Easter Island: Chile puts tourism under control

To preserve the famous Pacific island, affected by overcrowding, Chile imposes restrictive measures. The island has also just found its original name – Rapa Nui.

In order to preserve Easter Island, Chile is putting in place measures to limit the stay of tourists, their excessive number threatening biodiversity and the authenticity of this small piece of land. The entry into force of these measures on Wednesday 1 August coincides with the signature on the same day by Chilean President Sebastian Pinera of a bill restoring the island’s original name – « Rapa Nui » – which means, in the local language, « the navel of the world ».

This small island, with an area of 168 km², is located more than 3500 km from the Chilean coast. It is known for its stone giants called Moaï, large statues emblematic of the culture of the Pacific islands.

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I DISCOVER
Chile prefers prevention to cure: fauna and flora are affected by tourist over-visitation. Every year, the island hosts 116,000. Moreover, under the charm of this paradisiacal territory, many are those who decide to settle there. The island has 7750 inhabitants, of which only 40% are members of the local Polynesian ethnic group. This figure has doubled in the last 15 years.

The President of Chile, when he came to the island on 1 August, announced that he would leave more of his hand to the indigenous people. It considers them better able to judge ecological and demographic issues. The Cooperativa newspaper highlights the difficulty of storing the large amount of waste, which reaches 2.5 tonnes per year, not to mention the difficulty of recycling it. This waste comes from products imported from the mainland on which the island depends.

One round trip ticket
Foreigners, like Chileans on the mainland, are now allowed to stay for a maximum of 30 days, a measure inspired by those introduced by Ecuador in the Galapagos Islands. Tourists must also present a return ticket, fill in a special form, and provide a hotel reservation certificate or an invitation card from an islander before their visit to the island.

Foreigners, like Chileans on the continent, are now allowed to stay for a maximum of 30 days.

« We have launched the new visitor regulation policy and the Marine Protected Area Council. We must do everything to preserve this magical island for our future generations, » the Chilean president twitted after signing the Easter Island name change project. Sebastian Pinera insists on preserving the Polynesian culture of this people which marks the richness of diversity in Chile.

Reporting on the new presidential policy, the T13 TV news was alarmed at possible marriages contracted to circumvent installation restrictions on the island. But in fact, only the fathers, mothers, spouses or sons of an indigenous person may remain on the island. Civil servants in the public administration or any other permanent contract will also be exempt from the measures of the new law. However, a few months will be allowed to submit a file, as the application of the new law will only be effective from February 2019.