MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Tourist influx to Uruguay during January soars 40%

The San Martin bridge opened again after five summers

During January (summer high season) Uruguay received 413.780 tourists, 40% more than a year ago, with the Argentines leading the inflow, according to the latest figures released by Migration Office and the Ministry of Tourism.

Of that number, 309.448 were Argentines (up 49% from January 2010); 50.519 Brazilians (up 30.1%); 8.187 Chileans (32.7% more); 9.746 Paraguayans (up 19.4%) and 35.880 of other nationalities with a variation of only 4.2%.

Numbers to not include Uruguayans residing overseas who came to visit their families, Brazilians along the northern border, cruise visitors calling in Montevideo and Punta del Este or visitors who spent less than 24 hours in the country.

“What is most significant is the increase in the number of Argentine tourists, although so is the number of Brazilians and the remaining nationalities: 40% is really important and encourages all of us to keep working hard”, said Tourism minister Hector Lescano.

The minister advanced that the fact Argentina has decided to reinstate the Carnival holiday (at the beginning of March this year) is very good news, “we expect another inflow of Argentines for that date”.

Some of the factors that helped boost the number is inflation in Argentina and the opening of the bi-national San Martin bridge that links Fray Bentos in Uruguay with Gualeguaychú in Argentina and which had remained closed for five summers because of the Botnia pulp mill conflict.

“The opening of the bridge meant that many middle class tourists from central Argentina, and the heartland of booming agriculture, now have the opportunity of enjoying Uruguayan Atlantic coast beaches” said Monica Cuestas a real estate agent in Punta del Este.

“The supply of houses and flats to rent, hotels, motels in Punta del Este, as well as in other resorts of the coast were completely absorbed from mid December to the second week of January”, added Ms Cuestas.

However when the Brazilians leave following the first week of January, the top-top residential rentals decrease and in moves the influx of middle class Argentines.

“The jump in the number of Argentine tourists can be also attributed to the fact that prices in Argentina’s ‘posh’ resorts such as Pinamar and Cariló have caught up with Punta del Este” explained Ema Vigil who works for an Argentine real estate agent with offices in the Uruguayan Atlantic coast.

“Following four years of two digit inflation and a flat US dollar, food prices and rents along the Argentine coast begun to level off with Punta del Este”, she added.

Finally Ms Cuestas pointed out that a significant number of the Argentines which are spending summer in Uruguay come from the provinces of Cordoba, Santa Fe, Entre Rios, Corrientes and Mendoza where grain and oilseed crops and wine production are booming and land prices have soared.

“These soy-beans dependent tourists come in addition to the traditional Buenos Aires city influx that prefers the Uruguayan coast to Argentine resorts. Let’s hope world markets for grains and oil seed remains strong”, said Ms Cuestas.