ABSTRACT
The natural splendor and primitive nature of Aysén as part of Patagonia holds vast opportunities for tourism positioning within the industry, potentially resulting in the large-scale development of this region. Each year, some 18,000 visitors travel to the region’s fly-fishing lodges (Gobierno de Chile, 2007). Its lakes and rivers are considered some of the world’s best fly-fishing waters, yielding large brown and rainbow trout, and its lodges offer world-class accommodation and services. Sport fishing is the single largest sector of the tourism industry; it also has the best infrastructure. This is not to say that the region has a great deal of infrastructure. Outside of the few towns, the roads are unpaved and services are few and far between. Aysén is a high-latitude and isolated region, far from any major population centers. This means that the climate is harsh; goods and services are expensive; and infrastructure, such as roads, is limited to the few population centers in the region. Tourism enterprises tend to be small scale and locally owned. The main route for tourists is the Carretara Austral (southern highway) that runs the length of the region from north to south. Aside from the Carretara Austral, there are few roads in the region and most, if not all, are punctuated with ferry crossings across the region’s many water bodies. Tourists come to this region not because it is an iconic landscape but because it has a diversity of ecosystems, wilderness, glaciers, lakes, rivers, and mountains. In addition, the people of Aysén still live a pioneer lifestyle, ranching cattle and sheep on isolated lands, where self-sufficiency is essential for survival. The combination of pristine land and water, inhabited by Gauchos (Chilean cowboys) on horseback, is alluring for many travelers.
