Balance of the summer season: according to the Ministry of Tourism, more than 12 million people were mobilized

There was a higher incidence of young tourists and a greater orientation towards outdoor activities

The end of February marks a moment of at least provisional balance of the tourist season and a review of the main data that it left. According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, which heads Matias Lammens, It was “a successful summer, where 82% of tourists traveled by car, and the average stay was 5 days.”

According to the portfolio data, more than 12 million people traveled to destinations across the country. What were the most chosen destinations? The Partido de la Costa, Mar del Plata, Villa Gesell, Villa Carlos Paz, Pinamar, Bariloche, Monte Hermoso, Miramar, San Martín de los Andes, Córdoba, Salta, Necochea, Merlo and Gualeguaychú were, according to official information, the places that enjoyed a greater tourist flow.

In fact, 75% of the total movement was distributed among the provinces of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Entre Ríos, Río Negro and Neuquén.

Lammens’ portfolio noted two key pieces of information: nothing less thane 82% of the people who made tourism traveled by car and the average stay was 5 days, trends that were verified practically from the beginning of the summer season. People shunned the use of public transport, except by plane to travel to far-flung destinations (Patagonia in general, the Waterfalls), they resorted a lot to car rental, which meant a good season for companies dedicated to this activity, Y the stays became somewhat longer, especially in places like Ushuaia or El Calafate, which historically had reduced average stays.

In turn, according to a private sector report, tourism fell 28.9% compared to the previous season, with shorter trips and a higher incidence of and the total movement, considering December meant a volume of direct expenses of $ 201,158 million. There are still expectations for the next long weekend, at Easter. According to many tourism entrepreneurs, the season was bad, but they feared it would be worse. In addition, it went from lowest to highest and improved significantly from the second half of January, when a decrease in the number of covid-19 cases began to be noticed. A factor in favor of internal displacement was the impossibility of traveling to Uruguay from the recreational alternatives, there were no popular festivals (festivals, dressage competitions, etc.) and sports competitions and thermal parks, beaches and national parks were suspended. income quotas.

goals

Chinstraps of a summer night in Villa Carlos Paz

“Today we can say that we achieved our objectives: more than 12 million people chose to travel through Argentina, generating a high level of occupation and a strong impact on regional economies, also achieving a drop in the contagion curve. The success of this special season belongs to everyone ”, celebrated Lammens.

At the time of greatest flow of people, the long weekend of Carnival, more than 3 million tourists were mobilized and full occupancy was recorded “in dozens of locations,” said the tourism portfolio. The second moment of greatest mobility was the fourth weekend of the year, January 23 and 24, when more than 2.4 million people were mobilized. It had all started on the New Year’s long weekend, with more than 2 million people traveling to different regions of the country.

We achieved our objectives: more than 12 million people chose to travel through Argentina, generating a high level of occupation and a strong impact on regional economies, also achieving a reduction in the contagion curve (Matìas Lammens)

Another characteristic of the season, although not indicated by the Ministry of Tourism, was that the rental of houses and cabins and tourist campsites relatively relegated traditional hotels, as tourists shunned places of higher density and relatively less open. The tour operators also noticed, in relation to other seasons, a higher relative incidence of young tourists and in an “adventure” plan, with a greater resource in the open air..

“With the political decision to have a summer season, the launch of 19 Modular Health Centers in tourist cities was defined, the deployment of the DetectAr plan, the presence of tourist promoters in the main centers of the country, the launch of the program Responsible municipalities in the tourist towns so that they implement campaigns and can adapt to the current protocols, among other measures, ”said the Lammens portfolio regarding the care and health protocols with which the season was addressed

In the same sense, the ministry concluded, “the Summer Web was carried out together with the Secretariat of Public Innovation, where you can access the requirements to enter all the provinces and complete the Summer Certificate, in addition to downloading the protocols with recommendations sanitary facilities for beaches, spas, accommodation and gastronomic establishments, among others ”.