MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Argentine campaign to promote domestic tourism disqualifying Mercosur options
Argentina launched an aggressive campaign to boost domestic tourism this coming summer season by publishing hotel, food and rent prices of resorts along the Atlantic coast and comparing them with similar options in Mercosur partners such a Uruguay, Brazil and Chile. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesSo? And?
Sep 20th, 2012 - 06:35 am - Link - Report abuse 0It must be a slow news day.
I reckon most countries want their own citizens to spend their money at home, not abroad? Protectionism isn't exactly an Argentine invention, is it. Countries like France and the beacon of free trade, the US, have themselves, in the wake of the world financial crisis, resorted to spurring economic nationalism among their nationals. Brazil itself has launched similar campaigns recently. As a Brazilian myself, I don't see how this merits an article. But then again, Mercopress being its anti-Argentina hysteria outlet that I've known for years, it isn't at all surprising that it's feigning concern for Brazil and Uruguay just so it can sow more hatred of Argentina.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 08:28 am - Link - Report abuse 0It is probably of interest because in the past so many Argentines have chosen to holiday in Uruguay or Chile, so this is expecting them to change their holiday habits.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 08:48 am - Link - Report abuse 0Some people will be happy to do so, others will see it as a choice being taken from them.
And. to be honest, Mar del Plata is not a patch on any beach in Chile.
Love thy neighbour ?
Sep 20th, 2012 - 10:14 am - Link - Report abuse 0Make argies stay inside their borders. Keep the sh*te in the pit!
Sep 20th, 2012 - 11:13 am - Link - Report abuse 0“Some people will be happy to do so, others will see it as a choice being taken from them.”
Sep 20th, 2012 - 11:21 am - Link - Report abuse 0Oh really? Is it now being outlawed in Argentina to travel aboard, dummy?
I still plan to go outside regardless of the measures.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 11:25 am - Link - Report abuse 0I go wherever i want with my money.
Not even news worthy.....even city,state/province and country does this worldwide.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 11:38 am - Link - Report abuse 0Did the tourism office get there figures from INDEC by any chance?
Sep 20th, 2012 - 11:44 am - Link - Report abuse 0@6 “Oh really? Is it now being outlawed in Argentina to travel aboard, dummy?”
Sep 20th, 2012 - 11:58 am - Link - Report abuse 0Not yet - Kitchner will probably start with currency restrictions for argentine travellers.
I couldn't recognise the costs shown attributed to Uruguay, but hey, they are Argentine figures: so they MUST be correct!
Sep 20th, 2012 - 12:44 pm - Link - Report abuse 0From what I have seen for the last two summers I just cannot imagine wealthy Argentines taking any notice of what TMBOA wants them to do.
I know my next door neighbour is coming as usual with his family and that his sisters will be here until two weeks after he leaves.
No-one from Argentina who has a holiday property in Uruguay is going to go anywhere else: they are coming to Uruguay.
TMBOA can scweem and scweem and scweem until she has a fatal aneurism (hopefully) and it won't make any difference.
6. There are rumors circulating that Arg will require a “visa” ( not sure if that is the right word) like China to exit the country. Rg will need permission to exit and pay a hefty fee to do so. Just one more way to fix the upside down balance of payments associated with tourism.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 01:08 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Where did you hear that Yankee?
Sep 20th, 2012 - 01:24 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I can't remember but it had to be somewhere online about a week ago. If I run across it again I will post the link.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 01:27 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Thanks I would appreciate that
Sep 20th, 2012 - 01:31 pm - Link - Report abuse 0perhaps if you refuse to holiday at the beach and spend your dollers, you are libel to arrest,
Sep 20th, 2012 - 01:33 pm - Link - Report abuse 0apparently some say, CFK runs the country,
some say her bloggers do,
some say lots of things,
but are they true,
some say they are .lol.
It is all about keeping money within the country so the tax people can collect more funds. The piggy bank in Argentina has about run dry.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 01:34 pm - Link - Report abuse 0They are nearly out of foreign reserves.....meaning they are close to not being able to purchase anything internationally
Sep 20th, 2012 - 01:46 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Anses was the last cash cow left in the country and the wiped that clean a long time ago. YPF had U$1B in cash so that is gone...nothing left to steal now.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 01:56 pm - Link - Report abuse 0When is the next big bond payment due? Dec? I bet she was counting on IDB/WB U$ to fund it...
