In this context, Travel2latam spoke with Rosario García Habiaga, Commercial Manager of Buquebus.
What were your expectations and objectives when participating in the FIT at the Uruguay stand?
We came because we are noticing that there is a certain upturn, tourists from Argentina are becoming more interested and are booking more. Reservations are better than last year. We have new things to offer from the technological and operational point of view and also from the ease of accessing tickets.
We are updating our website and our sales system to make access and information more fluid, so that you can complete your reservation, purchase your ticket and other services such as hotels, tours, restaurants, whatever you prefer.
There are important developments, such as the arrival of a new ship and the renovation of the terminal in Buenos Aires. What details can you give us about that?
We are waiting for the China Zorrilla ship, which is completely electric, with zero emissions to take good care of the river, which is our natural element, and everything that has to do with the environment and noise pollution because it is very quiet. This ship will be here in October 2025, and will be connecting the cities of Buenos Aires with Colonia, with a capacity for 2,100 passengers and more than 200 cars.
And what can you tell us about the terminal?
The terminal is being renovated, and the garage stage is now being completed so that parking can be made easily in the Puerto Madero area. The hotel we are building, the Dock hotel, will surely be there in March 2025, right there in Puerto Madero, next to the terminal.
The terminal will also be completely renovated, with a slightly more futuristic style, in line with what is coming with the new ship.
What are your prospects for demand?
We see that people are getting informed and looking for a date they are thinking about, and that is why we are projecting a better season than last year.
The Argentine public is once again seeing that spending the summer in Uruguay or coming to Uruguay for a walk is an option. More people are coming, and we also notice that they are happier.
How do you feel or what are your plans for the rest of the year?
Uruguay has been working very hard. The Ministry of Tourism is doing its job of promoting the country's destinations as an integral offer all year round. We are seeing all these tourists who come to Buenos Aires from all over South America and other regions, and those who come to Uruguay. And there is a synergy, a movement, and we are working with Uruguay and the operators to generate more proposals, to refresh the proposals we have, to make it easier to access reservations for these new proposals and to make the options more varied for the tourist.
Today we are at FIT, but what are you going to do in the coming months in terms of participation in events and promotion?
We are focusing on southern Brazil and Argentina, more than Buenos Aires, that is, other provinces that also visit us. Chile, Colombia, Mexico, are within our annual plan and strategy.
Furthermore, when we look at the nationalities of the people who cross to Uruguay or Argentina, we notice that there is a clear increase in Americans, Spaniards, Mexicans, Brazilians and Colombians who visit the Rio de la Plata. They arrive at the Rio de la Plata, whether it is Montevideo, Buenos Aires or Colonia, and it is very easy and fluid to cross by boat.
The terminals are super central, in very safe places, you can cross in 1 hour from Colonia and in 2 and a half hours from Montevideo. You can check in all your luggage, we don't charge extra if you carry something else in addition to the carry-on and you can do pre-boarding 45 minutes before.
What are the different classes that you offer?
The ships depend on the team that is sailing at that time, but the Francisco ship has four classes: economy, tourist, business class and first class. They have different rates, obviously the economy class, of course you can stay on the ship, you can walk around, you can go to the duty free shop, to the restaurant or bar, but the economy class lounge is the cheapest, it has almost the same price as if you bought a ticket via Colonia. And then the teams that cross to Colonia have business class and tourist class.