Nearly 1.2 million people toured the country in this last long weekend and mobilized $37,304 million in the gastronomic, hotel and commercial sector, while a summer season with “very high” movement figures is anticipated.
“This December weekend closed a wonderful year for the tourism industry and anticipates a summer season that will once again have very high movement figures”, assured the Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Nation, Matías Lammens.
He affirmed that “hand in hand with PreViaje, tourism created tens of thousands of jobs during 2022, generating opportunities in every corner of the country. Driven by the arrival of millions of tourists from abroad, 2023 will be a record year for the sector.”
According to the surveys of the Argentine Tourism Observatory (OAT), 1.2 million people travel through the country and in the main destinations of the country, such as Mar del Plata, the Partido de la Costa, Puerto Iguazú, the Quebrada de Humahuaca, Villa Carlos Paz, the city of Mendoza, San Carlos de Bariloche and El Calafate, occupancy ranges between 80 and 90% on this extra long weekend..
According to the first reports, the destinations on the Atlantic Coast enjoyed a great tourist movement, around 90% occupancy, which anticipates another successful summer season. According to the Argentine Confederation of Medium Enterprises (CAME), $37,304 million were mobilized.
The president of the Argentine Chamber of Tourism (CAT), Gustavo Hanisaid that “all this is the result of the effort of an industry that continues to demonstrate that it is one of the main economic engines of the country.”
“We believe that 2023 is going to be a very successful year for Argentine tourism and we are preparing for this enormous challenge, strengthening each sector of our industry, growing in jobs, updating and innovating according to the new needs that the tourists,” he added.
In the seven long weekends that took place this year, 12,479,534 tourists have already traveled and left a direct economic impact of $255,124 million.
CAME revealed that travelers spend $8,772 per person per day, 8.3% higher than the last long weekend, in November.
The last holiday for this date had been in 2020: compared to that year, when there was little movement due to the pandemic, 130% more tourists traveledand the economic impact, measured at real prices, was multiplied by five.
“The businessmen of the sector consulted evaluated the date as very good, better than expected, and consider that it is the anticipation of a great summer season,” CAME indicated.
In the province of Buenos Aires, with temperatures that exceeded 30 degrees, the towns of the coast lived a preview of what will be the summer seasonwith an intense arrival of visitors and busy routes. It is estimated that more than 1,000 vehicles per hour entered Mar del Plata on Thursday and the occupancy of hotel and spa beds exceeded 80%.
Córdoba was another prominent destinationwith an average daily expense of around $9,500 per person and a stay of 3.8 days, occupancy was around 90% in the capital and there were high occupancy percentages in Villa Carlos Paz, San Marcos Sierras, Alta Gracia, Villa Dolores , Villa General Belgrano, La Cumbrecita, Miramar, Alpa Corral and Río Ceballos.
In Entre Rios, with the beaches and spas already enabled in most cities, occupancy approached 93% and it is estimated that 170 thousand people were mobilized, with higher levels of accommodation in Colón, Gualguaychú, Villa Elisa and Federación.
Mendoza, Misiones and San Luis registered an average occupation of 90%; while Santa Cruz, San Juan and Santa Fe was of the order of 80% in the lodgings offered.
In the seven long weekends that took place this year, 12,479,534 tourists have already traveled and left a direct economic impact of $255,124 million.
