They ask to resume the project presented by Oscar Moreira for Cerro Largo
Council member, member of the List 93 Bench of the National Party, once again referred to an issue that had already been a cause of concern more than two years ago in the Departmental Board.
Specifically, it was requested that a project presented by the Former Legislator Architect Oscar Moreira be taken up to make Cerro Largo a tourist destination and not a department of passage to other points in the east and south of the country.
“Oscar told me that, being the son of a former Immigration official, he accompanied his father to his workplace in the city of Río Branco on countless occasions. It always caught his attention that when he asked foreigners entering the country where they were going, they responded towards Montevideo, Punta del Este and in some cases to Colonia” remembered the Edil Pablo Castro.
“For that reason I want to echo your words, internalizing the subject. Indeed I see that the most visited destinations in Uruguay are Montevideo, the east coast, Colonia and the thermal coast” he detailed. “The land entrances with the highest flow of tourists in the country are: Fray Bentos, Paysandú, Chuy and Río Branco” revealed.
The Mayor of the National Party wondered if there were no attractions for tourists in the rest of the country. “Evaluating the graph of Uruguay for the year 2021, we can see how this is indeed the case. It was published a while ago by the Ministry of Tourism. It shows how in a certain period, tourism left USD 303,000,000 in this country, of which only USD 31,000,000 remained in the northeast.” he pointed out.
In 2017, tourism contributed 8.6% of GDP.
“Uruguay has a rich and varied heritage such as protected natural reserves and other unprotected places, but with the same intensity in terms of the attractiveness generated” Castro said during his presentation in Sala.
“If we do a general mapping of Uruguay with these three options and add the main routes, we see how certain exploited and unexploited tourism sectors begin to be mapped, and Cerro Largo is no stranger to it” he assured.
“The information provided to tourists in Uruguay is quite extensive, but it is not compact information, it is separate texts and mappings and the tourist has to be interested in a certain topic to investigate. It is only there that they find information about the places. This makes the vast majority go to traditional destinations, using our department as a transit point” lamented Pablo Castro.
As a result of this situation, he presented as examples two projects that were developed, one in Norway and the other in Chile, countries where different tourist circuits were generated. “A mapping was made of all the most visited destinations and their attractions, adding non-promoted destinations” reported.
“Returning to Uruguay and the mapping, we can find different circuits: the coastal one, the coastal one, the southern one, the central one, the mountain one and a circuit that could be called rural made up of attractions in Treinta y Tres, Cerro Largo, Tacuarembó and Rivera, currently transit departments” said.
He argued that this can be achieved through joint work between the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Transportation, National System of Protected Areas, Municipalities and private investors.
“We have to identify the different circuits and promote them with low investment, making the most of what exists. In another stage, we should improve the infrastructure, services and take advantage of the cultural activities that take place in the different points” proposed the Mayor of List 93, National Party.
“With this we would be developing alternative tourism, seeking to reflect another part of the country’s identity, allowing us to get to know the landscapes, flora and local fauna, making the journey and not just the destination enjoyable.” Pablo Castro stated.
