With a greater presence of foreigners, Iguazu Falls returned to pre-pandemic levels of visits. Operators estimate that May will close with more than 700,000 tickets sold, surpassing even figures from 2019, when the difference was made by national tourism.
From the Iguazú Tourism Municipal Entity (ITUREM) they pointed out that so far in 2023 the number of visitors grew by 8% compared to last year and the number of foreigners already almost equals that of Argentines.
Statistical data reveal that this year 34.6 percent of those entering the Park came from other countries – now includes tourists from Mercosur – and 39.2 percent are Argentine. Only 4.6% are missionaries and the remaining 21.6% are tickets corresponding to school delegations, minors and people who do not pay the income.
The operators explained that the growth of foreign tourism is due to the strong devaluation of the Argentine currency, which makes the destination economically very accessible. And the retraction in the nationals is linked to the crisis that the country is going through and loss of purchasing power due to rising inflation.
The Iguazu Falls receive more visitors than in 2019 and foreign tourism grows.
The Iguazu Falls receive more visitors than in 2019 and foreign tourism grows.
From the ITUREM recalled that until 2019 Argentines represented more than 50 percent of the visitors who came to the Park to enjoy the green of the jungle and the 275 jumps that fall from 80 meters high. And that in recent times there has been an increase in foreigners, largely from neighboring countries, mainly Brazil.
For this extra-long weekend, the Falls await the arrival of about 25,000 visitors, so the Park will open its doors an hour earlier. This seeks a lower concentration of people on the catwalks, and thereby improve the quality of the visit by tourists.
The tourism sector experienced moments of concern on Wednesday, when teachers demanding salary improvements arrived in the city with intentions to cut off access to the Park as a protest measure. An order of the Federal Justice deactivated the demonstration and it is expected that visitors will not have major inconveniences to move from the city to the Falls throughout the weekend.
In Puerto Iguazúhotel occupancy reaches 90% and it is estimated that this XXL weekend 75% of visitors to the Park will be Argentines.
Complete tour
Tourists who this extra-long weekend chose to visit Cataratas will be able to travel all the circuits and reach the impressive Devil's Throat, the largest of the 275 jumps.
The footbridge that leads there was enabled in the first days of March, after a titanic work of the operators of the company Iguazú Argentina to rebuild it. The promenade was closed for more than four months because a sudden flood, last October, washed away 51 flights of walkways and also damaged the balcony from which Garganta del Diablo is observed.
It took 40 workers and an investment of 220 million pesos to repair the damage caused by the water, despite the fact that 70% of the material that was dragged by the current was recovered from the riverbed. The rest of the floors and railings had to be bought back.
The peak of the crescent was recorded on October 11, with 16,500 cubic meters per second, equivalent to twelve times the average flow of the Iguazu River. By then the operators had already removed the railings and removed the bolts that held the floor to the piles, a system designed to avoid structural damage.
Missions. Correspondent
SC
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