Tourism in Argentina: Brazilians and Uruguayans lead the ranking

International tourism experienced a strong rebound in the first five months of 2022, with nearly 250 million international arrivals recorded, which compared to the 77 million arrivals recorded between January and May of the previous year, means the sector has recovered almost half (46%) of the pre-pandemic level of 2019, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer released on Monday.

“Tourism recovery has accelerated in many parts of the world, weathering the challenges standing in its way,” said World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, who at the same time advised caution in the face of “economic headwinds and geopolitical challenges that could affect the sector in the remainder of 2022 and beyond.”

According to the latest official reports in Argentina, more than 2.5 million visitors from abroad entered the country during the first half of the year, which already generated revenues above US$1.3 billion. Of this figure, 1.3 million were tourists, i.e., they spent at least one night in Argentina.

Regarding visitors’ origin, Brazil continues to be the leading market – it accounted for 22% – while Uruguay is the second country driving the recovery, with figures higher than the pre-pandemic.

The great surprise is the income from the United States, which ranks third in the ranking with 10%, on a par with neighboring countries such as Chile and Paraguay.

According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Nation, inbound tourism growth will be boosted during July and August within the framework of the snow season.

In this sense, Minister Matías Lammens had assured that the National Government expected more than one million visitors from abroad during the winter when presenting the tourism promotion strategy at the beginning of June.

Uruguay claims that the demand for air, land, or river travel to Argentina is growing steadily.

“There were packages at US$99, including the boat ticket and one night’s accommodation, for example. There were also more sophisticated offers -between US$190 to US$240- that included the direct ship from port to port and three nights’ accommodation,” said Carlos Pera, president of the Uruguayan Association of Travel Agencies (Audavi).

According to the businessman and referent of the sector, the “vedette” destination in these vacations was Argentina, since approximately 180,000 Uruguayan tourists took advantage of the exchange difference with Argentina to book travel packages during July vacations.

Origin of inbound tourism during 2022:

Bordering countries account for the largest number of visitors; however, the United States registers a high percentage in the ranking:

1. Brazil 22%
2. Uruguay 16.5%
3. USA 10%
4. Chile 10%
5. Paraguay 10%
6. Spain 4.7%
7. Bolivia 3.9%
8. France 2.5%
9. Peru 2.5%
10. Colombia 2.4%

With information from Rio Negro