Uruguay is working to develop a National Social Tourism System

The meeting is taking place within the framework of Article 24 of Law No. 19,253 - Regulation of Tourism Activity, "For the purposes of this law, social tourism is defined as providing facilities for people with limited resources, young people, people with disabilities, senior citizens, children, workers, and other groups established in the regulations to travel for recreational, sporting, and cultural purposes under appropriate conditions. The Ministry of Tourism and Sport will propose the creation and regulation of the National Social Tourism System, which will include instruments and means to fulfill these purposes."

Tourism Minister Pablo Menoni stated, “Social tourism seeks to make it easier for people who, due to certain difficulties, whether economic or physical, cannot regularly engage in tourism. And social tourism precisely seeks to facilitate this access for all citizens.”

He also emphasized that "this first meeting is about creating an outline and an idea together. We don't want to impose a solution, but rather we want to work collectively with these institutions and others that will be participating, such as the private sector, which is very important, and we will call for it in subsequent meetings."

Members of the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Education and Culture, Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Transportation, ANTEL, ANEP, BPS, BROU, INAU, ONAJPU, OSE, and UTE participated in this first meeting.

This meeting addressed the importance of promoting social tourism as a key strategy for generating quality employment, reducing seasonality, and boosting local economies. The presence and contributions of the participating institutions are invaluable in advancing the construction of a solid and lasting system that promotes social tourism not only as a human right but also as an effective tool for social and economic development.

The programmatic bases establish:

1. Address the various aspects that make tourism a human right. The right to leisure and recreation will be addressed, utilizing social tourism and inclusive tourism, among other tools.
2. Promote domestic and social tourism, with a strategic focus on the entire territory and cross-cutting and integrated coordination for the promotion and positioning of the country.
This system will include deseasonalization, promoting tourism beyond the
summer season and allowing access to the right to tourism for people of different income levels.

Source: MINTUR Uruguay.