With figures still preliminary, the start of the summer season met the expectations of tour operators, hotels and restaurants in Punta del Este that, now, they have expectations about whether the good rate of visitors and expenses can be maintained for the rest of the month of January.
The strong peak has historically been for Punta del Este, the days between the holidays and the first of January. This year, the arrival of tourists, mostly Brazilians, but also the faithful upper-class Argentines, exceeded forecasts. The big question is whether there will be a spillover effect from that good performance that maintains optimism for the rest of the summer.
“It was an ambitious start, with a good presence from the Brazilian public, the recovery of the Argentine public, and, until now, an acceptable level of spending, let’s hope it continues like this,” he commented to Ambit Director of Maldonado Tourism, Martin Laventure. “Several restaurants are telling us that since the weather is not very good, they are having the midday shift. I think that overall there is a higher level of spending than last year,” he estimated.
The hotel’s Institutional Relations manager Enjoy, Javier Azcurraadded optimism by pointing out that, unlike what usually happens, the iconic Punta del Este establishment has full occupancy until the 18th, which represents an extension of about 5 days of one hundred percent occupancy.
“On the weekends of January and February we are one hundred percent. For now, starting on the 13th is when we started to have rooms available, so full occupancy was extended,” he explained. “I think that is the floor in terms of seasons, because even the Argentines came despite the delicate economic situation they are experiencing,” he added.
Regarding tourists who choose to occupy properties during the summer, Javier Senapresident of the Real Estate Chamber of Punta del Estesaid to Ambit that the season is developing practically the same as the previous summer. “The Argentine middle class was missing, which for economic reasons is not coming, but what we are seeing is that people come happy and find Punta del Este in conditions and with good services,” he considered.
Asked about the second fortnight, he said that “it will also be very similar to last year” since the same prices have been maintained. “There are many consultations, the concretions come slowly. In some other areas it will even be better, such as in gastronomy,” he said.
Source: Ambito
