08/16/2021 21:13
Clarín.com
Economy
Updated 08/17/2021 7:13 AM
The Minister of Tourism and Sports, Matías Lammens, said that
the Government is designing a strategy to pay up to 100% of the cost of air tickets for foreigners
who want to visit the country.
The intention is to promote international tourism, decimated during the pandemic.
In statements to radio Miter, Lammens assured that
the Government plans to open the borders in October.
Today those borders are limited to the entry of Argentines or foreigners with permanent residence in the country, and with a rigorous quota:
1,700 passengers per day,
which is why there are still Argentines stranded abroad since the end of June.
That openness policy that Lammens announced, in a completely contrary sense to the one that governs today, would point to an objective admitted only inside the official officials: to
seek the arrival of dollars from abroad,
which also help to
reactivate entire regions that lived off tourism
and they were practically without activity as of April of last year.
Despite these restrictions that apply today, Lammens assured that in just a couple of months
not only will the arrival of foreign tourists be encouraged, but also that they will not be required to quarantine when entering the country.
Minister Lammens (left) with President Alberto Fernández and the first lady, Fabiola Yañez, this weekend in Misiones.
“We are thinking of a plan where we can give some stimulus to regional tourism
.
65% of all foreign tourists come from neighboring countries, especially Brazil, Chile and Uruguay ”, stated Lammens.
The tickets to be reimbursed, in principle, would be through Aerolineas Argentinas.
He added: “Countries have different incentives to try to get more tourists to their destinations.
Uruguay, for example, returns VAT
.
There must be material incentives for tourists to choose a destination ”.
The flag airline did not confirm the information nor did they want to comment on Lammens' statements.
"
It is something that should be discussed with the people of Tourism,"
said spokespersons for the state company.
Lammens spearheaded the launch of the Pre-Trip Program over the weekend, in Misiones, together with President Alberto Fernández.
The initiative, precisely,
consists of reimbursing 50% of the travel expenses of tourists
within the country.
But for the moment, that initiative is restricted to residents in the country, since foreign tourism is prohibited under the restrictions against the pandemic.
"Pre-Trip 1 worked in a wonderful way and it worked from every point of view
, with the State returning 50%. More than 600,000 Argentines traveled with this plan."
Lammens admitted that there are still Argentines stranded abroad. "We talked about the issue with the people of Aerolineas Argentinas and luckily there are not so many left. One of the first things that tends to empathize with those people who were stranded and who stayed outside and are spending money, wanting to return to the country and It is lengthening that stay, "said the Minister of Tourism. "But on the other hand, I empathize with the 45 million Argentines and with the national economy, which luckily had no more restrictions because the Delta variant is not circulating because we have restricted entry and we have done it as we did in the last month."
He added:
"The idea is to start opening little by little and we are already working on a plan to open borders in the coming months
. I had a meeting with the Minister of Health and with the Chief of Cabinet to begin to draw up the schedule on how will this exit ".
Regarding the reimbursement mechanisms, Lammens assured that they will have no fiscal cost.
"What the national State recovers for what it puts in the Pre-Trip Plan 2, for example, is practically the same.
There is a public investment, without a doubt, which is the 50% that we return. But it also mobilizes private savings.
To recover that 50%, first you have to spend that 100%. The national State collects 21% for VAT and a lot of taxes more, for employer contributions, because it hires an airline, because it makes an excursion. And with that 50% the State collects again. The State invests and invests well. "
