The third edition of the meeting brought together thousands of people in the Plaza de Armas with the world's largest cancato as a major closing milestone. The initiative, which seeks to consolidate the city as the gastronomic and tourist capital of the south, confirmed its version 2027 after a high impact on local commerce.

With a highly positive balance and a call that exceeded 25,000 people concluded the third edition of Salmon Week in Puerto Montt. The event, promoted by SalmonChile, the Municipality of Puerto Montt, the Universidad Santo Tomás and various local actors, reaffirmed the commitment of the productive sector to the territorial development, culture and identity of the Los Lagos Region. In addition, the closing day was marked by the historical preparation of a giant salmon cancato that exceeded 100 meters of extension.

The event had a high institutional representation, highlighting the presence of the biministro de Economía, Fomento y Turismo y de Minería, Daniel Mas; the mayor of Puerto Montt, Rodrigo Wainraihgt; the undersecretary of Tourism, María Paz Lagos; the regional governor of Los Lagos, Alejandro Santana; the deputies Mauro González and Alejandro Bernales; the mayor of Bariloche, Walter Cortés; and representatives of SalmonChile, who they accompanied the community in this celebration.

Sector ratings and projections for 2027

The mayor of Puerto Montt, Rodrigo Wainraihgt, highlighted the impact of the initiative on the dynamization of the city. “The goal was to break seasonality, for our neighbors to leave, for tourists to come. People have come from Calbuco, from Maullin, Puerto Varas; people have also come from Valdivia, Concepción, Punta Arenas. That movement is exactly what we want for our city,” he said.

The mayor added that “this showed that we were on a good path, that we were right to do this activity, that this breaks the inertia, that this enhances our city from the point of view of tourism. That if we want to transform Puerto Montt into the capital of tourism, not only good ideas and good intentions are enough, but concrete actions are required.” The authority also announced that, given the success achieved, the activity will have a new version in 2027.

Tomás Monge, general manager of SalmonChile, highlighted the event’s social value. “We are deeply proud to see Salmon Week become a gathering place for the community, the culinary world and our industry. Seeing more than 25 thousand people come together around the industry and the region that shape our identity shows us that when we work with local partners and the public sector, We managed to have a real impact on the dynamism, tourism and pride of Puerto Montt and the Los Lagos Region,” he said.

Impact on the local economy and gastronomy

Throughout the week, 51 gastronomic locals in the regional capital joined the celebration offering salmon-based promotional dishes, achieving a direct impact on local trade. The restaurant cook at Hotel Don Luis, Cristóbal Mera, appreciated the impact of the meeting. “We had enough movement, we sold everything. It was an excellent experience. As a restaurant we offered an Austral Nest, with which we did very well.” pointed out.

Along the same lines, from the restaurant La Ollita de Pelloco, Danilo Pincheira, highlighted that “the south of Chile, and especially Puerto Montt, are characterized by an incomparable richness in terms of seafood and fish, being one of its gastronomic heritages, which comes alive in this Week of Salmon”, while from La Plancha 293, Cristóbal Noriega, said that “we had a tremendous reception by tourists, with our restaurant. People came asking everything in the framework of Salmon Week, so this activity was quite noticeable.”

Salmon culture played a key role in the execution of the event and, from SalmonChile, the partner companies Australis, Blumar, Cooke Aquaculture, Invermar, Camanchaca, Marine Farm, Yadrán, Multi X and Salmones Austral donated more than a ton of product for the various activities. In addition, the tent installed in the Plaza de Armas featured interactive stands from companies such as Multi X, Camanchaca and Marine Farm, along with a crowded cooking show led by the winner of MasterChef Chile, Daniela Castro, and outstanding chef Frederic Emery.

The municipal coordinator of Tourism, Arturo Reyes, highlighted the magnitude of the event. “It was six days of celebration, with 25 local artists, 51 restaurants; Javiera Acevedo as ambassador, and today the milestone of the largest Cancato in the world with more than 100 meters,” he said.