Where else can you kayak past sea lion colonies in the morning, trace trails through a semi-arid valley in the afternoon, and spend the evening under skies so clear that the world's leading astronomers built their observatories here? The Adventure Travel Trade Association is bringing AdventureWEEK to Chile's Coquimbo region 7–13 December 2026, and applications are now open for international buyers and travel media.
What Is AdventureWEEK?
AdventureWEEK is a fully-hosted intensive familiarization trip (FAM) in which the ATTA partners with a destination to showcase its best adventure travel offerings. Participants — outbound tour operators, specialized travel agents, and international travel media — travel the destination together, experience its adventure products firsthand, and meet local operators and ground suppliers through structured Marketplace sessions. A multimedia storytelling team joins to document the trip and distribute content across the ATTA's platforms and partner channels.
The format works. AdventureWEEK consistently produces product additions, co-op itineraries, and media placements that extend well beyond the week itself.
A Destination Unlike Any Other in the AdventureWEEK Portfolio
Coquimbo is not a lush tropical destination. It is something rarer: a place where the Pacific meets the driest edge of the Atacama, where dramatic coastal cliffs give way to arid river valleys and then to Andean peaks, and where the absence of light pollution has made the night sky itself a major draw. The Elqui Valley — famous for its pisco grape production, its mystical reputation, and its extraordinary stargazing — sits at the heart of a region that has been quietly building one of South America's most original adventure travel offerings.
World-class observatories, including some of the most powerful telescopes on the planet, have long called this region home. That infrastructure has helped incubate a genuine astrotourism economy alongside more traditional adventure products: sea kayaking through protected marine reserves, trekking across semi-arid landscapes that shift dramatically with altitude, and cultural encounters with communities whose identity is shaped as much by the sky above as the land beneath.
December is peak season in the Southern Hemisphere, which means long days, warm temperatures on the coast, and optimal conditions across the itinerary.
For Buyers: A Portfolio Gap Worth Filling
Coquimbo is one of adventure travel's future discoveries, a destination full of promise that few international portfolios have tapped yet. For buyers looking to diversify their Chile and South America product beyond Patagonia and the Atacama, this is the right moment: a destination with strong operator infrastructure, compelling multi-activity itineraries, and an astrotourism angle that genuinely differentiates it in the market.
The Marketplace sessions provide focused, one-on-one time with local operators and suppliers, so you leave with real contacts and product knowledge rather than a stack of brochures. Space is limited to keep the quality of connections high.
Submit Your Buyer Application →
For Media: Day and Night, the Stories Are There
The visual range here is unusual. Daytime in Coquimbo delivers coastal wildlife, stark valley landscapes, and the kind of light that only semi-arid regions produce. After dark, the sky takes over — and the story shifts entirely. For travel media, the combination of strong outdoor adventure content and a genuinely world-class astrotourism narrative makes Coquimbo a destination that can fill a feature, not just a sidebar.
Media participants travel alongside buyers throughout the week and return home with content spanning multiple story angles, audiences, and formats.
Submit Your Media Application →
Learn More and Apply
Dates: 7–13 December 2026
Location: Coquimbo Region, Chile
Applications close 11:59 PM (GMT), 7 September 2026. Selections will be announced by October 2026.
Explore AdventureWEEK Coquimbo 2026 →
