The Challenges of Uruguayan Tourism: Exchange Rates and Border Closures

José Ignacio beach, in Punta del Este (Credit: Marcelo Umpierrez)

(From Montevideo, Uruguay) – Tourism was one of the sectors most affected by the restrictions to avoid Covid-19 infections, mainly due to the border closures that most countries resolved. Once that crisis was over, Uruguayan businessmen had to face another problem: the exchange rate difference with Argentina makes it more complex for the country’s main clients to travel.

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Uruguayan tourism entrepreneurs identify some trends that were consolidated after the pandemic. Hotel reservations are made very close to the date of accommodation and there are many differences between destinations within the country, according to the president of the Chamber of Tourism (Camtur) of Uruguay, Marina Cantera, interviewed on the Doble Click program.

The union businesswoman highlighted that the number of foreign visitors that Uruguay is receiving is recovering, but this figure does not compensate for the Uruguayans who leave the country (mainly to Argentina). Asked if Uruguay was an expensive destination compared to the region, Cantera answered: “We have to get over the fact that Uruguay is expensive.”

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Cantera said that in recent weeks Camtur executives were on tour in the United States and Mexico, a trip they took advantage of to compare prices with other destinations.

The president of the Chamber of Tourism of Uruguay, Marina Cantera (Credit: Ministry of Tourism)

“If you look, there really isn’t as much difference as you think. Obviously, let’s not talk about Argentina, which is a country that is devastated,” said the president of the business union. Cantera also rejected the comparison with Brazil because it is an “infinitely larger country” than Uruguay, which has 3 million inhabitants.

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“For the same amount and the same services, Uruguay is not always so expensive. Maybe in some products yes and in others no. “Uruguay has a great peculiarity, and it is something that is good as a destination, which is that it has offers and prices for all budgets,” he assured.

Cantera said that it is necessary to look abroad and recalled the costs of staying in a “very simple” hotel in cities in Mexico and the United States. “I understand that they are world capital cities and we cannot compare the hotel prices of Montevideo with those of these world capitals, but we pay almost USD 500 a night in New York for a three-star hotel,” she said.

“Uruguay is not as far off as we Uruguayans sometimes want to see in terms of prices. I feel like it’s not that way,” she said.

Cantera maintained that Uruguay has the opportunity to improve the quality of the services offered, although he assured that the attention of Uruguayans is something that is valued by foreigners.

The Minister of Tourism of Uruguay, Tabaré Viera, together with the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Pablo Mieres (Credit: Ministry of Labor and Social Security)

To comment on the service in restaurants, the businesswoman once again referred to her recent trip. In Mexico, she exemplified, the number of waiters was double what is allocated in Uruguay. Cantera said that having an employee in the country is expensive – due to the costs of its social security system – but he highlighted that the positive side of this is the country’s pension coverage in times of crisis.

“During the pandemic, workers from other countries were completely left on the streets, without any insurance or support from the government. In Uruguay, all workers collected their unemployment insurance for several years of the pandemic and that was assumed by the State,” said the businesswoman.

The government announced last week the decision to grant the sector this partial unemployment benefit, which allows hoteliers to hire staff for a few days a week. This measure is palliative, will be available for three months and covers approximately 1,000 workers. The government’s resolution came later than the tourism sector expected, although Cantera was satisfied that it had been granted.

Although the coastal tourist destinations are the ones that have suffered the most from the exchange rate difference, the border crisis spread beyond that area because Uruguay is “territorially small,” explained the Minister of Labor, Pablo Mieres, when announcing the support. to the tourism sector.

2023-09-26 13:07:53
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