The number of people visiting Argentina rose a bit in December.
This is the second consecutive month tourism has rebounded, after falling for 10 straight months.
The number of visitors rose about 3% to 196,475 in December, compared with 190,318 a year ago.
While here, tourists spent around $316 million, little changed from a year ago, the national statistics agency, INDEC, reported Monday.
The average tourist spent almost $97 day, up 27% from the previous year. That’s good news for local merchants and pretty much everyone involved in the tourism industry.
As usual, Brazilians spent the most per day ($143) while other Latin Americans spent the least ($69). Brazilians stay an average of 17 days while Europeans stay 22, indicating that Brazilians come to shop while Europeans are more frugal.
INDEC’s measurement is based on the number of visitors who arrive to the country via Ezeiza, or EZE, the airport located outside Buenos Aires. About half of the country’s tourists arrive through EZE.
It’s HD, ultra slim, big but not obnoxious, and it’s LED, meaning its bright and doesn’t use much electricity. As far as TVs go, it’s about as eco-friendly as you can get.
I’ve wanted it since the moment I first saw it. But when I left Argentina a few months ago to spend time with my family in Colorado, these TVs didn’t even exist in Argentina. Nobody sold them here. And even if they did, I knew it would cost a lot more than it would in Colorado. As is the case with almost all electronic items here, things are way overpriced.
So while in Colorado, I went to Best Buy and bought myself one. It was On Sale for US $989, taxes included – an incredible deal. But how on earth would I get this thing back to Argentina?
Intellectually, I had always known that it was possible to bring such things on the plane as shipped baggage. But I had never tried something so bold – or perhaps so stupid – as to bring down a gigantic HDTV. So, what the heck, I figured. I called American Airlines and asked if I could bring the TV with me to Argentina. “As long as it weighs less than 70lbs and isn’t more than 115 inches (height x width x length),” they said. The box fit!
But it was fragile, very fragile, with practically no protective padding or reinforced styrofoam. So I got another box, grabbed the TV, still inside its original box, and stuffed it into the other box, lining it wall-to-wall with styrofoam. It was still under 50lbs and it totaled just 93 inches. Bingo! I was ready to go.
I got to the check-in counter at American, where they charged me an extra US $150 to ship the box as “an oversized bag.” I feared it would be destroyed during the flight or by the baggage handlers. But it arrived perfectly, without a scratch. The box didn’t even look like it had been shipped at all. Plus, the TV works perfectly here in Argentina with the local digital cable service.
At EZE airport, I got pulled aside by customs officials, who charged me the typical 50% import fee. The policy is simple. They charge 50% of the value of your item after US $300. Since the TV cost US $989, they charged me 50% of US $689, or US $345. I paid the tax with my Visa card. There was no haggling, no request for a bribe. Just a simple, quick transaction. The whole thing took less than five minutes.
All told, then, it cost me US $1,484 to bring the TV down to Buenos Aires. The TV now sells here for 9,999 Argentine pesos, or US $2,603. So even after all the hassle of shipping it, I still saved US $1,119.
That’s a decent chunk of cash, enough to buy another R/T ticket up to the States.
The great American novelist John Updike once said of a character in a short story that she “had a nature-lover’s hatred of smoking and drinking.”
Updike’s description led me immediately to wonder if there’s any reason to think nature-lovers actually are more inclined than others to hate such things. Perhaps he was right.
At least that’s what you might conclude from a new decision by the National Parks Administration, or APN, to ban smoking at Iguazu Falls. The APN plans to prohibit smoking within days on the Argentine side of the bi-national park.
The reason? In comments to the newspaper La Nacion, APN officials said they decided on the ban because of so many complaints from international tourists. Such an amazing place of pristine natural beauty should be free from “contamination,” the visitors repeatedly said.
Updike, a smoker who died earlier this year of lung cancer, wrote about the stench of cigarettes in one of his novels, Rabbit Redux:
“You can never get the smell of smoke out. Like the smell of failure in life.”
The Argentine government will start charging U.S. citizens an aiport entry fee of US $131 starting December 20, the U.S. Embassy said in a notice Friday.
Last year Argentine officials announced plans to start charging such a fee, but then suspended them in a confusing change of position. But the plans are now back on track and any American citizen – who isn’t a resident of Argentina – will have to pay the fee starting December 20.
The fee will also likely apply to residents of other countries whose governments charge visa application fees to Argentines who travel to those countries. The fees will likely vary country by country, depending on how much those countries charge Argentines.
A government official said last year that the reciprocity fee “would not lead even a single person to not visit the country.”
However, that statement seems overly optimistic and is almost certain to lead at least some people to think twice about coming to Argentina.
Over the past year, more than 40 people have emailed The Argentine Post to say they would cancel their Argentine travel plans if the fee were implemented, indicating that the fee’s impact on tourism will be at least moderately negative.
It will be a one-time fee allowing Americans to enter the country multiple times over the period of 10 years.
In a message to U.S. citizens, the Embassy had this to say:
“This warden message is being issued to alert U.S. citizens that on December 20, 2009, the Government of Argentina will begin charging American Citizens visiting Argentina for business or tourism an entry fee of $131 U.S. dollars. The fee will be collected only at Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport. Once paid, the fee permits multiple entries into Argentina for ten years in accordance with United States visa reciprocity. Americans may pay in dollars, by credit card, or with travelers checks.”
