The new trends of the global tourism industry show that priority will be given to short trips with non-stop flights that boost intraregional tourism. Features that open the possibility of offering options that combine routes and itineraries between the Pacific Alliance countries: Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru.

Within this framework, the Pacific Alliance (PA) and the European Union (EU) jointly organized the “Dialogues for a sustainable and digital post-COVID recovery of the tourism industry” conference which was virtually held between December 1st and 2nd.

The meeting aimed at improving knowledge and sharing experiences to mitigate the pandemic’s global impact on the tourism sector as well as planning strategies to promote travel experiences aligned with a post-pandemic reality focused on health security.

ALLIANCES AND TRAVELLING

The two international organizations are committed to promoting a digital and green post-COVID recovery, especially in tourism, one of the areas that has been severely affected by the pandemic.

Moreover, tourism is of key importance for the economies of both blocks and their losses are estimated at 15 billion dollars in AP countries this year and a 70% drop in tourism activity in the EU when compared to 2019 figures.

“We consider this event key to encourage the exchange of experiences and knowledge among statistical experts of the PA’s four countries to reinforce the supply of tourism statistics within the block and where your experiences can be a great contribution,” said Angelica Romero, Director General of Multilateral Economic Affairs, SUBREI, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, who participated as representative of Chile´s Pro Tempore Presidency of the Pacific Alliance.

INTERNATIONAL DIALOGUE

The meeting was also joined by high level speakers among which were representatives of the European Commission (DG GROW), tourism authorities from France, Spain, Portugal and the Alliance countries, as well as representatives of the United Nations World Tourism Organization. Also present were some of the EU’s main tourism associations and PA representatives of the private sector who exchanged opinions on the best strategies to support the recovery of the tourism industry.

Additionally, during the Dialogue, companies that implemented successful experiences with sustainable and digital models in their businesses shared solutions for the sector.

The national director of Sernatur, Andrea Wolleter, valued the event and said that “this type of dialogues allow us to build bridges that our industry needs, because they not only bring together a global issue, but also allow us to collect successful experiences and design strategies to help us recover our industry and boost the economy in our countries.”