The Grand Prix of the Argentine Republic of the MotoGP 2023 culminated in the Termas de Río Hondo racetrack, with victory for the Italian Marco Bezzecchi and once again the event was consolidated as a great generator of tourism and economy for the north of Argentina. The event was attended by the Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Nation, Matías Lammens, the Minister of the Interior, Wado de Pedro, the Governor of the Province of Santiago del Estero, Gerardo Zamora and the Executive Secretary of INPROTUR, Ricardo Sosa. The authorities were happy for the success of the race and the organization and for the balance that the race gave in the tourist aspect.
As reported by Dorna, the organizer of the event, there were a total of 186,083 spectators during the three days of activities, of which 72,118 were on Sunday , 62,662 on Saturday and 51,256 on Friday. In addition, 1,750 people participated in the after party (fan zone) during the second day, in which a majority of young people from Tucumán and Santiago del Estero stood out, a new audience for MotoGP.
Among the spectators, 67% were Argentines, while 33% correspond to international tourists, mainly Brazilians, which reached almost 20%.
As INPROTUR was able to analyze , the economic impact of tourism during the weekend was greater than 5,100 million Argentine pesos between hotels, gastronomy and leisureand with an impact of more than 30,000 hotel beds . The most benefited cities were Termas de Río Hondo, San Miguel de Tucumán, Santiago del Estero and nearby towns. In addition, the average stay was 3.2 nights.
The Executive Secretary of INPROTUR, Ricardo Sosa expressed: " Approximately 11 provinces benefit from the activity, due to the roaming nights of tourists and others who take the opportunity to visit more destinations. In addition to Santiago del Estero, provinces of the North, Coast and Whose, with those tourists who travel on motorcycles. On the other hand, in the tourist aspect, accommodation, restaurants, premises and other direct and indirect providers are impacted by the event ".
“As an added value, it stands out that more than 2,900 workers participated in the organization, and in this edition there was a significant increase in personnel from Santiago del Estero, which is also a benefit for the province, especially experience in the logistics participation of As a world event, the knowledge factor is essential to continue professionalizing the Santiago worker ", continued Sosa.
Matías Lammens made references to the organization and the sporting aspect: " Everything went very well and we had a spectacular race, very fought among the first places and the event really is shocking ."
For his part, Zamora stated: "We come from many international events and sports activities in Santiago del Estero and we are very satisfied because they are beginning to turn the province into a tourist and sports destination. But the economic balance is very positive ”.
Ricardo Sosa added: “ MotoGP generates a great impact not only in Santiago del Estero, but also globally. Through the official transmission, 400 million people are reached. And as for receptive tourism, for example, on the last day, of the 70,000 attendees, there were more than 15,000 tourists from Brazil alone ”.
He also announced that since there is a week without activities between the date of Termas de Río Hondo and Austin (the next one), many of the members of the teams and organization will remain in Argentina touring different destinations in the country, which also adds to the economic impact. and tourist.
In addition, the Executive Secretary of INPROTUR spoke about the importance of having this kind of sporting events in Argentina: " In April we will have the TCR Sudamericano, we are also going to have the Porche Cup and various national competitions and we are working to have even more for these benefits. that leaves for tourism for Argentina ".