Argentine trips abroad fall 21.2% as Brazil and Uruguay lead arrivals

Argentine resident trips abroad declined by 21.2% in July compared to the previous year, with 1.22 million people leaving the country, according to the latest tourism statistics report by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses. Meanwhile, 830,200 foreign visitors entered Argentina, a 17.9% increase from the same period last year. Of those who left, 697,200 were tourists and 531,100 were same-day travelers who did not spend the night abroad.

Brazil was the primary source of outbound tourism, accounting for 22% of the total, followed by Paraguay at 15.2%. The increase in inbound tourism can be attributed to same-day visitors, with 466,200 tourists from abroad, a 9.1% rise, and 363,900 same-day visitors, a 31.5% jump. Most of these same-day visitors are concentrated in border cities or on day trips to Buenos Aires, contributing a smaller economic impact compared to tourists.

Among tourists arriving in Argentina, 36.1% came from Brazil, 16% from Uruguay, and 10.8% from other countries in the Americas. Chile, once the third-largest source market with 12.8% of visitors, dropped to fourth place. The overall exchange remained unfavorable for Argentina, with 398,000 more residents departing than foreign visitors entering the country.

The negative trend continues as the first half of the year saw an accumulated deficit of 3.49 million travelers, with 2.9 million foreign tourists traveling abroad compared to 6.38 million Argentine residents traveling overseas. The decline in outbound tourism is a sustained pattern, with July marking a 22% year-on-year decrease and the first half experiencing a 13.2% decline.

The shift is attributed to the rising cost of traveling abroad for Argentine residents due to exchange rate fluctuations, following two years when the stronger peso led to record outbound departures. The negative balance also persists in monetary terms, with foreign visitors spending 608.8 million dollars in Argentina and Argentine residents spending 1,360.7 million abroad, resulting in a 751.9 million dollar deficit.

Argentine tourism flows remain heavily concentrated within Mercosur, with Brazil leading in both arrivals and departures, and the top three origins and destinations being Mercosur countries or neighboring nations.