Argentina’s Tourism Spending up 25 Percent in January

Almost 30 billion pesos were spent by tourists on retail purchases in January nationwide, 25 percent more than the same month last year, according to a report by the Argentine Commercial Centers Federation (Fedecámaras). In terms of units sold, there was a five percent increase in sales.

At the same time, Fedecámaras said an average 95 percent hotel occupancy rate was registered during weekends in January. The most visited provinces were Buenos Aires, La Rioja, Jujuy, Santiago del Estero, San Luis and Cuyo, while when looking at specific areas the cities near the Atlantic coast and the mountain range of Buenos Aires province were the most visited.

“On average, the hotel occupancy rate was set at 90 percent in the whole month and at 95 percent in the weekends. Pinamar and Villa Carlos Paz registered their best January of the last 25 years,” head of Fedecámaras Rubén Manusovich said. “Credit card sales increased 40 percent and only with the Now 12 (Ahora 12) government’s plan people spent two billion pesos.”

The areas in which most of the money was spent were restaurants and hotels, food and drinks, clothing and shoes, recreation and services and sales of regional souvenirs. According to Manusovich, those are resources that “are transferred from large urban centers to tourism cities of the rest of the country, strengthening the domestic market and the regional economies.”

A same positive scenario is expected for February as an average 70 percent hotel occupancy is expected for this weekend in the main destinations of Buenos Aires provinces, according to the provincial Tourism Secretariat. The rate climbs to 95 percent in Monte Hermoso, followed by Pinamar (85 percent), Miramar (75 percent) and Mar del Plata (70 percent).

A total of 2,560 vehicles per hour were seen passing through the Samborombón tollbooth on the highway 2 of the Buenos Aires province yesterday morning, when the usual number is between 200 and 500 vehicles every 60 minutes.