Conosur talks cruise with Chile's tourism undersecretary

Conosur also presented its newly elected board. On hand were the corporation's president, Eduardo Arancibia, First VP Mario Moya, Second VP Juan Marcos Mancilla, Executive Secretary Eric Petri, Secretary Enrique Runin and Treasurer Miguel Palma.

Public-private sector cooperation and communication

Consosur expressed the desire to work together with public entities to promote and develop Chile's cruise industry. This includes work with neighboring countries, local communities and municipalities.

The discussion also emphasized the importance of fluid communication the sector must have with public institutions that deal with ship clearance and operations to ensure efficiency. Joint participation in next year's Seatrade Cruise Global in Miami was discussed, too.

Arancibia presented Pardo with statistics for the 2023/24 cruise season in a new format that allows better review and analysis.

Cabotage legislation

He also reported on the efforts made before the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies toward legislation to allow foreign-flag passenger ships of all sizes to operate domestic cruises.

This would eliminate the restriction for ships carrying fewer than 400 passengers, and could be a boon to expedition cruise operators given Chile's lengthy coastline. It would follow a 2019 law that allow foreign-flag ships with capacity for at least 400 passengers to begin and end cruises at Chilean ports without calling at a foreign destination.

'Very productive' meeting

'We had a very productive working meeting with the undersecretary of tourism,' Arancibia said, underscoring Conosur's offer to support Pardo's work on cruise-related initiatives in a collaborative and coordinated way.

'This meeting reaffirms our commitment to position Chile as an attractive and competitive destination, working together with all public and private actors related to this industry,' Arancibia said.