Journalist: What photo do tour operators have of what is being this season?
Marina Cantera: For us the truth is a good season. The feeling that all operators share is happiness, we went through a very hard time and This is the first season where work is being done at a “normal” pace.with open borders and without any type of health regulation.
As always, the first half of January is the best of the entire season. Afterwards, there are always ups and downs, but in general it has been a good season, for example a record in number of cruises. Some of the sectors that were hardest hit by the pandemic returned to work intensely this summer, such as tourist transport.
– Is the east of the country still the most chosen destination? How was the pricing issue handled?
Yes, the east is the “star” of the summer, obviously rock, maldonado and cannelloni with its traditional offer of sun and beach.
Prices are a matter of supply and demand. No employer wants to not work, no one wants to have an empty accommodation. I think that Uruguay has prices for all budgets and for all tastes. It is a country that has a great dispersion of products and that makes it very competitive.
– Has the sector recovered the pre-pandemic economic situation, especially in terms of sources of work?
Yes, he has been recovering. Obviously, some sectors were hit harder and have had a harder time recovering, such as travel agencies.
– What projection can be made of that for the Tourism Week and holidays in July?
-The autumn and winter season, each time achieves more movement. The departmental municipalities do a great job proposing sporting and musical events so that this season moves and although reservations are slow for now, surely for the Tourism Week there will be a lot of movement in this regard.
The “vedette” is rural tourism and visiting not so traditional destinations.
In this sense, as a camera and also in conjunction with the Ministry of Tourismwe’re always looking a season or two ahead to see what actions to take.
Regulations and bill
The proposal consists of the creation of a new registry that includes all properties for tourist use, which must also be registered as such with the corresponding departmental government, thus ceasing to be considered for residential use and becoming called “non-hotel companies”. The registry will include all the establishments offered or promoted in tourist offer channels, including the Internet and computing platformsmore than five times in a year, for a time that, added together, exceeds 90 days, with certain exceptions.
– What is the importance and characteristics of the bill that seeks to regulate property for tourist use?
-We believe that Uruguay has to offer tourists quality products. This quality is also related to safety, that is also part of the reasons why they choose us.
Today we have many accommodations where we cannot provide all that security, because no information is known about who is responsible for them, nor how many are those accommodations. If we do not know the universe of the tourist offer, it is difficult to offer a quality proposal.
Today there is also a disadvantageous situation between those who are registered with the Ministry of Tourism and those who are not. This project is a necessity, it has been discussed a lot and has a broad consensus in the business sector. We trust that the political system is aware of this problem and will support it.
Source: Ambito