Rut ro
And alledgedly Anses bought all YPF bonds went they went out to auction.. I was LMAO the the press release from YPF announced that the sale and auction of their bonds was “better than they ever possibly expected”. Considering they are both government owned, that's like taking change from your left pocket and putting in your right pocket and claiming to find money!
Sep 20th, 2012 - 02:36 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Likewise a full menu at a restaurant next to the beach in Argentina would have a cost of 50 Argentine Pesos while in Punta del Este, 97 Pesos. Quick food also is cheaper in Argentina, 15 Pesos on average against 30 Pesos in Punta del Este. ”
Sep 20th, 2012 - 02:52 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Can someone please let us know the places where you can get a Full Menu meal for 50 pesos? Cloud cuckoo land figures.... By quick food, I assume they mean street food, like a choripan, certainly not “McDonalds” prices in Argentina..
As for protecting “Home” tourism, as others say, nothing new, all countries do this. The more worrying issue here is the, effective, 15% surcharge on foreign travel packages, which unbalances even the false figures.
Encouraging internal is one thing, discouraging outside travel is very alarming for a supposedly free country.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 02:58 pm - Link - Report abuse 0When they had the big disco fire in BA and they closed all the clubs so I went to MDP and stayed at Costa Galana for a couple weeks to check out the city.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 03:19 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I just checked the rates and they are 3x what I used to pay. Which is surprisingly less of an increase than I thought it would be.
I don't like The MDP beaches it is too windy and wet. It is the only beach where you absolutely have to have a cabana or a tent to keep away from the very strong wind which is full of sand. It is very strange that anyone goes there the water is freezing and brown. The town itself is kind of fun in the summer though I like people from the Provinces they are there to have a week or two of fun and they know how to have a good time.
Cost of a single main dish in a working man's eatery in a small town in Patagonia= ARS 35,00
Sep 20th, 2012 - 03:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Add to that a drinkable bottle of wine=ARS 32,00
Add to that a desert= ARS 25,00
Add to that a coffee= ARS 12,00
That gives us a total of ARS 104,00 without an “entrada”, I would hazard a guess that the Ministry of Tourism is telling lies!!!!!!
Oh yeah I forgot about “entrada” that starts showing up on restaurant invoices when they don't want the prices to look like they've gone up too much. Crazy system there!
Sep 20th, 2012 - 03:34 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Argentina does have a lot offer. So much so that over 6 million outside tourists visited it last year, more than any other South American country. This is certainly outstanding news.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 03:34 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I didn't think MDP was all that. I was not there during high season but the weather was sunny when I was there with friends for a long weekend. They raved about the place and I made polite noises because I like them as friends. Having been spoiled by visiting some truly beautiful beaches around the world, MPD was disappointing, though parts of the town were attractive enough.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 03:35 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Possibly colouring my memory of the weekend was getting salmonella poisoning at 'the best fish restaurant in town' where 'you have to book months in advance'. Typical of salmonella it was 48 hours before I had the full flu-like symptoms and a full month before I could eat normally again. But I try not to hold it against MDP as a whole. : )
Elaine, I yeah I forgot about that, was that the restaurant that is kind of near the docks? I got food poisoning there too! Down and out for a couple days too! Although the best pizza I ever had was a little Italian family restaurant in front of the park downtown. That is worth the trip alone!
Sep 20th, 2012 - 03:40 pm - Link - Report abuse 0What I like about MDP is the architecture of the old “English” beach houses, the downtown shopping district is filthy though, why oh why can't Rgs use trash cans? I hate all the litter everywhere!
#26 yes and 15% less this year so far.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 03:57 pm - Link - Report abuse 026. Not to buurst your bubble, but that is just about 1/2 number of the foreign tourists Miami alone gets a year.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 04:03 pm - Link - Report abuse 016. And about 1/4 of Mexico's tourists , and 1/5 of the UK's tourists....
Sep 20th, 2012 - 04:15 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@28 I don't remember it being by the docks.....I was driven there and I have no sense of direction but it seemed to be on a hill. My friends had 'pulled strings' to get us in a short notice and the place was packed with people queued down the street to get in. We sat down to eat at about 11.00pm and I just remember a succession of dishes arriving at the table and everyone digging in. Another night we ate at a little cafe- style family owned place and had excellent food.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 04:17 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Yes, the Quaint part of town was sweet but was it worth the five hour drive from BsAs? Or would I chose to holiday there when the beautiful beaches of Chile are a short flight away? No.
