Uruguay: Tourist Spending Increases During the 2024-2025 Cruise Season
Authorities from the Ministry of Tourism, together with various public and private stakeholders in the sector, conducted an assessment of the cruise season from November 2024 to April 2025, which resulted in a total of 160 vessels (113 in Montevideo and 47 in Punta del Este)
Minister Pablo Menoni said about the call, "I've noticed everyone's enthusiasm for the upcoming seasons. We have short- and medium-term challenges; we have many things to work on and work together on, actions at the local level and things to improve at the regional level."
He added, "We're all looking for more tourists to come, larger cruise ships, for them to spend more, for them to take away better experiences, for them to share their experiences, for them to become interlocutors about the good times they've had here. But all of this in a sustainable way and in step with the growth of other commercial activities that ports must have, which is why we must work together."
For his part, National Director Cristian Pos spoke about the actions the Ministry is taking: "What we at the Ministry of Tourism are responsible for is coordination both at the national level with other agencies and international promotion. We are obviously attending the various fairs that offer this product, the various venues where these products are negotiated. What we do is just as important as what we can coordinate with Argentina and Brazil, because the decisions these companies make are at the regional, not national, level."
Cruise Season Statistics
Average spending per cruise passenger reached USD 59.1 million, an 11.8% increase compared to the 2023-2024 season.
Montevideo accounted for 75% of arrivals (234,865 people) and 79% of spending, totaling $14.6 million, while Punta del Este received 25% of visitors (78,403) and generated 21% of tourism spending, $3.9 million.
In terms of nationality, Argentine tourists are the most frequent visitors to our ports, accounting for 33.6%, followed by Brazilians at 30.0% and North American visitors at 22.9%.
The breakdown by category shows that shopping leads the way with 51% of spending, totaling $9.5 million, followed by dining at 26%, and land excursions in third place at 14%.
Compared to the previous season, there was an 8.0% increase in total spending and an 11.8% increase in per capita spending, despite a 14% decrease in the number of ship arrivals, reflecting a greater propensity for visitor spending.
Source: Ministry of Tourism of Uruguay.