The effects of coronavirus have been global, but it has had a rougher impact on the industry of tourism. In Chile, the situation is especially worrying because over 90% of the companies that make up this sector belong to the SME or MSMEs segment and many of them are characterized by sustaining family or small-scale economies.

With the purpose of facing this impact and providing support to our entrepreneurs, the Undersecretary of Tourism and Sernatur developed Activa Turismo Online, a virtual space that seeks to connect with members of the sector by providing them with relevant information, presenting talks by specialists and reflecting together on how to revitalize the industry.

Given the need to take care of each other and avoid social contact, starting this Wednesday, April 1st, Sernatur will enable its platforms to have virtual spaces such as interactive Webinars. These spaces are meant to last between 60 and 90 minutes, where the participants can see and hear the presentations and later ask their questions.

Mónica Zalaquett, subsecretaria de Turismo, indicated that the tourism industry is being hit very hard by the global health crisis caused by the spread of the Covid-19, generating a high level of uncertainty in the sector. ” This is why we believe that it is essential to keep the members of this industry informed and connected, and to address issues that may be useful to them in dealing with this situation, completely unprecedented in our history. Activa Turismo Online will deliver a range of contents, including the participation of experts in different fields, and we invite all the entrepreneurs and workers of this industry to participate in this cycle of conversations”.

Also, Andrea Wolleter, the Director of the National Tourism Board, Sernatur, underlined the importance of having this space that facilitates collective reflection. “The coronavirus is an unprecedented challenge in our sector, it has hit every link in the chain of our industry and, since we have all been negatively affected, we must all join to face it together. We will work together so that when the time comes we will be able to tackle the challenge and meet again”.

This Wednesday, April 1st, Activa Turismo Online will begin at 12:00 p.m., with the opening speech of the National Tourism Authorities: the Undersecretary of Tourism, Monica Zalaquett; and the National Director of Sernatur, Andrea Wolleter, followed by the speech “Beyond Uncertainty”, given by Rodrigo Saa, Executive Director of Humind.

On Thursday, April 2, the Undersecretary of Finance, Francisco Moreno, will discuss the government´s economic measures in detail, which are part of the policies adopted to address this health emergency.

The sessions will include presentations to explain the measures announced by the government, to reflect on issues such as post-crisis market behavior and the management of uncertainty, and will include workshops on more specific topics such as how to design specialized services, pricing strategies and marketing.