MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan hotels 70-90% full during Carnival weekend

Good figures during one weekend do not make up for a poor Summer season, Cantera explained

Occupancy at Uruguay's hotels has been between 70 and 90% during Carnival weekend, which represented a recovery from a bad Summer season for the leisure industry.

Upon releasing the data, Tourism Minister Tabaré Viera said the new figures showed a “slow recovery.”

Uruguay's Chamber of Tourism (Camtur) and the Uruguayan Hotel and Gastronomy Union (Sughu) also welcomed the four-day performance, although they also warned it was not enough to make up for a poor summer season.

According to Viera, boosting the tourism industry was domestic travel. He added some areas had reported occupancy ratings between 70 and 90%, while hotels had been full where Carnival festivities were held.

Viera also feared bookings would go back to 30% at most as of this week.

Camtur Chairwoman Marina Cantera pointed out there had been good results at almost all destinations, particularly those along the coastline. In Colonia, occupancy was “over 80%,” Cantera explained.

According to Cantera, tourism hinges on the number of COVID-19 cases, so fewer infections bring on more traveling. “The sanitary situation, today, is the great responsible for the situation of the tourism sector,” she pointed out.

“Today the situation is better than two or three weeks ago, and that is reflected in mobility,” she added.

Cantera also insisted Carnival weekend was an isolated case which “does not solve” a season which was “from regular to bad, depending on the destination”, but “good for none.

After a promising first week of January, a new outbreak of COVID-19 due to the Omicron variant, ”it went down and already in the last two weeks of January and almost all of February. In some cases, occupancy stayed below 40%, Cantera said.

Cantera also explained that ”40% in June, for a department (province) that depends on the sun and the beach, it is good“, but not so ”in full summer season..., when companies generate the most profits.“

”This year will surely not be the case,” she concluded.