), with a noticeable participation of those less than 200 meters.

Optimistic outlook

Runin expressed optimism for the next cruise season and said Conosur hopes to provide more specifics soon.

He added Conosur is 'committed to continuing to promote this industry and we have great expectations for its development in our country. Chile is an attractive destination, it is attracting more and more attention, and we must continue working on different fronts to continue contributing to the national economy.'