A positive balance was recorded during summer in the Coquimbo Region, according to figures released by the National Statistics Institute (INE) and the National Tourism Service (Sernatur).

According to the Monthly Survey of Tourist Accommodation prepared by the National Statistics Institute, during the month of February 2024, a total of 202,439 overnight stays (corresponding to the total number of nights that passengers stay in the establishment) were recorded in the Coquimbo Region, increasing by 13.1% compared to the same period of the previous year. Meanwhile, the room occupancy rate was 55.6%, an increase of 0.78%.

The study indicated that in the same period a total of 85,003 tourists arrived at different tourist accommodation establishments in the Coquimbo Region, representing a growth of 16.5% in the last 12 months.

Meanwhile, the National Tourism Service highlighted the Coquimbo Region, in its report on “Occupancy in Tourist Accommodation 2024”, as one of the main tourist destinations in the country, thanks to its natural conditions and hotel infrastructure. The study refers favourably to the consolidated tourist destinations of Valle del Elqui and the locality of Punta de Choros, in the commune of La Higuera, qualifying them as highly attractive.

The positive figures provided by these public bodies are in line with the trend in January 2024, reported by the national director of Sernatur, Angélica Funes, who said that a total of 800,000 visitors arrived in the IV Region, mainly concentrated in La Serena and Coquimbo, during the first 15 days of the year 2024. Add to that the arrival of the trans-Andean people through the Agua Negra border crossing that links Chile with Argentina, entering the country almost 100 thousand Argentinians coming mainly from the provinces of San Juan and Mendoza, whose main destination were the resorts of the Coquimbo Region during the first fortnight of January 2024.