I think Argentina is (or has been until recently) an interesting tourist destination. I just cannot think that foreign tourists would choose it for a beach holiday. I could think of a dozen locations I would direct people to spend time in in Argentina but none would include a beach.
32 ElaineB (#)
Sep 20th, 2012 - 04:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Sep 20th, 2012 - 04:17 pm
Probably one of the nicest beaches in Argentina is on the Golfo San José on Peninsula Valdés, Chubut, one of the great attractions being that one can actually swim with the right whales there.
For awhile Argentina was cheap, safe and exotic. Once it lost it's cheap and safe descriptors it fell out of fashion. It is a 13 hour flight from the USA and it used to be U$600-800 to fly to BA now it is $1300-1500 and totally not worth it since you can't make up the savings there any longer. Eastern Europe is easier and cheaper. everyone I know seems to be going to Budapest instead of BA now.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 04:27 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@33 Thanks, I shall make a note. : )
Sep 20th, 2012 - 04:34 pm - Link - Report abuse 0More like 1600 and thats coach
Sep 20th, 2012 - 06:06 pm - Link - Report abuse 0This is trash.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 06:24 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Who signs this article ???
MP: What’s the source to allows them make this statement.
Be serious.
Again… Who sings this article???
I did not compare Argentina with Mexico or Miami. I only ocused on South america, where Tourism is increasing yearly and led by Argentina.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 06:27 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Surly the exchange rate between Argentina and the other countries will have an effect on which way the tourists go.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 06:47 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Is the Argie Paso sliding against these other currencies the way it is against the dollar?
Or is everything just done in dollars.
Certainly, my pounds and dollars are worth a lot more in Argentina but inflation is high. I am not sure that would affect tourism yet. I think people are more likely to avoid Argentina if the civil unrest increases and the crime rate continues to rise.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 06:51 pm - Link - Report abuse 039. You would think everything is cheaper in Argentina with the low wages and worthless peso but it just isn't, food, hotels etc etc are more expensive than in mid-priced USA cities and some stuff is more expensive than NYC!
Sep 20th, 2012 - 06:58 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Tourism in argentina has experienced a a continuous monthly decline. Whatever the reason, it's declining.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 07:06 pm - Link - Report abuse 0http://en.mercopress.com/2012/06/09/argentina-rapidly-becoming-too-expensive-for-foreign-tourists
http://en.mercopress.com/2012/06/09/argentina-rapidly-becoming-too-expensive-for-foreign-tourists
“Argentina launched an aggressive campaign to boost domestic tourism”
Sep 20th, 2012 - 07:56 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!!!
What is this, KFC getting a little worried about money leaving the country now?
Trying to keep the cash IN the country are we?
Is this the last act of a desperate government?
How about those beaches in England and Germany? how do they compare to Spain, France and Italy?
Sep 20th, 2012 - 08:31 pm - Link - Report abuse 0That's the comparison being made here between Argentina's riviera, and Uruguay, which is much further north and fully under an equatorial oceanic current flow, and the Brazil “high pressure” weather zone, let alone Brazil which is full blown tropically latituded.
In contrast argentine beaches are under the influence of mid-latitude summer storms as well as the Brazil high pressure zone, and a colder current from the south which mixes with the northern currents.
@34
Yes, because your word is worth more than that of multiple national and international tourism organizations that actually do surveys and studies.
And murders in Mendoza are down for the 5th year in a row... there's your increasing crime huh??
Let the haters keep on rolling, with their lunacies.
Toby, Almost every recent article about Argentina starts with “failing economy and increased crime”...no matter what the news topic is...
Sep 20th, 2012 - 08:49 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Plus the only reason crime stats are falling is because they are not getting reported properly...a la Indec. Did you see the article today where the 7 y/o was pleading with the robbers not to kill his grandpa but take his toys instead? They killed him with a rock anyway.
BTW how may police chiefs were arrested today for bribery in BA, 10 was it?
Who would ever choose England for a beach holiday?
