The Conosur Ports Corporation announced that a meeting was held to address issues affecting the cruise industry in Chile, as well as advances in the sector’s development.

The corporation was represented by members of its new board of directors: its President, Juan Marcos Mancilla, Logistics Manager of Empresa Portuaria Valparaíso; his second Vice President, Roberto Gamboa, Director of Empresa Portuaria Arica; and its Executive Secretary, Eric Petri.

It was also attended by the Undersecretary of Tourism, Verónica Pardo.

Mancilla said: “We had a good meeting with the Undersecretary of Tourism, where we presented an agenda that includes issues of great importance for the cruise industry, in which we requested the support of the Undersecretary of Tourism and Senator to work collaboratively and coordinated on these initiatives.”

The meeting informed the tourism authority about steps the organization has taken before Parliament within the framework of the project that modifies the Law for the Promotion of the Merchant Marine and the Law of Navigation, aimed at promoting competition in the maritime cabotage market.

The issue of costs in the operation of this industry was also addressed.

Mancilla said: “We made it known to the Undersecretary of Tourism that cruise lines consider that port costs in Argentina are high and that maritime costs in Chile (lighthouses and beacons, pilotage, pilotage, tugboats and boats) are also high.”

“That is why we asked the representatives of the delegations of Uruguay and Argentina about the issue of rates at the regional level and how we address being more competitive for international cruise tourism should be included in the agenda between these countries and Chile,” Mancilla added.

Mancilla said the corporation is making progress with a comparative study of the operating costs of cruise ships in South American ports that receive calls from these ships.