Since the narrowing of the exchange gap in Argentina, Uruguayans decided to turn their shopping destination to the other side of the Andes, an increase in visits confirmed by the Ministry of Tourism which reached a 40% year-on-year increase due to convenient prices and good connectivity with Chili.
Argentina managed to make the exchange gap with Uruguay be reduced to 50% in the month of March, according to the Border Price Index (IPF) prepared by the Catholic University of Uruguay (UCU), a number that in September of last year rose to a historical maximum of 180%.
From there, Uruguayans began to redirect their views to another destination that offered cheaper prices and a wide variety of goods and services and good air connectivity: Chili, more specifically its capital, Santiago.
Two key factors
The increase of the connectivity and the reduction of exchange gap with Argentina are two of the main reasons that the president of the Uruguayan Association of Travel Agencies (Audavi), Carlos Perahe listed in dialogue with Ambit. “Many Uruguayans are buying four-day, three-night getaways mainly to their capital, Santiago de Chile“said Pera.
In search of good prices on clothing and restaurants, Uruguayans take advantage of their days off to cross to the other side of South America. “People began to travel to Santiago de Chile that, both in the gastronomic and clothing sectors, prices are much cheaper than in Uruguay”, explained Rodrigo Rosalesproduct manager of the tourist agency Hypertravel to Ambit.
In that sense, the manager clarified that the increase in trips to that country began three months ago and that his sales tripled. For his part, he commented, in agreement with the president of Audavi, that it is common for Uruguayans to opt for a getaway for the weekend or a few days, mainly as a couple and that they usually stay in the neighborhood. The CountsI’m in the center of the capital.
Regarding the other factor that helps Uruguayans turn their sights towards the trans-Andean country, it is good air connectivity. From the hand of three companies: Latam, Sky Airlines and JetSmart, There are several options and the competitiveness between airlines helps make ticket prices convenient. “There are very good rates to travel to Santiago de Chile“explained Rosales, who explained that the values are around $100.
The numbers confirm it
According to official data from the Ministry of Tourism which are presented quarterly, the data between January and March showed a drop in trips to the Argentina and an increase to the trans-Andean country.
During the first quarter of the year, there were a total of 7,686 trips to Chili, with an average stay of 7.7 days and a total expense of 6 million dollars. Meanwhile, during the same period but last year, the total number of trips to that country was 5,555, which represented an increase of almost 40%.
While trips to Argentina between January and March there were 679,000 this year, which represented 69% of the total trips made by Uruguayans abroad. Meanwhile, if compared to the same period last year, there were almost 930,000, which at the time represented 79% of total trips outside the border, representing a decrease of 27% this year.
Source: Ambito