As the A/H1N1 swine flu virus scared people away, international tourism plummeted in July, leading to Argentina’s worst month in ages. Fearful tourists avoid the country like the plague.
The Brazilian government even warned its citizens to avoid Argentina. Many of them did.
The number of people visiting Argentina tumbled by almost 39% from July 2008, making this the tenth consecutive annual decline.
July’s numbers were terrible, but they were tempered slightly by news that outbound tourism was up 11%. That’s partly because many Argentine families took advantage of extended vacation time for millions of school children whose classes were suspended amid mass hysteria about the flu epidemic. (more…)
The famed culinary expert and funny-man food entertainer Anthony Bourdain hosted a special on Argentina a while back. It’s from his excellent show No Reservations. If you like food and like Argentina, it’s a no-brainer that this is worth watching.
A caveat: The video isn’t the greatest quality in the world and it takes a while to load.
Sometimes it’s good to remember – because it’s all too easy to forget – that 70 years ago Argentina was on top of the world. It was one of the richest countries on the planet and was far ahead of its time compared with many of the world’s other nations.
My father, who is 82 and grew up in Texas during the Great Depression, tells me of an expression he used to hear as a boy. He says that when you needed to describe someone as really wealthy, you’d say they were “rich like an Argentine.”
Watching this classic travel video is a like stepping into a time machine and traveling back to the bygone days of Argentina’s glorious past. The images and commentary are stunning. Even back then the world was captivated by Argentina and its people.
Argentina has a number of renowned ski resorts. And though none is as big or high-tech as the leading resorts in Europe or North America, some are quite impressive and attract visitors from around the world every year.
The most popular of Argentina’s nine ski resorts are Cerro Catedral in Bariloche, Las Leñas in the mountains outside Malargue, Penitentes accessible through Mendoza, and Cerro Chapelco in San Martin de los Andes.
If you’re planning an Argentine ski vacation this winter don’t expect to be able to go “resort-hopping” because these resorts are at least a day’s journey from each other along the winding Eastern slope of the Andes.
Cerro Catedral in San Carlos de Bariloche doesn’t have the highest altitude of the Argentine resorts and typically doesn’t get the most snowfall, but it’s widely considered the No. 1 ski resort in South America with 38 lifts and 120 km (46 miles) of accessible mountain terrain. Ski and snow related activities draw crowds that help account for Bariloche’s 200,000 yearly visitors. (more…)
The U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires on Thursday issued the following Swine Flu note for travelers and local residents:
The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in Argentina of the health risks associated with the World Health Organization (WHO)-declared 2009-H1N1 influenza pandemic, which has resulted in illness in numerous countries. The current outbreak in Argentina has caused federal, provincial, and municipal authorities to announce several measures to prevent the illness from spreading. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that Americans at high risk for complications of influenza and considering travel to areas affected by 2009-H1N1 influenza, such as Argentina, discuss their travel plans with their doctor. Together, they should look carefully at the 2009-H1N1 flu situation at their destination including available health-care options in the area. They should discuss their specific health situations and possible increased risk of traveling to the area affected by 2009-H1N1 flu. This Travel Alert expires on September 14, 2009. (more…)
International tourism in May plunged 15% from the same month a year ago, making this the eight consecutive annual decline since October.
Last month’s numbers were also bad, but they were tempered by news that outbound tourism was up almost 17% as more Argentines travelled abroad. That wasn’t the case in May because the number of Argentines who left the country fell 5.2% on the year. (more…)
Argentina has just won the dubious distinction of surpassing Mexico, where the “novel A/H1N1″ flu virus seems to have first reared its ugly head, as the world’s second-ranked spot for flu deaths.
So far the virus is responsible for 137 confirmed deaths, according to the latest data from Argentina’s Health Ministry. That compares with just 134 in Mexico, according to the latest data from Mexico’s Health Secretariat.
Argentina’s mortality rate appears to be the highest in the world, by far. As of Tuesday Argentina had 3,056 confirmed swine flu cases, compared with 12,645 in Mexico. Chile, which has 9,549 confirmed cases, has just 25 confirmed deaths.
In Mexico, confirmed deaths account for 1% of confirmed cases. In Chile, that figure stands at just 0.0026%. In the U.S., the country with the highest number of deaths at 211, the figure is a mere 0.0056%, with 37,246 confirmed cases, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Argentina’s mortality rate truly stands out at 4.48% of total confirmed flu cases.
Overall, the virus is still largely innocuous given that almost everyone who gets it, and is treated properly, recovers perfectly. Still, the 4.4% rate is alarmingly high even if Argentina is in the middle of its peak flu season, making it much harder to control the virus.
Argentine President Cristina Fernández on Wednesday said Argentina is likely ranked second “because it’s the one that really counts the numbers.” It wasn’t entirely clear exactly what she meant by this. “I don’t like those rankings,” Fernández said.
As Argentina’s winter season moves into full gear and the number of confirmed H1N1 flu deaths rises, suspicions are also rising about the veracity of the government’s swine flu data.
As of June 26, the latest available data, Argentina had 1,587 confirmed swine flu cases and 26 confirmed deaths, according to the Health Ministry.
That ranks Argentina third in the world in terms of confirmed deaths. It is topped only by the U.S., which has had 27,717 cases and 127 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and Mexico, which has had 8,279 cases and 116 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.
La Nación columnist Joquín Morales Solá summed up the suspicions over Argentina’s official swine flu data in a column Sunday: (more…)
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