As part of a collaboration agreement between the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), several countries have been invited to have an investment guide that contributes to generating investment opportunities and development of business in the tourism sector.
The ceremony was attended by the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou, the Vice President of the Republic, Beatríz Argimón, the Minister of Tourism, Tabaré Viera, the Executive President of CAF, Sergio Díaz – Granados, the Executive Director of UN Tourism , Natalia Bayona and the Regional Director for the Americas of UN Tourism, Gustavo Santos, among other national, regional, departmental authorities, and representatives of different embassies in Uruguay.
The Executive President of CAF, Sergio Díaz - Granados was in charge of opening the activity, "this Guide reflects what Uruguay has. That institutional economic stability. Innovation, entrepreneurship and human talent. The offer of sun and sand. Nautical tourism and of cruises. The fertile lands for agrotourism and wine tourism. All this is reflected in the potential that the Guide has and also highlights the important investments that have already been made," he stated.
On the other hand, the Regional Director for the Americas of UN Tourism, Gustavo Santos, made reference to “generating more investments in our region and for this having a common methodology that we have imposed through these Investment Guides, which we have agreed with the different countries and with CAF, so that all the countries in the region can finally show their potential."
The Minister of Tourism, Tabaré Viera, expressed that "tourism is a great engine of development and perhaps has been one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic crisis, but it has also proven the great resilience it has, particularly in Uruguay. As a result of the implementation of public policies and the tenacity of the private sector, it has recovered. "It still has challenges, without a doubt."
Once the opening was completed, the guide was presented by the Executive Director of UN Tourism, Natalia Bayona, and the Director General of the Secretariat of the Ministry of Tourism, Ignacio Curbelo.
In the first instance, Bayona referred to the 71% growth of foreign direct investment in Uruguay, "there are very few countries in the world that achieve this," and stated that "Uruguay is a success story of Latin Americans investing in Latin America, which that is an excellent message to send to investors", in addition to reporting that almost 4,000 jobs have been created in the last year thanks to investment in tourism.
On the other hand, Curbelo emphasized that aspects make Uruguay a country as an excellent investment destination, such as political stability, institutionality, sustained growth at an average higher than the average of Latin America and the Caribbean in the last 20 years. years, privileged and strategic location, development of road, nautical and airport infrastructure, strong policy of promotion and protection of investments with declaration of national interest, record levels of number of foreign visitors, strong impact on the economy, varied and quality.
“Investment financing” was also addressed; the presentations were given by the Southern Regional Manager of CAF, Jorge Srur, and the Director of Tourism of CAF, Oscar Rueda.
The day closed with the panel that debated “Investment Outlook”, where the Director of Ceres, Ignacio Munyo, and the Director of Uruguay XXI, Sebastián Risso, participated.
The Guide presents a vision of the future that highlights the country's macroeconomic strength, natural wealth and investment possibilities that respond to new global trends in green investments, and the response to global consumer sustainability trends. post pandemic.
The central objective of UN Tourism with the publication of this type of guides in various countries seeks to guarantee the growth and competitiveness of the sector, for which it is necessary to invest considerably in the training and improvement of the professional skills of the staff and implement technical programs. and vocational training.
“Tourism Doing Business, Investing in Uruguay” aims to show the conditions for attracting foreign direct investment, through five chapters. The first and second chapters collect the economic and investment panorama of Uruguay. Chapter three highlights the benefits and advantages of investing, which are derived from the wide natural offer, the unique geographical location and its biodiversity; while chapter four analyzes green investments and their relationship with the tourism sector and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Finally, chapter five analyzes the positioning of the tourism sector in the world and in the region, highlighting the sector's contribution to the country's GDP, which is one of the highest in the region.