Buenos Aires plans to recover 3 million tourists lost due to pandemic

In 2019, Buenos Aires received 3 million tourists. It was a record figure and everything indicated that the upward trend would continue. But the pandemic has arrived and tourism has been crippled around the world. Little by little, the sector is waking up. And this Monday begins the international relaunch of the City to recover lost tourists.

The plan has three axes. The first is a strategy for revive the tourism economy, which is the one that integrates both the direct and indirect impact of tourism activity on the economy, and investments in competitive sectors.

The other two axes are the “City diplomacy”, with Horacio Rodríguez Larreta participating in international meetings and on tour as “ambassador”, and positioning himself on an agenda focused on global well-being and climate change.

Argentina’s borders are still closed to tourism. But from the City they explain that they seek to anticipate and prepare Buenos Aires to remain competitive as soon as foreign visitors can return. A task that is already being done by other cities, such as New York or Madrid, which have also launched their campaigns.

“The international relaunch of Buenos Aires will focus a lot on revive international tourism, encourage the arrival of foreign students and digital nomads, and position the city as the best in Latin America to invest in strategic sectors, such as the creative industries and knowledge industries ”, explained the Secretary General and International Relations of Buenos Aires, Fernando Straface, during the presentation of the plan to the press.

Buenos Aires’ bet for 2023 is welcome again 3 million tourists. They should also arrive 100,000 international students per year, while in 2019, they were 80,000. AND 20,000 digital nomads, against the 8,000 two years ago, which could leave an expenditure close to 150 million dollars.

“These figures are based on those of 2019 and international projections. Around the world, there is talk that in the post-pandemic, there will be a revenge of life, people will want to travel and go out. And students are the most likely to go back to their old lives, ”says Straface.

On the other hand, during the pandemic, it was shown that you can telecommute from anywhere in the world. And the City is trying to attract these travelers. For example, grant them advantages and manage with the Nation the possibility of accessing a special visa. For this, he has the Digital Nomads BA program.

The official relaunch of the city to tourism

This Monday at 11 a.m. there will be a revival event for the city, which will be distributed in strategic markets in the United States, Spain, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany and Latin America. International experts and local references will present to promote Buenos Aires as a great city to live, visit, study and do business.

The event has been named “Back to BA” and it will be held in collaboration with the English magazine The Economist. Robert Wood, a member of the magazine’s Latin American intelligence unit, will do a public interview with Rodríguez Larreta, to analyze Buenos Aires’ competitive advantages.

The plan continues with urban diplomacy and the insertion of Buenos Aires into an international agenda, which includes the participation of Rodríguez Larreta in the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), which will take place from October 30 to November 12 in Glasgow. In addition, in 2022, Buenos Aires will host the C40 Mayors Summit, the network of major global cities working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“Climate change is the next great common cause in the world after the pandemic ”, explains Straface, who explains that the fight to mitigate it affects the quality of life in Buenos Aires and that is why it is part of the third axis of the recovery plan, which aims at global well-being .

In fact, during his trip to Washington, Rodríguez Larreta will hold meetings at the Climate Change Office, chaired by John Kerry. In addition, he will meet with Mauricio Claver-Carone, President of the Inter-American Development Bank, and Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, Vice-President of the World Bank for the Latin America and Caribbean region.

In December, Rodríguez Larreta, who aspires to be president in 2023, will also make a European tour meet the mayors José Luis Martínez Almeida, from Madrid; Anne Hidalgo, from Paris; Michael Müller, from Berlin, and Virginia Raggi, from Rome. And next year he will visit China and Israel.

The restrictions that still work against

With the borders closed to tourism, it is clear that the City’s commitment is forward-looking and depends on decisions taken at the national level. Still valid a stock to thefts, which until October 1 allows only 16,100 weekly places to enter the country. A negligible amount, whereas before the pandemic 18,000 travelers arrived in Ezeiza per day.

it doesn’t help either unpredictability: To date, for example, we do not know which flights will be authorized for the month of October.

“The biggest challenge to relaunch tourism is linked to connectivity, which has deteriorated due to the pandemic – admits Straface-. In addition, the business environment in Argentina has prompted many airlines to reconsider their routes to our country. “

To understand the impact, give an example. One of the missed flights is that of the Norwegian connecting London to Buenos Aires. “This single flight,” the official said, “brought in 30% of foreign tourists who visited the city.”