The Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank announced today the approval of a US$961,000 technical cooperation grant to Chile for a pilot program to create a private sector network focused on tourism in the country’s natural hot springs and thermal resources.
The project will generate a thematic cooperation network of businesses based on joint operational, management and marketing strategies. The initiative will benefit small and medium-sized enterprises specializing in thermal products and related services and indigenous enterprises. There are around 70 thermal facilities throughout the country.
The pilot program is expected to be a model for cluster-based business management that could be replicated in other tourism niches. The goal is to strengthen the tourism sector in Chile by structuring the tourism supply competitively around new products and niches.
“The challenge lies in converting desagregated thermal tourism products and services with diverse operating and management practices into an attraction with technical standards and enough diversity to be incorporated into the marketing chain,” said IDB team leader Santiago Soler.
The project will include a market identification and development plan for thermal tourism in Chile, and the design of the network’s organizational structure with around 150 members and an information system. It will also support the improvement and creation of products and services and a communication and marketing strategy to improve access to national and international markets.
The European Community-Chile Business Foundation will carry out the program
The MIF, an autonomous fund administered by the IDB, promotes development of micro- and small enterprises in Latin America and the Caribbean.