Tourism

• Thursday, January 5th 2017 - 09:54 UTC

  Olympic Games help Brazil break record of visitors last year: 6.6 million, 2 million from Argentina

  

  Brazil saw a record number of international tourists in 2016, boosted by the first Olympic Games held in South America, official data showed on Wednesday. A total 6.6 million international travelers visited Brazil last year, the tourism ministry said, 4.8% higher than the year before.

• Thursday, January 5th 2017 - 07:38 UTC

  London-Santiago direct flights inaugurated on Wednesday

  

  The new direct flight London-Santiago de Chile inaugurated on Wednesday should help increase the number of visitors from Britain and Europe, said Chilean authorities when they received the British Airways flight at the Chilean capital airport.

• Monday, January 2nd 2017 - 12:21 UTC

  China pledges to boost investment in tourism and promises “toilet revolution”

  

  China said it will boost investment in tourism, with plans to develop rustbelt regions and upgrade public toilets high on its to-do list as it looks to lift the sector's contribution to economic growth.

• Saturday, December 31st 2016 - 06:57 UTC

  Bolivia to charge tourists an entry tax in 2017

  

  Bolivia will charge a US$ 14.5 dollar entry tax to tourists arriving in the country by airplane. The new measure will become effective once there is an agreement with the private sector on the details, Deputy Tourism Minister Joaquín Rodas said.

• Friday, December 30th 2016 - 02:14 UTC

  Argentine gov't rules free internet access must be available at all top class airports

  

  Through Resolution 109/2016 of the Regulatory Agency of the National System of Airports (Orsna), published Thursday in the Official Gazette, the supply of ”Wireless Internet Provision Service Standard (WIFI) at Group A airports” became mandatory.

• Wednesday, December 28th 2016 - 18:41 UTC

  UK ambassador to Uruguay, Ian Duddy presents his diplomatic credentials

  

  British ambassador in Uruguay Ian Duddy, on Monday, made the official presentation of his diplomatic credentials to President Tabaré Vázquez, thus completing the formalities of his post.

• Tuesday, December 27th 2016 - 09:26 UTC

  Chapecoense team air crash caused by human error: pilot, airline and Bolivian regulators blamed

  

  The plane crash that killed 71 people in Colombia last month, including players from Brazil's Chapecoense football team, was caused by human error, an investigation says. Colombian officials said there was no technical failure and blamed the pilot, the airline and Bolivian regulators. A recording had already indicated the aircraft had run out of fuel.

• Monday, December 26th 2016 - 04:50 UTC

  Tucuman Airport evacuated due to yet another bomb threat

  

  Tucuman's Teniente Benjamin Matienzo Airport, 1,250 km north of Buenos Aires, was evacuated Saturday after a bomb threat in the second such incident at the air terminal in one week. The previous case turned out to be a joke.

• Wednesday, December 21st 2016 - 20:09 UTC

  Maduro reopens Colombian border after eight days

  

  The government of Nicolás Maduro Tuesday reopened its border with Colombia, eight days after closing it to combat smuggling, it was announced.

• Wednesday, December 21st 2016 - 06:44 UTC

  Four people die as Colombian freighter fails takeoff attempt

  

  A Colombian freighter belonging to the airline Aerosucre failed to get properly airborne from Puerto Carreño and ended up crashing onto the ground and bursting into flames five nautical miles from the runway.