Authorities of the Ministry of Tourism presented this Wednesday the 19th a balance of the activity of the sector in the first quarter of the year 2023.
In terms of receptive tourism, the Minister of Tourism Tabaré Viera said that between January and March 2023, 1,219,198 non-residents entered the country, which represents an increase of 11.6% compared to the first quarter of 2019.
He also indicated that this number of visitors generated 741,000,000 dollars for the country. Based on these data and those collected during the last two quarters of the previous year, the chief affirmed that the recovery process of the tourism sector in Uruguay was consolidated.
“Tourism recovered in Uruguay, in terms of work and wealth generation,” reported the head of the portfolio.
The Secretary of State added that, of the total number of tourists that entered in that period, 716,548 were Argentines, 2.6% more than in 2019. Brazilian visitors, meanwhile, totaled 145,459, for which the increase was 7.1 % compared to the same year.
Regarding outbound tourism, 1,141,300 Uruguayans traveled abroad during the first quarter of 2023 and spent 471,000,000 dollars. In this sense, Viera indicated that the balance between the disbursement of Uruguayans abroad and that of foreign visitors in our country was positive, close to 270,000,000 dollars.
Regarding internal tourism, Viera reported that, according to cell phone data provided by Antel, the mobility of Uruguayans increased 30% during the period studied, which was interpreted as a greater number of compatriots traveling within borders.
The minister explained that the number of visitors grew in the five regions (coast, center-south, east, north, and metropolitan). This indicates that decentralization and deseasonalization are being achieved, key aspects that are sought with management.
In addition, Viera announced that the number of cruise ship arrivals increased 12.7% compared to the 2019-2020 season, which implies a record number of ships arriving in the country in the last eight years. Between the months of November 2022 and April 2023, 187 ships arrived at the ports of Montevideo and Punta del Este.
At the end of his presentation, the hierarch highlighted the work together with private operators grouped in the Uruguayan Chamber of Tourism (Camtur), Uruguayan Airports and other state agencies, such as the National Ports Administration (ANP), the National Directorate of Migration, Antel and the National Statistics Institute (INE).
