Gustavo Santos: "In 10 years, when the world will seek nature, they will think of Argentina" – 01/03/2019

More tourists traveling through Argentina and more foreigners visiting the country: in the midst of economic crisis and inflation that does not decline, the statistics of the last few months are favorable compared to the tourist movements in the country.

Logically, the fort weight devaluation in 2018, it abruptly reduced the number of Argentineans traveling abroad, while positioned Argentina as a destination a little more accessible for foreigners.

In fact, several media from other countries they have designated it as one of the destinations to visit in 2019. The Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia titled a few months ago "Argentina is becoming a to negotiate (bargain) for tourism, "while The Telegraph of Britain indicated that" it's time to visit Argentina "and that the body of the note was detailed:" Although many hotels located in destinations such as the capital, Buenos Aires, they charge their rooms in dollars and offers are more difficult to find, goods and services valued in pesos, such as dinners and local attractions, offer excellent savings. "On the other hand, The Independent has ranked the country among the most economical destinations to visit.

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Let's go to the numbers

During the first month of the year, there was a 2.2% increase in the number of tourists traveling in the country and increase in the number of travelers traveling by plane (13.8% more than the same month in 2018).

During the summer, the general trend showed that traditional destinations had levels similar to those of 2018, but according to data from the nation's Tourism Secretariat, it is interesting to note that the tourist movement has been redistributed to less traditional destinations of this time.

Add to this the recently published figures on foreign tourist flows: in 2018, there were nearly 7 million foreign tourists (6,941,828 to be precise), which means annual growth of 3.4%.

"Already in 2017, with a dollar behind us, we had 6,600,000 foreigners and we were the first destination in South America.In 2018, in the second half, the emissary dropped a lot, by nearly 30%. With this, planes began to have a greater ability to attract foreign tourists and receptive tourism began to develop, "says Secretary of Tourism of the Nation, Gustavo Santos, in conversation with Clarín.

"The impact of the devaluation has been indirect.This may have a more direct impact in neighboring countries.But in the medium and long distance has not been defined.Yet it was the flying ability – There was more room – and more receptive marketing – companies started selling more to attract people- "he added.

A highlight of Santos – and which could create a trend – is that in November, the number of incoming foreign tourists was higher than that of Argentines left. This was confirmed in December: 660,000 Argentines have left the country against 788,000 foreigners.

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objectives

In the near future, the The goal is to reach at least 7.5 billion millions of foreign tourists.

"If the growth we are seeing in January continues, this figure would be achievable and we could even exceed it," Santos said.

The long-term goals essentially aim to deepen the work accomplished during these years, greater connectivity with the world; improve Visa relationship facilitating travel many Asian countries and to recognize visas from third countries ("Thus, a Chinese does not have to take as many visas as countries want to travel to this region and there is no risk of losing the trip because of the difficulty, "says Santos) deepen the digital marketing policy. It should be noted that Argentina has just received the recognition of Alibaba's "Best Partner 2018" – an excellent Chinese sales portal – a prize that has never been won by a destination.

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Strengths and weaknesses

"In 10 years, when the world is thinking of nature, it will think of Argentina. Today, it is very difficult to make a difference: each destination is in competition with the whole world. In this research, we can make a difference as Argentina is the natural reserve of the planet. If we think of what has most destroyed the civilized world, it is nature. And we have, "says Santos regarding the positioning of the destination and its competition with other places in the world.

But just as forces are recognized, so do you mark obstacles. The main, distance. We are far.

"The emissive market that will grow the most is that of Asians and we are much more distant than the Europeans, which is why we have to be prepared to generate strategies with other markets: to sell". Spain or France with Argentina; United States with Argentina; United Arab Emirates with Argentina ". And this gives a good example with regard to distance: last year, 120 million Chinese went abroad. Most have not left Asia. "Tourism works by proximity".

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And insecurity? The still resounding cases of the American stabbed in La Boca and Swedish who had to amputate one leg after an attempted robbery to Monserrat.

"Insecurity is still a problem around the world, despite what happened with the Swedish tourist and before with the American, despite these difficult events, the perception of security is quite high. we are the best countries in Latin America, yet it is essential to provide security guarantees, "says Santos.

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A week ago, Santos and Deputy Prime Minister of Buenos Aires Diego Santilli presented a tourist safety program in the city, put in place preventive mechanisms and rapid actions guaranteeing tourists a pleasant and safe stay. The program calls itself "Eyes on Alert" and forms a collaborative network to send information about situations in which tourists are in danger.