The in-depth studies gave the green light to move forward with the initiative, so the country will also open its ports to river cruise tourism.
He Ministry of Tourism continues working to position Uruguay as a hierarchy destination for the cruise tourismand particularly in ensuring that the Port of Cologne can receive this type of boats; something that, according to the authorities, could happen from the 2024-2025 season.
The Uruguayan delegation headed by the Undersecretary of Tourism, Remo Monzeglio, and the vice president of the National Ports Administration (ANP), Daniel Loureiro, participated in the event Seatrade Europe in Hamburg. There, conversations continued to make Uruguay a most renowned destination for tourism cruise ships.
In that sense, one of the most important announcements was the possibility that the Port of Colonia, which currently does not have the capacity to receive cruise ships, becomes a stopover for these boats that have grown as an alternative for tourists from around the world. For this, the bathymetry studies – which measure the depth of the sea and rivers, as well as the distribution of flora and fauna in those spaces – carried out by the The national army in Colonia, which confirmed that the city port can receive medium and small size cruises.
This allows the doors to be opened river cruise tourism in the country, which, according to the estimates of the Tourism authorities, could begin to operate for the 2024-2025 season.
With these projections, the Uruguayan delegation in Hamburg held talks with European river cruise companies that already operate in South Americawith the aim of continuing to deepen the exchanges in the coming months.
A few days ago, the minister Tabare Viera had mentioned that “there is a lot of interest” from both the government and private companies in the Port of Colonia being a new cruise stop. “This will be confirmed in a few months, probably to start next year, although we hope that we will have some experience this season,” he said.
An optimistic season
In turn, the Undersecretary of Tourism reported that the large cruise companies that already operate in Uruguay contemplate an increase in 20% in the number of cruise passengersand at least one 10% more scales for the coming season, which will begin in October and will last until April 2024. Likewise, Monzeglio announced that two private companies will return to the country after ten years.
These figures were already managed by the Ministry of Tourism, which awaits the arrival of the first vessel on the Uruguayan coast on October 24. The increase is more significant if one takes into account that last season closed with 201 cruise ships and some 320,000 people who went ashore.
Source: Ambito
