Within the framework of the IMEX international fair dedicated especially to meeting tourism, Travel2latam spoke with Ricardo Sosa, Executive Secretary of INPROTUR, the National Institute for Tourism Promotion of Argentina, about tourism in the country, main markets and development of the MICE segment.
What is the current situation of meeting tourism in Argentina?
In Argentina, a very important moment is being experienced with a very accelerated recovery process. In fact, participation in this fair demonstrates the great interest on the part of the organizers of corporate incentives in holding events in the country, and in fact, since it was they reopened the borders we have had a very high response. At this time we consider that we are close to the tourist response that we had in the pre-pandemic, but above all things we observe a great demand from the organizers of this type of event and logically that with this edition of the fair many service providers service bring disruptive and innovative proposals that further increase that interest.
Are the events that take place in Argentina mainly international?
Yes, they are global events. In fact, I spoke with one of the service providers and she told me that there are queries from Italy, from here Germany, Brazil and Colombia that they are interested in Argentina as a destination to organize events. IMEX is characterized by being a worldwide corporate fair where all the actors that make up the marketing chain, and especially the decision makers, meet the bidders, which are the companies with which we are participating. It is necessary to highlight a singularity and that is that Argentina is the country with the largest number of exhibitors within all the countries of Latin America. We present 19 companies and four destinations, which not only demonstrates an active participation, but also the offer we have for this type of event.
What is the situation of holiday travel?
The first 4 months of the year Argentina had 2.5 million tourists who entered the country, this is practically equivalent to 85% or 90% of the tourists we had in the pre-pandemic and in fact, the month of April compared to April 2019 It was the first month where we had a greater number of tourists than before the pandemic. This is very positive because there is an economic impact in these first four months of the year of 2 billion dollars from Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia, the United States, Spain, Colombia and Mexico, countries that are the main emitters of travelers to our country, which have not only marked the recovery in terms of tourist entry but have also extended the average stay and increased the cost of stay in the Argentine Republic.
Are there new projects in terms of hotel infrastructure?
There are various projects, such as the case of the Hilton hotel chain, which is developing three establishments in the interior provinces of Argentina. And also, in the last five months, on average, 1 or 2 hotels were opened per province, so we always have international chains interested in generating new spaces. I believe that Argentina today lives a situation of investment opportunity, understanding that it is not only the present but the future, and in that future there is great growth in incoming and international tourism, and that growth generates an improvement in the offer and as a consequence, greater efficiency and excellence in the services provided.
Argentina has classic tourist destinations... Is tourism pointing to a greater development of non-traditional destinations?
Throughout last year we have worked with the Ministry to develop a very important project called La Ruta Natural, a program of scenic routes that include the entire country, where the tourist himself can shape his itineraries. I believe that nature tourism is one of the most demanded products and I consider that the Natural Route is an iconic product that the Argentine Republic has today with numerous itinerary circuits where the tourist is the one who chooses the places they want to go.
Have there been increases in terms of connectivity?
Yes, in the last year we have had an increase in the amount of connectivity. There are airlines that are flying to places that did not before, for example the case of Aerolíneas Argentinas, which since last year has had direct flights between Sao Paulo and the province of Salta, something historic since there have never been commercial flights between both destinations before. . Even Airlines now have direct flights between Sao Paulo and Ushuaia, or Paulo and Calafate. Then there has been an increase in frequency, such as the Avianca flight between Bogotá and Buenos Aires, or the new Avianca flights between Costa Rica, Ecuador and Buenos Aires. In addition, the return of airlines such as Qatar or Delta, which once again flies between New York and the city of Buenos Aires, is very positive. ITA also has daily flights between Rome and the city of Buenos Aires; Iberia has two daily flights between Madrid and Buenos Aires; and British has begun to fly directly between London and Buenos Aires. These are very positive connections and speak of the recovery of the offer of seats that the Argentine Republic has,
What are the reasons for choosing Argentina as a site for congresses and events over other countries?
First, the connectivity. Second, hotel infrastructure. Third, excellent service infrastructure, where we can show the different proposals that the whole country has. Today Argentina is a destination for incentives with a very superlative look, not only the City of Buenos Aires with its hotel infrastructure, but also the interior of Argentina. The province of Mendoza offers wineries of the highest level, awarded and recognized internationally. The Iguazú Falls that not only the Falls are the product, but also the hotel establishments close to this wonder. The singularities that the country has, such as tasting a whiskey on the Perito Moreno Glacier with part of the glacier; taste a champagne at the top of one of the most important hills in Ushuaia after a helicopter flight; hold events in the middle of the Salinas in Jujuy in the north of Argentina with glamping, which is a combination of glamor and camping.
I believe that these issues are very unique for our country and are what also place it as a destination of excellence for holding incentive events, precisely incentive events translate into an excellent hotel establishment together with all the experience that the event participant visiting that region.