Turismo Chile appoints Hills Balfour to lead its UK trade and PR strategy

LONDON, England – Following a competitive pitch process, Turismo Chile has appointed leading travel and tourism representation firm, Hills Balfour, to manage its UK trade relations, consumer marketi

LONDON, England – Following a competitive pitch process, Turismo Chile has appointed leading travel and tourism representation firm, Hills Balfour, to manage its UK trade relations, consumer marketing and PR strategy ahead of the launch of British Airways’ new direct flight to Santiago next year.

Stretching over 2,000 miles from north to south, Chile boasts a rich biodiversity from the world’s driest desert, to the only warm rainforest in South America, to the snow-capped mountains and vast glaciers of Patagonia, to the country’s vast coastline bordering two oceans. Chile is a land of legends and traditions, world-class gastronomy and modern cosmopolitan cities.


On 3rd January 2017, British Airways will launch the only direct flight between the UK and Chile from London Heathrow to Santiago which, at 14 hours 40 minutes, will become the airline’s longest non-stop long-haul route. The new flight will depart four times a week from Heathrow and the route will be served by the airline’s newest aircraft, the four-cabin Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner complete with a new First cabin.

Chile welcomed a record 4.4 million visitors in 2015 and the UK has always been an important market for the country. While Turismo Chile has had representation in the UK for a number of years, Hills Balfour has been brought on board to develop the country’s tourism strategy in order to further increase awareness. The London firm will be responsible for promoting Chile as a desirable destination for the UK traveller by highlighting its unique product offering and wide appeal to a range of demographics, and Hills Balfour’s proactive public relations, creative marketing campaigns and interactive trade incentives will aim to boost visitor numbers to Chile from the UK.

Jonathan Sloan, Managing Director, Hills Balfour said, “Latin America has always been high on the bucket lists of UK travellers and Chile has so much to offer visitors from the UK. We cannot wait to work with the UK media and trade to inspire consumers and ultimately drive bookings to the destination, and the new British Airways flight will provide the perfect platform from which to leverage Chile’s core tourism message.”



The account’s Public Relations activity will be handled by Senior PR Director, Jo Hartley and Senior PR Account Manager, Daniela Resenterra supported by PR Account Executive, Annabel Jenkins. The account’s Sales and Marketing activity will be led by Sales and Marketing Account Director, Rhys Powell and Sales and Marketing Account Manager, Caroline Maincent supported by Sales & Marketing Account Executive, Elisa-Maud Tersou. The contract is effective 1st July 2016.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

Share to...