After two years of decreased tourism activity, the authorities of the Argentinian city of Buenos Aires report a tourism recovery. From August 2016 to July 2017 the average growth per month amounted to 5.3%, according to Tourist Observatory, which analyzes the industry data.
The recovery of the Brazilian market, the improvement in air travel connections, and the extensive promotional campaign abroad are some of the reasons for the positive numbers, according to the authorities.
The government of the city of Buenos Aires has a positive outlook for the coming months. "We estimate that close to 400,000 tourists will continue promoting our tourism industry which is a very important sector for the economic development and jobs in Buenos Aires next year," said Gonzalo Robredo, president of the Tourist Observatory. It is estimated that the Olympic Youth Games in October 2018, and the G20 summit in November, will boost the tourism recovery even more.
The representatives of the Hotel Chamber of the City of Buenos Aires were cautious but optimistic about 2018. "It is a slow tourism recovery process, but we believe that both the City and the government are working hard to attract more visitors; there are a lot of offers of congresses and events and, worldwide, we are very well positioned," said Gabriela Akrabian, president of the Tourist Observatory.
The tour operators also expect positive development of the industry. "We believe that there is still a long way to go back to the levels of the past in terms of quantity and quality of passengers," said Mabel Taranto, from the travel agency Cynsa. She suggested that the high prices of flights and some services are a great barrier for the industry.
Between August of last year and July of this year, 1,891,602 international tourists arrived to the city of Buenos Aires, only through the airports of Ezeiza and the Aeroparque; between August 2015 and July 2016, there were 1,794,287 travelers. The greatest inter-annual variation occurred in November, with an increase of 18%.
The market had been falling since 2014, when 2,085,799 foreigners arrived to the city. In 2015 there were 1,888,760 visitors, and in 2016, 1,850,723 visitors. The authorities estimated that this year will close with about 1,901,200 foreign travelers in the city.
Brazilians are the ones who visit Argentina the most and are the main reason for the increase in international tourism. The comparison of the first half of 2016 and 2017 shows an increase of 21.4% in the number of Brazilians who arrived to Buenos Aires. Only between January and July of this year, 288,606 Brazilian visitors came to the city.
The opening of new national and international air routes and the increase in the frequency of flights are among other causes of the current tourism recovery. During this year, 18 airlines requested 267 new routes that connect with the capital. 45 were approved and nine have already begun to operate or have set the start date.