Sep 20th, 2012 - 09:28 pm - Link - Report abuse 0You just underlined my point, TTT. You choose Argentina and England for different reasons, not the beaches.
@45
Sep 20th, 2012 - 09:50 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Plus the only reason crime stats are falling is because they are not getting reported properly...”
As usual, crapping from the mouth without any proof of what is being state. Where is your proof of this? Prove there is underreporting.
What kind of a pathetic racist person you must be, to suggest a murder would not be reported in a place like Mendoza, where there is the full rule of law in place, and where family is a big deal (still), and poverty is lower than other provinces.
@41 That's what noone believes me about here!!!
Sep 20th, 2012 - 10:04 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I told them that the minimum wage in Arg is half the U.S., and they're like, “But the food & everything else is cheap over there [Argentina], so, yeah..”
“Nooo, it's MORE than HERE.”, I explain.
-- look of disbelief.--
Srs, i'd say their food costs up to twice that of Walmart/Costco after tax. I can't compare health food stores, because I didn't run..into..any there.
The avg U.S. citizen has NO IDEA that things are upside down, down there. Common sense says it's hard to believe. If they knew, they'd be way more compassionate.
@48
Sep 20th, 2012 - 10:13 pm - Link - Report abuse 0What a wasted look of disbelief.
In Argentina, people that earn that mininum wage don't pay 500 dollars a month for health insurance, or 2000 dollars a month for a mortgage or half that for a rent, or hundreds of dollars by burning gasoline in a commute, plus a auto loan, which almost everyone in that country is forced to pay since there is no public transportation whatsoever, and of course the medical system there is the biggest white glove robbery of any country in the world.
My state has full free health insurance for everyone but the independently wealthy: Hawaii.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 10:16 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@50
Sep 20th, 2012 - 10:21 pm - Link - Report abuse 0So? Who wants to live in an island in the middle of nothing?
And your countrymen in the continent are nowhere as lucky. They may make three times the salary of an argie, but what most of them are still just scraping by, due to the reasons enumerated above. Many in Argentina have their homes and cars paid off, and free healthcare. Those are big savings.
I live in the most beautiful place in the world :):)
Sep 20th, 2012 - 10:33 pm - Link - Report abuse 0And our WORLD-CLASS metropolis is rated MUCH higher than Buenos Aires (on that scale that was just in Mercopress).
it's over 4,000 square miles here, »» larger than most Argentines have ever traveled««, but anyway, getting to anywhere else in the world is RIDICULOUSLY cheap! :) Ridiculous. Like, northern Brazil just had a $540 r/t special leaving from Hawaii. :)
No, it's not customary to see people working (and smelling) in bathrooms in the U.S., I wish someone would have prepared me for Argentina.
In English you said...
Sep 20th, 2012 - 10:41 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I'm sure Hawaii is nice. People in Argentina really don't know where it is though, never been interested in going there. They are a bit overglorified islands because they are a US tropical oupost, so Americans think its the bomb. Papeete and the Maldives is where its really at.
”No, it's not customary to see people working (and smelling) in bathrooms in the U.S., I wish someone would have prepared me for Argentina.“
”larger than most Argentines have ever traveled”
Repeat in English please. (and only because the forum rule is so. Otherwise repeat to me in Spanish, Portuguese, German, and French if you wish)
Hawaii is in the top ten beaches worldwide, the islands you mentioned are not. But, yeah, I love hearing abour cool places, thx :)
Sep 20th, 2012 - 10:56 pm - Link - Report abuse 0By the way, Mr. Trolly, I. LOVE. some people in Argentina. It's just that the Arg events catch my attention, because they're changing soo fast.
And I do AGREE with you on the unsustainable debt often carried by U.S. citizens- completely and totally.
Car loans are not because people can't afford to save for a -small- car. Or that some ppl don't get downpayments from their parents that would equal a small home in LatAm.
It's because they want their ideal (and because they're greedy.)
The U.S. is composed of the world anyway, so it shows the ills as well as the potential greatness of the world.
It seems obvious that transparency and efficiency is not, um, worshipped in Argentina in the same way that the WASPS do that run the U.S.
Argentina's passion ≠ stability. But WASPS NEED passion!
@54
Sep 21st, 2012 - 09:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Hawaii has a 1.3 billon dollars deficit like the rest of the USA.
