Chile showcases destination diversity

Inayat-ur-Rahman, Business Editor

The South American country, Chile, hosted Tourism Week at its country pavilion at Expo 2020, showcasing a host of highlights of the country as an eclectic destination for global travellers. The pavilion presented Chile as a country of diversity and contrasts, highlighting that it has a variegated geography with an array of unique attractions.

This is the last week of the multisensory exhibition at the Chile pavilion offering visitors an immersive experience taking them through the glaciers of Patagonia filled with loads of magical adventures.

Commenting on this, Feliper Repetto, Trade Commissioner and Pavilion Director of Chile at Expo 2020 Dubai, said “Chile by virtue of its territorial connect with America, Antarctica and Oceania is known as a tricontinental destination. The country has a diverse landscape with different climate zones, stretching from the world’s driest desert to glaciers and straits that merge into the Pacific Ocean,”

Chile at the Expo 2020 has been showcasing the country’s USPs, and tourism is one of the key strategic sectors the country wants to promote. “Expo 2020 Dubai presents us a one-of-its-kind platform to showcase Chile to a global audience under one roof,” he added.

Chile, which has an interactive pavilion at the Expo starting with a symbolic Antarctic base, is also known world over as an `Astronomer’s Paradise,’ with its crystal-clear, pollution-free cloudless sky for 300 days in a year beckoning star gazers from across the world to the country.  More than 40 per cent of the world’s astronomical infrastructure is installed in Chile because of this advantage.

“We have it all – be it star gazing from the Atacama Desert, exploration of magical forests and lakes at the floor of volcanoes, exquisite islands, or a vast stretch of high plateau Altiplano, to name a few. A visitor to Chile will have an amazing experience of contrasts in a hospitable ambience,” said Repetto.

The pavilion also boasts of the best of ski centres at the Andes Mountains, while the country also offers great scenic beauty with its humid and rainy climate in certain parts of the country fostering an environment of rich biodiversity.

Chile is also known as the best romantic destination in South America as adjudged at the World Travel Awards. It is also a natural gymnasium of the world with sports and nature coexisting, offering a host of adventures for the enthusiastic. Chile is also the Hexachampion in the WTA 2021 winners of the `Best World Adventure Travel Destination’ award for the sixth consecutive year.

Chile is also a gateway to Antarctica. The distance between Chile and Antarctica is 1,240 km and more than 21 countries that make up the Antarctic treaty use Chile as a gateway to the white continent through the city of Punta Arenas.

On the other hand, the Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority (GCCIA ) will be hosting a special panel discussion focused on the current state of global communication networks.  The forum, which aims to take a closer look at the latest technologies and current investment opportunities in global communications, will be held at the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Pavilion at Expo 2020 — Dubai.

The forum comes at a time the communications industry will continue with its many digitization projects and emerging technologies. According to a recent report issued by Mckinsey, one of the world’s leading management consulting firms, the increased trajectory covering the creation of new channels, products and services in the communications segment will not slow down--particularly in the global efforts to address the pandemic.

The event is being positioned as a strategic opportunity to further evaluate and study MENA’s overall communications connectivity while also planning to increase ways on how to bolster infrastructure investment in the region.

Eng. Ahmed Al Ebrahim, GCCIA CEO, commented: “The GCCIA is excited to host this forum, which looks to play a key effort in the continuing move to position the Mena region as a central hub for global communication networks. Panelists at this event will tackle the challenges currently being faced by the industry and how to promote interoperability among different communication networks and entities.”

Officials of the GCCIA explain that the forum will allow them to take a closer look at policy considerations aimed at addressing legal and institutional frameworks for investment, technologies and financing--even those covering public-private partnerships.

The panel will also look into future and emerging technologies, including the use of terrestrial cable in the GCC and the opportunities it brings for Hyperscale’s / Cloud companies and other large enterprises.

The exciting one-day forum is expected to be attended by some of the world’s leading personalities in the field of communications, which include Greg Varisco, CEO, Cinturion Group; Hani Askar, Chief Global Business Officer, Batelco; Kamil Hilali, Chief Strategy Officer, Zain; Rafik Shafik, Chief Technology Officer, Infonas; Adel Al Daylami, CEO, AIM; Veer Passi, Group CEO, Kalaam; Sameer Dawood, Manager, System Engineer, Infinera; Lihu Brent, Regional Director, Huawei and Azz Eddine Mansouri, General Manager, Ciena.

“We are truly honoured to be joined by a distinguished panel of communication experts--all coming together to help give us their insights and perspectives on the continuously growing communications industry and how we can reinforce MENA region’s leading position within the industry,” concluded Ebrahim.