Chile and its attractions
Chile, a long tapered stretch of land in the south west of Latin America, is 4,270 km long and 177 km wide on average, which makes it one of the longest and narrowest countries on the planet. Chile borders with Peru in the north, Bolivia and Argentina in the east, the Antarctic in the south, and on the west is isolated by the Pacific Ocean. Its long north-south extension and mountainous terrain results in only one fifth of Chile’s surface being flat and leads to a large diversity in its natural flora and fauna, and terrains including ancient glaciers, snow-white salt plains, the driest desert on the planet, and a multitude of forests, lakes and active volcanoes. Likewise, it is a country of contrasting climates although most of the country has a Mediterranean weather.
Santiago de Chile, the capital, concentrates about one third of the total population, and is the main pole of economic development. The capital houses the main administrative, commercial, cultural, financial and governmental agencies. In terms of economic activities, in the north, the principal activity is mining and the main commercial product is copper (representing 14.2% of GDP and 57% of exports). The central-south area is dominated by agriculture, where the O’Higgins and Maule regions are the core of fruit and wine production. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands.
Chilean agriculture encompasses a wide range of different activities due its particular geography, climate, geology and human resources. Natural barriers and strict border and custom controls make Chile a true phyto-sanitary island. Chile’s unique characteristics lend it unrivalled conditions for producing fresh, healthy, and high quality food, which is appreciated around the world. The aforementioned attributes explain why the country plays a key role in the global food industry, being the top fresh fruit exporter of the Southern hemisphere and the world’s biggest exporter of fresh blueberries, fresh grapes, fresh cherries, prunes, dehydrated apples, frozen whole salmon, and mussels. The agricultural sector is an important activity for the country employing 12% of the workforce, and accounts for 3.5% of GDP and 12.5% of exports. A significant share of Chile’s farming is highly dependent on irrigation while the southern regions are primarily rainfed where the main activities are aquaculture, forestry and sheep and cattle farming.
Since the mid-1990s, tourism in Chile has become one of the main economic resources of the country, especially in its most extreme areas. In the extreme north it is possible to see the landscape formed by Lake Chungará and the Parinacota Volcano at more than 4,500 meters above sea level, San Pedro de Atacama, the altiplanic lagoons, the Valley of the Moon and the field of Tatio geysers. In Central Chile, the valleys surrounding popular cities lodge the most famous Chilean wineries. Santiago is a modern metropolis and its proximity to the Andes gives this city a privileged location near world-class ski resorts. Also, the port city of Valparaíso is very popular due to its natural, architectural and cultural beauty, and is very close to the city of Viña del Mar, considered Chile’s tourist capital. One of the main Chilean tourist destinations is Easter Island, where abundant cultural and anthropological richness is found. In the south, the main tourist sites are national parks, where the most popular is Conguillío National Park in the Araucanía and the coastal area around Tirúa and Cañete, with the Isla Mocha and the Nahuelbuta National Park. Also, there are many hot water springs and lakes such as Villarrica, Caburgua, Todos los Santos and Llanquihue, which offer spacious resorts and are ideal for the practice of aquatic sports and fishing. In the extreme south is the Vicente Pérez Rosales National and Pumalin Park, the Chiloé archipelago, Patagonia, the San Rafael Lagoon and its glaciers, and the Torres del Paine National Park designated as the eighth wonder of the world in 2013.
- June 1, 2017:
Deadline for submission of full papers
- July 1, 2017:
Announcement of accepted presentations
- August 15, 2017:
Final registration and fee payment for all authors presenting papers
- September 15, 2017:
Final registration and fee payment for all participants
Alejandra Engler and Roberto Jara (UTALCA)
- Luis Almiron (AAEA)
- Boris Bravo-Ureta (UCONN and UTALCA)
- José Diaz (UTALCA)
- Daniel Lema (AAEA)
- Germán Lobos (UTALCA and AEA)
- Paula Manríquez (UTALCA)
- Daniela Martínez (UTALCA)
- Consuelo Moraga (UTALCA)
- Teodoro Rivas (ODEPA)
- Gonzalo Soto (SUEA)
- Carolina Torres (RRII, UTALCA)
- Pablo Villalobos (UTALCA)
- Stephan Von Cramon (UGÖTTINGEN and UTALCA)