[en] This research aims to explain how the image of Chile influences the loyalty of Chinese backpacker tourists. Since 2012, China has become the main pole of outbound tourism worldwide according to the World Tourism Organization; in this context, during the last five years, chilean tourism destinations have also begun to experience the arrival of chinese tourist groups, and specifically, backpacker tourists. The theoretical basis of the thesis deals with the following chapters: outbound market of chinese tourists; tourist motivation; perception; the image of tourist destinations; the loyalty of tourists and finally the projected image of Chile in China. The research has a mixed approach, with a concurrent triangulation design in two phases. In the first, the projected image of Chile in China is examined through the use of qualitative techniques, and to analyze the image perceived by Chinese tourists who found themselves traveling through China, quantitative techniques were used. In the second phase, the image perceived by Chinese tourists traveling through Chile and their loyalty to the destination is analyzed, through the use of qualitative and quantitative techniques. In data collection, the latest promotional campaigns in Chile and in-depth interviews (qualitative phases) and survey-type questionnaires (quantitative phase) were used. For the qualitative analysis, the content analysis and the methodology of the "Grounded Theory" were extracted; for the quantitative analysis, the measures of central tendency were examined, a descriptive analysis was carried out and finally the model of structural structures SEM was applied to carry out the explanatory multivariate analysis. The results of this research indicate that the projected image of Chile is unknown to the vast majority of Chinese tourists; however, those who travel to Chile in general are satisfied with the general image of the destination and are recommended to recommend it, although there are gaps in the quality of tourist services and safety in general.

[gl] Esta investigación pretende explicar como a imaxe de Chile inflúe na fidelidade dos turistas mochileros chineses. Desde 2012, China converteuse nun dos principais polos do turismo de saída a nivel mundial segundo a Organización Mundial do Turismo; neste contexto, durante os últimos cinco anos, os destinos turísticos chilenos tamén comezaron a experimentar a chegada de grupos turísticos chineses, e concretamente, de turistas mochileros. A base teórica da tese trata os seguintes temas incluídos nos seus respectivos capítulos: mercado emisor de turistas chineses; motivación turística; percepción; a imaxe dos destinos turísticos; a fidelidade dos turistas e finalmente a imaxe proxectada de Chile en China. A investigación ten un enfoque mixto, cun deseño de triangulación concorrente realizado en dúas fases. No primeiro, a imaxe proxectada de Chile en China é examinada mediante o uso de técnicas cualitativas, e para analizar a imaxe percibida polos turistas chineses que se atopaban viaxando por China utilizáronse técnicas cuantitativas. Na segunda fase analízase a imaxe que perciben os turistas chineses que viaxan por Chile e a súa fidelidade ao destino, mediante o uso de técnicas cualitativas e cuantitativas. Na recollida de datos utilizáronse as últimas campañas promocionais en Chile e entrevistas en profundidade (fases cualitativas), e cuestionarios tipo enquisas (fase cuantitativa). Para a análise cualitativa extraéronse a análise de contido e a metodoloxía da "Teoría fundamentada"; para a análise cuantitativa examináronse as medidas de tendencia central, realizouse unha análise descritiva e finalmente aplicouse o modelo de estruturas SEM para realizar a análise multivariante explicativa. Os resultados desta investigación indican que a imaxe proxectada de Chile é descoñecida para a gran maioría dos turistas chineses; non obstante, os que viaxan a Chile en xeral están satisfeitos coa imaxe do destino e recoméndase recomendalo, aínda que existen carencias en canto á calidade dos servizos turísticos e á seguridade en xeral.