The Uruguayan tourism balance ended with a positive balance during the first half of the year, thanks to a decrease in the number of Uruguayans who crossed the border into Argentina looking for better prices for the exchange difference which was the protagonist of the sector last year.
The significant reduction of the exchange difference and the price gap with Argentina has been generating relief on this side of the Silver riverespecially in terms of less consumption diversion and, therefore, less impact on border trade, employment and tax collection. Now, it is also beginning to be reflected in the figures of the tourism sector, also hit hard by the local exodus.
In this regard, the Ministry of Tourism reported that during the first half of the year, 1,012,153 trips were made to Argentina, which meant a decrease of 46% compared to the same period in 2023. Last year, the number of Uruguayans who had crossed the border into the neighboring country was 1,879,335; while this year 867,182 fewer crossings were recorded.
The largest decline occurred during the second quarter: between January and March, the decrease in trips to the other side of the River Plate was 24%, while between April and June it was 57%.
In this scenario, the new Argentine government and the important devaluation which was carried out in December of last year, which considerably reduced the exchange rate gap; a situation to which the high inflation in Argentina together with a exchange rate improvement at the local level, which led to the neighboring country being less attractive for Uruguayans. It should be remembered that from a record gap of 180%, according to the measurement of the Salto Economic Observatory of the Catholic University of Uruguay (UCU)the same was reduced to just 50%.
Even so, Argentina continued to be the main destination chosen by Uruguayan tourists. Brazil, Meanwhile, it was ranked second, with 365,182 trips compared to 335,983 in the same period in 2023, and an increase of 9%. It was followed by Paraguay and Chili.
Positive tourism balance
One of the most important data for the tourism sector during the past year was the negative result in terms of the balance between income and expenditures of the country. That is, in 2023, there were more Uruguayans who crossed the border to other countries than tourists who arrived in the local territory.
However, during the first half of the year the trend was reversed: 1,592,302 Uruguayans went abroad – a 49% drop compared to the number of trips in 2023 – while 1,718,923 tourists entered the country – 13% less than the previous year – mostly Argentines, followed by Paraguayans and Chileans. The balance is positive for the Uruguayan tourism sector.
As for the spent, Local tourists spent 788 million dollars abroad between January and July, a year-on-year decrease of 17% compared to the 949 million spent in 2023. In Argentina, meanwhile, Uruguayans spent 396 million dollars compared to 507 million last year, a drop of 34%.
Conversely, total tourist spending in the country was 1,000.4 million dollars, a slight variation compared to the 1,018.5 million of last year.
Source: Ambito
