MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay received 2.9 million overseas tourists last year

Minister Hector Lescano making the announcements

A total 2.9 million tourists arrived in Uruguay during 2009, spending an estimated 1.3 billion US dollars, according to the latest figures announced by Tourism Minister Hector Lescano.

The first two months of 2010 were also described as “very encouraging” since recorded arrivals reached 565.590 tourists and 531 million USD, up 11% from the same period a year ago.

Domestic tourism was estimated to have spent 350 million USD last year, while the sector invested between 1.2 and 1.5 billion USD in the industry, according to Lescano.
Regarding cruise tourism, the season which just ended totalled 185 calls.

“It is estimated that cruise visitors spent some 20 million USD while in Montevideo or Punta del Este and another 32 million were spent by the vessels in supplies and fuel”, said Minister Lescano.

He also revealed that contrary to a year ago the number of Uruguayan residing overseas and which usually visit their homeland for the holidays or the first weeks of January dropped considerably mainly because many came in October for the national election, and others live in two countries that have suffered the full impact of the global slowdown, United States and Spain.

Although most tourists keep coming from Argentina, there was a considerable drop in that number (25%), which was partly compensated by a greater influx from Brazil.

Nevertheless Minister Lescano cautioned about being too optimistic: gasoline stations, utility rates and supermarkets did “extremely well”, but not so much other sectors such as gastronomy, motels, hotels and house renting.

Uruguay’s population, according to the latest census was 3.3 million.