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For the Argentineans, Santiago de Chile is no longer what it was. The years of tourist shopping in the capital of the neighboring country have come to an end. The devaluation of the past few months has ended the tour of thousands of people who have crossed the border to bring suitcases, mobile phones and home appliances.
Santiago de Chile was the most popular destination for travelers. the year, according to a survey conducted by the firm Focus Market based on the specialized search engine Viajala. The Chilean capital has surpbaded Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Iguazú, Bariloche and Barcelona, among others. These winter holidays however, Santiago fell to seventh place and Iguazú became the most required place.
"Santiago today is not in the top ten of the chosen destinations and was previously among the top five," he said TN.com.ar Pablo Aperio, Managing Director of TTS Viajes. "The increase in the dollar has made the price advantage less important than traveling and coming back."
Gabriel Bianchi, head of Argentina, South America and Europe's Avantrip, said: "We have almost no questions about Santiago With the new exchange rate, it may not be practical to buy there. "
Between January and May this year, 1.5 million Argentines crossed the border into Chile by land or air, according to official data from neighboring countries. The number of travelers is 19.2% lower than in the first five months of 2017. This is the first year-on-year decline since 2013.
Chile's Under-Secretary of Tourism measures monthly expenses with foreign credit cards in this country. This is a good indicator to know how much Argentineans spend there. The numbers are convincing. Between January and May, spending with Argentine credit cards in Chile totaled the equivalent of $ 441.5 million. It dropped 35.8% from $ 688.6 million in the first five months of 2017.
Only in May when the dollar went from $ 21.50 to $ 25 On this side of the border, Argentine spending in Chile dropped 56% year-over-year . There is still no official data for June, the month in which the currency reached 28 pesos.
The declines in consumption concerned mainly the products most in demand by Argentineans until recently: clothing, shoes and technology .
The "Clothing and footwear" item decreased by 48.5% per year in May; the item "Gifts and articles for the home" recorded a decrease of 50.7%; and the post "Department stores" had 57.9% fewer transactions with foreign cards
Is it convenient to go to buy in Chile after rising nearly 50% of the dollar since the beginning of the year? A quick comparison of prices gives an answer.
The website Pricesmundi.com is a reference to compare the values of different products. According to these data, a pair of shoes from the first brand that in Argentina cost nearly 2500 pesos was obtained in Chile at the equivalent of 1861 dollars in April, with the dollar below 21 pesos. Now, this same pair of shoes costs nearly 2600 pesos on the other side of the border. Denim of about $ 1700 was worth in Chile the equivalent of $ 1118 with the dollar at $ 20.50. Now it costs $ 1563.
Something similar happens with technology. A computer of last generation which in the Argentine companies is obtained to 34.000 dollars costs to Chile the equivalent of 39.000 pesos Argentine.
TVs continue to be cheaper in the neighboring country. A 55-inch curved television that costs $ 47,500 in our country is obtained in Chile at $ 30,400. This does not include the 50% tax on the excess of tax exemption that customs collect when entering products from abroad and which, in the case air transportation, is $ 300 per adult and $ 150 per child 16 years of age.
To this must be added the stay and the cost of the trip. A plane ticket to Chile, round trip, has a base price of 5500 pesos per person.
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