Dollar production has collapsed by almost 50%

Despite the relative stability of the exchange rate observed throughout the month of October, the dollar jump of the previous months has also had a negative impact on outbound tourism.

According to data from the Central Bank, last month, under the concept of travel, overseas card fees and pbadenger-related services, there had been a $ 514 million cash outflow .

This involved a strong collapse in the order of 47% compared to the $ 965 million recorded in the same period in 2017.

The fall was of such magnitude that it is the worst record since October 2011.

In return, thanks to a cheaper exchange rate, the arrival of tourists from abroad has increased: in total, the figures provided by the report on the evolution of the foreign exchange market indicate than In October, approximately US $ 215 million was allocated to this concept, implying an annual leap of 51%.

Thus, the balance, even if it remains in deficit, has seen a clear reduction: from a red to 823 million USD for the account of travel and card payment, it has risen to an amount of 299 million USD, 63% lower

Looking at data accumulated between January and October, the tourism deficit increased from US $ 9,030 million in 2017 to just under US $ 7,400 million, implying a reduction of %.

The reason the decline is not larger for this period is that the time lapse between January and May – that is, before the dollar surged – the outflow of dollars in spending map and record displacement since the end of convertibility.

However, in the coming months, poor results are expected to continue and red will decrease even further: in fact, according to BCRA data, the The sales of plastics by Argentineans abroad in November already accumulate an average collapse of 47%.

Fewer Argentines out of the country

According to a study recently published by consultants Kantar Millward Brown and Kantar TNS, it is clear that 68% of Argentines have changed their holiday plans after worsening economic problems and soaring exchange rates.

According to Agustina Servente, Director of Innovation, "traveling abroad is one of the habits that suffer the most from devaluation".

Chile is one of the countries with the lowest influx of travelers from Argentina. "Shopping tourism" collapsed.

According to the Department of Studies of the National Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism of Chile (CNC), Between January and October, there were 461,000 fewer visitors with identity cards on the other side of the mountain range.

In the case of Uruguay, experts predict that the least arrival of Argentineans will affect their economy.

Indeed, the BBVA bank has revised downward the GDP growth of this country for 2018 and 2019 due to the cooling of consumption, largely explained by the devaluation of the internal market.

According to the entity's economists, even if Uruguay would have little chance of contagion of regional turbulence, will also be touched by the tourism side.

More domestic tourism

Various indicators make it possible to predict that, in return, the national tourism will again be the option most chosen by the Argentineans for the summer season 2019.

According to the online property clbadification society ZonaProp, nearly 71% of respondents indicated that they would rest in destinations in the interior of the country.

"The rise of the dollar and changes in the financing of cards and banks have forced the Argentineans to turn to domestic tourism," they said in a statement.

In parallel, the tourism coordinator of the Argentine Chamber of Electronic Commerce (CACE), Martín Romano, said in statements to Telam that during recent events such as CyberMonday and Cyberweek, "National tourism was more prevalent, but there is a general decline in ticket sales anyway".

"The international decline has been so brutal that the growth of domestic tourism does not compensate," he added.

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