In the first nine months of this year, Uruguay welcomed a surge in tourism with 2,769,734 international visitors.
This number outshines the total 2,466,929 tourists from all of 2022. The Ministry of Tourism revealed these figures in a fresh report.
In the third quarter alone, 792,734 tourists arrived. That sets a new record for the last ten years.
Tabaré Viera, the Tourism Minister, highlighted this achievement. He said it even beats tourism numbers from 2017 and 2019, the best years in the past decade.
Viera further stressed the importance of these stats. He said they show strong growth in the country’s tourism sector.
His comments reached the public through the government’s press office.
Now, let’s talk about money. Tourists spent a lot between July and September. The total came to $305 million. This is more than what tourists spent in the same period last year.
Argentine visitors topped the list this quarter. They made up 263,807 of the arrivals. This is a 19% increase compared to last year.
Following closely were Brazilian tourists, with 150,007 arrivals.
Before the pandemic in 2019, Uruguay was a big tourism magnet. It pulled in 3.2 million foreign tourists that year.
This tourism activity gave a nice bump to the country’s economy. Specifically, it contributed about eight percentage points to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
In summary, Uruguay is seeing good days in tourism. The first nine months of this year have already outdone the whole of last year.
The country hopes to build on this momentum and attract even more visitors in the future.
Background
Tourism has always been a crucial sector for Uruguay. It’s a country known for its beautiful beaches, like Punta del Este, and its rich culture.
For many years, it has competed with other South American destinations to attract tourists. Yet, the 2020 pandemic hit the tourism industry hard.
It led to a drop in both domestic and international visitors. Despite this setback, Uruguay quickly adapted.
It implemented health and safety protocols to encourage tourism again. Now, the record numbers in 2023 indicate a strong recovery and a bright future for the sector.