Chile Advances Sustainable Tourism Planning at the 2nd National Meeting on Tourism Governance in the Coquimbo Region

Erika

June 23, 2025

In early June 2025, the Coquimbo Region became the epicenter of a significant national conversation about the future of tourism in Chile. The city of La Serena hosted the 2nd National Meeting on Tourism Governance, a gathering that brought together regional authorities, municipal representatives, entrepreneurs, tourism associations, academics, and public institutions from across the country. More than just a series of technical meetings, this event served as a living laboratory for collaborative governance and a milestone in Chile’s continuing efforts to decentralize and democratize tourism development.

Held under the coordination of SERNATUR (Chile’s National Tourism Service), and with the support of the Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism, the meeting aimed to evaluate progress, share successful case studies, and refine the country’s multi-level governance strategies, especially those related to Regional Tourism Management Councils (CRGTs).
This second edition followed the inaugural meeting in 2023 in the Los Lagos Region and confirmed a national commitment to placing regional and local voices at the center of tourism planning.

Strengthening Governance from the Ground Up

The central theme of this year’s meeting was “Strengthening Multi-level Coordination for Territorial Development”. Representatives from all 16 regions of Chile participated, including officials from municipalities, provincial governments, and the private sector. Workshops and presentations revolved around how to better articulate policies and projects across local, regional, and national levels, ensuring that community priorities are respected while maintaining national standards and goals.

Chile’s tourism model has evolved significantly in the past decade, transitioning from a mostly centralized approach to one that increasingly recognizes the diversity of its territories and the importance of community-based decision-making. The meeting in Coquimbo offered a snapshot of that evolution.

Key discussions focused on:

Institutionalizing the CRGTs, which serve as spaces for dialogue and coordination between public and private actors.
Improving data management and tourism statistics at regional and local levels.
Promoting inter-municipal collaboration, especially in areas with shared tourism routes or heritage.
Encouraging participation of Indigenous communities and small-scale tourism operators in governance structures.

A notable panel discussed the role of public-private partnerships in implementing regional development strategies and creating investment frameworks that support small and medium tourism enterprises (SMEs) without sacrificing sustainability or local control.

Coquimbo as a Model of Coordination

The Coquimbo Region was chosen as host not only for its strategic location but also because of its leadership in participatory tourism planning. Over the last several years, Coquimbo’s CRGT has implemented a number of integrated tourism projects, including the development of Astrotourism routes, wine tourism corridors, and coastal community-based experiences.
Participants were taken on technical field visits to projects in Elqui Valley, Ovalle, and coastal towns where they could directly observe how governance structures translate into tangible tourism benefits. These included:

The Rural Astrotourism Network of Elqui, where small observatories, lodging providers, and community groups have organized into a coordinated visitor experience.
The Puerto Aldea Heritage Route, which is part of an effort to recover the identity and traditional knowledge of fishing villages while offering culturally respectful tourism.
The Pisco Trail Project, developed in partnership with both private pisco distilleries and local governments to promote heritage, sustainability, and quality control.

These examples were not presented as perfect models but as learning opportunities, with open discussion about what worked, what didn’t, and what could be replicated in other regions. One recurring theme was the importance of capacity building—empowering local actors with the knowledge, tools, and support to take on leadership roles in tourism development.

Highlights from the Agenda

The 2nd National Meeting spanned three days, with a robust agenda that included:

Plenary panels with representatives from SERNATUR, Subsecretaría de Turismo, and the Association of Regional Governments.
Workshops on thematic governance challenges, including sustainable tourism certification, crisis management (such as fire or drought scenarios), and destination marketing.
Technical tables for each region to present their progress and outline next steps for 2025–2026.
Training sessions on governance indicators, collaborative planning tools, and destination management systems.

A particularly important session featured the launch of the new “Tourism Governance Manual”, a technical guide developed by SERNATUR and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. The manual offers detailed methodologies for organizing, managing, and evaluating regional governance systems and will be distributed to all CRGTs by the end of 2025.

Participants’ Voices

What made this meeting particularly valuable was the diversity of participants. Far from being a closed-door event for policymakers, the meeting included:

Local guides and entrepreneurs who offered firsthand perspectives on the challenges of fragmented promotion and infrastructure.
Indigenous leaders who shared experiences of inclusion and exclusion in planning processes.
Academics who presented research on carrying capacity and climate vulnerability in tourism destinations.
Municipal officials from remote areas, such as Aysén and Arica-Parinacota, who emphasized the importance of flexible governance models that can adapt to varying capacities and contexts.

Several participants praised the horizontal nature of the discussions, where dialogue was prioritized over formal presentations. There was consensus that tourism governance cannot be imposed from above and that successful strategies must grow from within the communities they aim to serve.

Looking Forward: A National Strategy in Progress

At the close of the meeting, SERNATUR and the Ministry of Tourism reaffirmed their commitment to the National Plan for Tourism Governance 2023–2026, with key announcements including:

Increased funding for the CRGTs’ technical secretariats in 2025.
Pilot projects in three regions to test multi-municipal tourism districts.
A roadmap for integrating governance strategies into Chile’s National Tourism Strategy 2030.
A collaborative observatory platform for monitoring progress in real time, to be launched in early 2026.

Chile’s approach remains pragmatic—building slowly, adjusting as needed, and recognizing that governance is as much about relationships and trust as it is about regulation. In this spirit, the next national meeting was announced for October 2026 in the Biobío Region, where the focus will shift toward tourism governance in urban contexts and post-disaster resilience.

Final Reflections

The 2nd National Meeting on Tourism Governance in the Coquimbo Region was not just a procedural gathering—it was a demonstration of Chile’s ongoing transformation in how it understands and manages tourism. It showed that governance is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but a living, adaptive process.

At its heart, the meeting affirmed that sustainable tourism depends not only on conserving nature or building infrastructure, but on building strong relationships: between public and private actors, between national and regional institutions, and between communities and the landscapes they call home.

As Chile continues its path toward a more inclusive and decentralized tourism model, meetings like this one offer both the reflection and the momentum needed to keep moving forward—step by step, region by region, and always with the voices of the territories at the center.