After Argentine tourist avalanche, Uruguay recalled its land borders are open 24 hours a day

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Last Sunday, 3,756 people entered through this border crossing, making it the point with the highest number of people entering the country, sources from the Ministry of the Interior stated. Many of those crossing the bridge did so in the morning, believing that entry into Uruguay was scheduled, similar to the Argentine border.

This led to 5 km long lines of cars and a 5 hour wait, with an average of 60 minutes per car to cross to Uruguay.

“That is why we recommend people who want to come through the border crossings not to all come at the same time; Uruguay welcomes tourists 24 hours a day, therefore people should choose the best time to travel,” Monzeglio said.

Currently, the Uruguayan Customs and Border Patrol operates 12 posts specifically on that bridge, open 24 hours a day for tourists wishing to enter the country. The other two international bridges are also available: Salto (Uruguay) – Concordia (Argentina) and Colón (Argentina) – Paysandú (Uruguay).

The Deputy Secretary also said that although data on the number of people entering the country in the last weeks of 2021 are already being handled, the Ministry prefers to withhold them. Regarding the figures, he added that “everything is very recent, but the figures are very encouraging, that’s what I can say.”

According to Monzeglio, the first days of the summer season in Uruguay have been very encouraging, but he remains cautiously optimistic. However, he said that he was “pleasantly surprised by the number of people entering through the dry border crossings, especially from Argentina.”

Finally, he said he hopes that the summer season “will be good, long, that it will bring work for the people.”

AIR BORDERS

The Montevideo City Council’s Tourism Observatory prepared a report on the air connectivity of the Uruguayan capital with the rest of the world, as the summer season begins.

The report covers flights reaching Uruguay between December 27, 2021 and March 31, 2022. The number of seats available and the number of aircraft coming from countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Spain, the United States, Panama, Paraguay and Peru were analyzed. The airlines, airports of origin, fare costs, arrival days and the number of passengers were taken into account.

According to the report, there will be 301 flights from Brazil during the period analyzed, scheduled by LATAM, Gol and Azul airlines from the airports of São Paulo and Porto Alegre. Out of a total of 48,700 seats available, 19,200 are standard fare and 29,500 are low-cost.

When compared to the same period in 2020-2021, there is a 454% increase.

From Panama, 208 flights are expected to be operated by Copa Airlines from Tocumen airport. With 34,000 seats available at normal fares, the offer grew 197% compared to the same period last year.

From Spain, there will be 124 flights departing from Madrid’s Adolfo Suarez airport. Iberia and Air Europa will offer 35,700 seats at standard fares. The data also show that the offer increased by 154% compared to the 2020 summer.