Despite the high magnitude of the 8.8 earthquake that shook its cities and citizens early Saturday morning, Chile's tourism infrastructure has "fared well," reporting little damage, the Chilean Tourism Bureau, Turismo Chile, announced yesterday.
In an update issued Monday afternoon, Turismo Chile said that neither the far north nor the far south of Chile was affected by the weekend's earthquake. Damage in the country's central region, meanwhile—closest to the earthquake's epicenter—was minimal. In the capital city of Santiago, for instance, the airport suffered structural damage to its passenger terminal but not to its runways, and is therefore expected to reopen later this week. Electricity and phone lines already have been restored and the city's public transportation system, including its subway, is fully operational.
The city of Concepcion reportedly was most affected by Saturday's earthquake. While authorities there are still assessing damage, essential services such as water, electricity and telecommunications gradually are being restored. Tourist operations in nearby towns such as Pucon, Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt are "normal," according to Turismo Chile, which said that Chile's "history of seismic activity" and its preparedness, "including its strict anti-seismic building codes," should be credited with minimizing damage.
"Our thoughts and sentiments go out to the families who have lost loved ones," Turismo Chile Executive Director Pablo Moll said in a statement. "Chileans are a resilient people and we are hard at work to get the country back on its feet quickly. We look forward to continuing to welcome travelers and are making every effort to making them feel safe and secure."
For more information about travel to Chile from the United States or Canada, visit
www.embassyofchile.org.