Turkish Airlines hopes to bring more tourists from Chile

ISTANBUL

Betting on the popularity of the Turkish TV series among Chilean viewers, the flag carrier Turkish Airlines last week launched flights to Santiago, hoping to bring more tourists from the South American nation.

In the first 11 months of 2024, 23,873 Chileans visited Türkiye, up from 16,725 in the same period of 2022. Chileans accounted for only a fraction of all foreign tourist arrivals — more than 50 million — in Türkiye in January-November.

However, the flag carrier is hopeful that the number of Chileans traveling to Türkiye could climb up to 100,000.

“Normally, the target is to increase the number of travelers from distant countries, like Chile, by 50 percent in the first year after the flights start,” explained Ahmet Olmuştur, chief commercial officer at Turkish Airlines.

“We aim for initially 50,000 and then 100,000 tourists from Chile in a couple of years,” he added.

Olmuştur noted that some Turkish TV series are very popular in Chile, triggering a strong interest among Chilean travelers for Türkiye.

“Their first stop is usually in Cappadocia. They also travel to İzmir and Istanbul,” he said.

Turkish Airlines will operate four weekly flights from Istanbul to Santiago via Sao Paulo.

“This new route further reaffirms flag carrier’s commitment to boost its presence in the Americas,” Turkish Airlines said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines set the Guinness World Record title for the “Most Countries Flown to by an Airline.”

The record certificate was presented at Santiago Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport following the carrier’s inaugural flight to Chile.

Turkish Airlines set the record with flights to 120 countries, reflecting only the active routes of the past 12 months.

Including temporarily suspended routes and the inaugural flight to Chile, Turkish Airlines' flight network spans 131 countries, the carrier said.