Around 100,000 passengers have been reported to have visited Montevideo so far this season on some 60 cruise ships, according to local authorities. Montevideo Police Chief Mario D'Elia said that the so-called “Blue Summer” operation in the Uruguayan capital's Old City has been going as planned.
Uruguayan authorities are forecasting a promising cruise season for next Summer, according to Tourism Undersecretary Remo Monzeglio, who confirmed there were so far 130 confirmed reservations for calls in Montevideo and 57 for Punta del Este.
Uruguay is expecting 172 cruise calls this season, of which 105 in Montevideo and 67 in the Atlantic resort of Punta del Este, representing a 24% increase over the 2017/2018 season. This includes the arrival of three new cruise companies, while two others, Costa and Norwegian have chosen Montevideo for the change of passengers.
A delegation of Uruguayan tourism and port authorities together with the country's ambassador in Argentina, Hector Lescano held a meeting in Buenos Aires with their Argentine peers to address bilateral cooperation in boosting the cruise industry on both sides of the River Plate.
More than 250.000 passengers and crew members from cruise vessels visited Uruguay during the three months extending from November to January, according to the latest release from the country's Ministry of Tourism. The number of calls in Montevideo during that period was 58, with 156.100 people of which 112.400 (72%) came ashore.
Uruguayan Tourism ministry officials announced that the country expects 170 calls from cruise vessels this coming season which is scheduled to begin 6 November and extend until 10 April 2016.
The 2014/15 cruise season was not encouraging for Uruguay which reported a drop in the number of vessels calling; passenger landings and money spent by the industry and visitors, according to the official assessment of the season presented by Tourism ministry officials and other government offices involved in the different operations.
Uruguay expects a slowing down of cruise activity this season, probably in the range of 10% less vessel calls, particularly in Punta del Este, because of logistics problems with the circuits. However this will be partly compensated by the two Costa Cruise company vessels that will be operating from Montevideo as the starting point and end of South Atlantic tours.