MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay received 910.597 tourists in the first four months of 2010

Taleb D. Rifai WTO Secretary General praised Uruguay for the management of the tourism industry

In the first four months of this year (high season in the southern hemisphere) Uruguay hosted 910.597 tourists who on average stayed nine days (spent over 800 USD per capita) totalling an estimated income of 744 million US dollars, according to Uruguay’s Deputy Secretary of Tourism and Sports Lilian Kechichian.

The cruise season which extends from November to April was another highlight of this season in Uruguay, having received 300.000 visitors who spend an estimated 20 million US dollars.

This included 185 calls plus all the provisions and fuel demanded by the vessels besides the money spent by visitors.

Another area growing in importance is that of regional and international conventions and meetings, which this 2009/10 season totalled 97 events, said Ms Kechichian.

The Uruguayan official also revealed that Taleb D. Rifai, World Tourist Organization, WTO, Secretary General recently visited Uruguay and praised the development of the industry in the country, one of the few in the world that managed to keep growing in spite of the global slow down.

“Spanish experts from WTO will be arriving in Montevideo next July to study the Uruguayan case”, said Ms Kechichian.

“Mr. Rifai said Uruguay was one of the more active WTO members in the area and anticipated support to focalize the industry in four basic areas”, added the Uruguayan official.

These areas include facilitating access to the country; incorporation of renewable energy in tourism complexes and the hotel industry; homogenizing Mercosur tourism statistics and finally the development of new environment friendly tourism industry projects.

Ms Kechichian said that Uruguay’s success in fostering tourism has been sustained with an intelligent policy in the Argentine market and diversification to attract tourist from other regions.

A loan from the Inter American development bank is also helping to increase competitiveness, a long term strategic plan originally programmed until 2020, plus the development of other areas such as rural, wildlife and marine tourism.

“Sustainability, preservation of natural resources, diversification and further expanding our offer, are among the main lines of our current policy which we expect to display during the next five years”, concluded Ms Kechichian.