The Ministry of Tourism held a press conference with the presentation of the statistical data for the first quarter of 2022 and the week of tourism based on the Survey of Receptive Tourism and the National Directorate of Migration. There they highlighted that 391,680 tourists entered the country, with more than 60% coming from Argentina and 39.1% residing in Punta del Este.
Of the total, 287,189 did so for vacation reasons and the rest for visiting reasons. In turn, the ministries reported that the majority opted for hotel accommodation.
The preferred destination was Punta del Este, which received 153,095 visitors, followed by Montevideo with 71,378 tourists, Colonia with 29,741 and the thermal coast received 34,581 visitors. The oceanic coasts, meanwhile, received 36,689 visitors.
In relation to foreign currency income, it was reported that more than US$383 million entered the country for tourism during the first quarter of 2022, with Argentines (US$236 million) and Brazilians (US$60 million) spending the most.
According to the annual historical data provided, in 2018 Uruguay received 3,711,948 tourists who spent more than US$2,000 million; in 2019 there were 3,220,602 visitors who spent US$1,754 million and in 2020 there were 1,000,909 visitors who spent US$675 million.
The worst year on record was in 2021, through a pandemic, when only 233,694 tourist visitors were registered, leaving a balance of US$179 million.
Regarding Uruguayan residents who traveled to the interior, the portfolio recorded some 157,043, with Argentina (85,466) and Brazil (40,716) as main destinations.
