One of President Trump's sons made a business trip to Uruguay in early January that cost taxpayers US$97,830 to put Secret Service and embassy staffers in hotel rooms, according to a new report. Eric Trump visited Uruguay on behalf of the Trump Organization before his father’s Jan. 20 inauguration, The Washington Post reported.
With a budget of 100 million dollars, construction of the 35-story building may start in June next year and be finished by 2020, it was announced by the same developers in charge of the residential project in Punta del Este under the name of next President of the United States.
The 2016/17 cruise season officially begins this week in Uruguay with the arrival of MS Zaandam and Insignia. Zandam belonging to Holland America Line with capacity for 1.432 passengers usually calls several times in Montevideo during the season.
Uruguay is expecting some 150 cruise calls this coming season 2016/17 which begins next month and represents some 300.000 visitors, according to Tourism minister Liliam Kechichian who nevertheless admitted that growth prospects are somehow behind schedule because of the high costs of reaching and operating in the port of Buenos Aires.
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.
London's The Guardian in an article credited to Oliver Balch argues that Punta del Este, Uruguay's main international summer resort has become a 'golden ghetto' for the rich where the poor can't afford staples or lodging. However Mayor Andrés Jafif openly disagrees with the reporting and argues that ”we might be poor (by European standards) but we are happy, we can live in Punta del Este, we have a good time, we surf, work and bask in beaches”.
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.
We join the rest of the world to celebrate World Environment Day from glorious Punta del Este, Uruguay, where we are currently meeting at the 12th Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The Contracting Parties have gathered and are very hard at work, to define a new Strategic Plan that will guide our commitment to conserve and wisely use the world’s wetlands, over the next six years from 2016 to 2021.
Ten people have been reported dead when a small chartered airplane with Argentine plates crashed Thursday night after taking off at the Laguna del Sauce airport, near the Uruguayan resort of Punta del Este. Rescue teams and fire personnel confirmed at least seven charred bodies.