The secretary and deputy secretary of the Presidency, Rodrigo Ferrés and Mariana Cabrera, respectively, participated in the ceremony; several ministers and undersecretaries of State, former president Julio María Sanguinetti, Mayors, Directors of Tourism, Senators and Deputies, representatives of the Chambers and private Associations of the tourism sector among others.
“Our greatest objective is to continue promoting the growth of the sector and its development,” stated the new head of the Ministry of Tourism (Mintur), Eduardo Sanguinetti. Upon taking office, he valued the management of his predecessor, Tabaré Viera, and announced that he will seek to maintain the dynamics and established goals, as well as work on new opportunities. “The achievements obtained in this administration are evident,” he indicated.
Sanguinetti thanked his successor for his confidence and stated that he will seek to maintain the established dynamic and achieve the goals. “The achievements obtained in this administration are evident,” he said, adding that, in several areas, the pre-pandemic indicators were exceeded.
At the beginning of the event, an evaluation of Minister Viera's management was carried out, where a video reviewing the two and a half years was shown.
Afterwards, former Minister Viera highlighted that "today is a very special day and always at the culmination of a cycle, one has the natural tendency to look back and make evaluations."
Viera recalled that upon entering, the borders were closed and the sector was in a very difficult situation and serious difficulties. In this sense, Viera stressed that tourism was the sector of Uruguayan economic life that suffered more than the most during the pandemic.
“There was a lot to do and we worked on planning, alternatives and measures to mitigate the labor and human situation,” a task that was carried out together with the entire National Government, said the outgoing leader.
In another sense, the former leader pointed out that Uruguay is totally a tourist country. “In all departments there is a very good offer and it is also growing in quality. This internal growth that occurred during the pandemic, when many Uruguayans began to travel and discover their own country, has been affirming over time," said Viera.
Finally, Viera stressed that the Ministry intends to consolidate tourism as a State policy. There is a strong commitment to innovation, to having a strong presence in the territory with the development of different spaces, as well as promoting different tourism development projects, not only in consolidated destinations, but also in new destinations or emerging destinations, he concluded.