The USA economy won't improve during the next 4 years. This means more borrwing foreign monies to keep the USA goverment AFLOAT!
The cost of spending a vacation in Hawaii is very expensive for the average USA citizen.
Although I have spent many vacations in Honolulu, I prefer Mar del Plata
or Rada Tilly beach in my home town of CR, Chubut, Argentina.
2012 still jealous about debt meaning you can't borrow because you are classed and a deadbeat borrower.
Sep 22nd, 2012 - 12:48 am - Link - Report abuse 0fact........argentina borrowed beyond it's capabilities
fact.........argentina became the largest defaulter in recorded history
fact.........argentina cannot borrow in the international markets
fact.........argentina has a reputation as undependable in financial arena
fact.........argentina is considered unstable by the UN, WTO, IMF....the world trade makets. Because this, trolls like sussie makes unsupported statements
2012 Schizophrenic Susssie
Sep 22nd, 2012 - 02:25 am - Link - Report abuse 0The whores in Mar Del Plata are wonderful, I doubt very much you could have worked there.
@55
Sep 22nd, 2012 - 06:35 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“The cost of spending a vacation in Hawaii is very expensive for the average USA citizen.”
“Although I have spent many vacations in Honolulu,”
LOL , he is totally delusional!
- First, a transparent shot at the living standards and spending power of the avg US citizen,
Then, - bragging about being able to do himself, what US citizens cannot afford.
Pathetic nonsense from a BA slum pederast !! LOL LOL LOL
I would expect that most customers of the whores in Mar del Plata, would want the prostitutes to be female.
I'm sure “sussie” can tell us if that is true. I wonder if he can earn 6 pesos a day to feed himself??
LOL LOL LOL LOL !!!
From todays BA Herald.
Sep 22nd, 2012 - 08:56 pm - Link - Report abuse 0........
Argentines are the world champions in taking dollars out of their country,' Mujica
Uruguayan president José Mujica
Uruguayan president José Mujica assured that “Argentines are simply the best in taking their dollars abroad,” and thus hoped that they will keep on vacationing in the neighbouring country.
“Argentines are the world champions in taking their dollars abroad. There’s no other country, except the US, that has such a strong influence of dollar in its currency. Argentines distrust their currency, save in dollars and somehow manage it make it.”
Mujica also added that he doesn’t believe that Uruguayan seaside resort Punta del Este will receive less Argentine tourists despite the increasing restrictions for the purchase of foreign currency. “I can tell you one thing: Argentines are champions when it comes to taking dollars abroad. World champions! We have proved it in Punta del Este, where theoretically there should be no one from Argentina, but there they are.”
Every country would want to encourage home tourism, the anti-mercosur implication of this in the title is just pernicious spin...
Sep 24th, 2012 - 02:38 pm - Link - Report abuse 0BK
Sep 24th, 2012 - 03:46 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Yes, any country would do well to promote holidays inside their own country to stop money leaving.
According to the article, Argentina is promoting 'Holidays at Home' by making misleading comparisons of prices at home, and abroad.
Not honest, but not likely anyone is fooled.
Foreign travellers are shrewd enough to check prices themselves anyway.
Troy at the moment they are vehemently encouraging domestic vacations. Next it will be written requests. I can see the day when RGs will need papers to travel from one province to the next and out of country travel a thing of the past. What does that sound like of the 30s? What will mini me BK be saying then?
Sep 24th, 2012 - 04:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@62 poppy
Sep 24th, 2012 - 04:52 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Vehemently encouraging”
Thanks, Poppy.
I get the implication.
First, currency controls, now government pressure.
I see where this is going with the biometrics “identity cards”.
Very ominous for the Argentinian citizens.
Conqueror/Captain Poppy/Zhivago and Troy Tempest all comments answered by “vagina neck” in need of “courtesy stiches” known as Isolde, Yensere-ly Skare....what a bunch of rubbish bloody english people!
Sep 24th, 2012 - 06:17 pm - Link - Report abuse 0jejeje
Exactly Troy.....it will be like Germany in the 30s to pass from one province to the other. While I did not serve in Germany....I was , lets say south....lol. I had plenty of friends that did time at Checkpoint Charlie.......that will be RGland.
Sep 24th, 2012 - 07:21 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Vhere are you papers.....now !!!!
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