Uruguay extended for another twelve months the VAT bonus for those tourists who pay for purchases, lodging and rents with debit cards. The measure was announced this week by Deputy cabinet chief Diego Canepa following a full ministerial meeting and in anticipation of the coming 2013/14 summer season.
The Uruguayan 2012/13 cruise season experienced a 10% increase in the number of calls to the ports of Montevideo and Punta del Este totalling 240 and approximately 400.000 visitors between passengers and crew members.
Last Wednesday April 17 ‘Splendour of the Seas’ and its 1.940 passengers marked the end of the 2012/13 cruise season for Uruguay, which took off on 23 October and totalled 222 calls between the port of Montevideo and Punta del Este sea resort.
The ongoing controversy in Uruguay as to how ‘modest’ or ‘bad’ was this summer’s season has received some facts to support the discussion: supermarket sales in Punta del Este-Maldonado the main resort area along the Atlantic coast contracted 15%, compared to the previous year, while overall in the whole of the country sales were down 2%.
Brazil’s oil and gas Petrobras said Argentina needs clear rules to foster investments if it wants to develop its unconventional oil and gas resources.
The number of cruise-vessel calls in Uruguayan ports has increased 9.3% so far in this 2012/13 season with an influx of 20 million dollars for the local economy revealed Deputy minister of Tourism Antonio Carambula during a primary evaluation of business vis-à-vis the 2011/12 results.
Representatives from the cruise industry have cautioned Uruguay that port operational costs in South America could have a negative impact on what has been a steady increase of business in the last few seasons and this impact could be felt as soon as next year despite the fact that the 2012/2013 season on the Atlantic is proving to be quite successful despite an uncertain start. “Itineraries’ costs in South America are three times those of the Mediterranean”.
Following on the climbing tendency since the beginning of the year, the ‘blue’ or ‘parallel’ US dollar traded in Buenos Aires at 7.25 Argentine Pesos with a 46% gap over the ‘official’ dollar that remained relatively stable at 4.95 Pesos.
Uruguay expects 243 calls of cruise vessels during this summer 2012/13 season (October/April) which means, if confirmed there will be a 9.3% increase over the same period in the 2011/12 season. The information published in the Uruguayan presidency web says Montevideo expects 131 calls while Punta del Este 112.
The Council of Europe is promoting international co-operation in the field of personal data protection, in particular by encouraging non member states to ratify the Convention for the protection of individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, also known as Convention 108. Uruguay has started the process for its ratification and therefore may become the first non-Council of Europe member state to accede to the convention.