ECONOMY: Tourism on the Rise in Argentina

By Marcela Valente Reprint | | Print |

Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 18 1999 (IPS) - Tourists, shrugging off the current financial crisis in many parts of the world, have been flocking to Argentina in record numbers, according to official figures.

A report by the World Tourism Organization says that last year, 4.8 million visitors came to Argentina, surpassing the number attracted to Brazil’s more famous beaches and carnivals by more than 1 million. Brazilian visitors totalled 3.1 million, the report said.

The 1998 figure for Argentina represented a 70 percent increase compared to 1990 – the year before the introduction of the stability plan that pegged Argentina’s currency to the dollar. This opened up the economy and accelerated privatization in a process labeled by some optimists as “the Argentine miracle”.

Most tourists to Argentina were from other countries in Latin America, the report said. It noted a sharp drop in the number of visitors from Asia to the United States due to the financial crisis but that country still remained the most popular tourist destination in either North or South America – followed by Canada, Mexico and Argentina.

The report indicated that more than 12 million Argentine nationals travelled within the country last year on vacation or business, while 1.4 million decided to enjoy their holidays abroad.

The “industry without chimneys” – as tourism is called – represented 12 percent of the economically active population and brought in about 11 billion dollars a year, surpassing in importance the export of cereals and beef as a source of hard currency.

Argentina’s varied landscape and climate, together with an improved infrastructure, presented tourists with a wide choice of destinations. Visits to ranches, eco-tourism, the organization of seminars and a significant hotel capacity, are some of the features that have helped boost Argentine tourism.

According to data gathered by the Eco-Tourism Foundation, this country is one of the favorite destinations in Latin America for adventure tourism exploring the many rivers, mountains and places for horseback riding and camping.

White-water rafting can be done in the southern part of the country or in the province of Mendoza, on the border with Chile. For the less daring, there are areas for hiking and mountain biking – including trails across the Andes.

The foundation said some 15,000 visitors arrived in Argentina annually simply to enjoy the natural scenery in areas like the Perito Moreno glacier, San Carlos de Bariloche, Villa la Angostura and Villa Traful in the southern region of Patagonia.

In the mountain areas of the south, there is skiing and other winter sports from June to September, and lake side camping, horseback riding, mountain climbing and bicycle tours during the rest of the year.

Eco-tourism, which has been growing at a rate of 30 percent a year, targets mainly people 25 to 40 years old and was the most promising sector for further growth, according to tourism entrepreneurs.

Tourism in remote rural areas allowed foreigners to learn about the traditional “Argentina pampas”, which, according to writer Ernesto Sabato “is the purest representation of nothing”.

Agro-tourism grew at a rate of 10 to 15 percent a year throughout the decade of the ’90s, leading the government National Institute of Agrarian Technology to offer special financing to train some 500 landholders who want to convert their establishments into “dude ranches.”

Argentina also offers as its most traditional tourist site, the Iguazu Falls, located in the northeastern part of the country. There are also the northern provinces of Jujuy and Salta, with their Andean traditions and the beach resort of Mar del Plata and Mendoza, in the center of the country and on the border with Chile.

Another place increasingly popular with foreign tourists is Ushuaia, capital of the province of Tierra del Fuego, in the extreme south of the country,which featured nature preserves of seals, sea lions and penguins plus opportunities for whale- watching..

Buenos Aires remained the most popular destination for visitors and the number of international seminars and meetings increased nearly 80 percent between 1991 and 1997, said the Secretary of Tourism.

The official report pointed out that in 1998, tourism brought in 5 billion dollars, generating direct employment for 450,000 people and, indirectly, for more than 1 million others.

The requirements of these jobs caused an increase in the demand for training for work in hotels and travel agencies. Hotels received investments of 1.2 billion dollars between 1991 and 1997.