The strong devaluation of the peso buried the hopes of many Argentines of enjoying a few days of rest on the beaches of southern Brazil.
In Bombas, one of the favorite resorts,
the influx fell by 30 percent
, while on the island of Florianópolis they still do not dare to estimate the decline and prefer to talk about a good season, mainly due to the arrival of Paraguayans and Uruguayans.
The departure of Argentines through the international passage of Bernardo de Irigoyen has plummeted so far in January.
Migrations estimated that
the decrease exceeds 60 percent
compared to the previous season.
“There are many fewer cars but the number of people traveling by bus to the beaches of southern Brazil has doubled.
These are people who bought the tours in the middle of the year,” they said at the Frontera Center.
The mayor of Bernardo de Irigoyen, Edgardo Aquino, maintained that the crossing of Argentines to Brazil through this international crossing fell “around 50 percent” compared to last year.
“In January 2023 we had lines of cars all day, people everywhere waiting to do the Immigration procedures and now that happens punctually at certain times.
The drop in the number of travelers is very noticeable,” he stated.
Aquino explained that "it is difficult for the situation to change in the coming weeks because the peso is increasingly devalued and that means that it will be more expensive for Argentines to vacation in Brazil or any other country."
A month ago the “little trees” offered the real at 200 pesos and on Friday
the price already reached 250 pesos
for each unit of the Brazilian currency.
Argentine José Saravia settled more than two decades ago in the Bombas resort, where he has a real estate company that specializes in temporary rentals of apartments and houses for tourists.
“The second half of January has 30 percent less occupancy than last year,” he said.
And he attributed it to “the absence of Argentines… not like last year, which was a post-pandemic summer with incredible results in terms of tourist demand.”
To illustrate the situation in that city, he said that “last year we had to stay in the real estate office until 10 at night because Argentinians kept arriving.
Now we are closing at 5:00 p.m.
Lagoinha do Leste beach, Florianópolis.
“On Bombas Street you see few Argentine patents.
We come from a very weak first fortnight and now we notice a small rebound in occupancy, but we are very far from what it was in January of last year,” Saravia added.
Regarding the behavior of Argentines, he said that “they reduced their stay to a week or a little more and consume very little on the beach or in restaurants.
"You see a lot of people in supermarkets and wholesalers, who here are called attackists."
The drop in the flow of travelers also brought advantages.
Those who venture to arrive without having agreed upon accommodation usually obtain
discounts through haggling
.
An Argentinian classic.
Francisco Antonio dos Anjos, the superintendent of Tourism of Florianópolis, admitted that the change of Government in Argentina generated a lot of uncertainty at the end of last year.
“In December very few Argentines came, less than in other seasons;
but now we notice a slight recovery, mainly due to the enormous offer of
low-cost
flights from Buenos Aires,” he explained.
The official admitted that “there is a decline in the number of people who come with their private car from Argentina.
And the other fact is that
consumption in restaurants and on beaches is lower than usual
.
They even come and look for cheaper rentals than in other seasons,” he added.
Dos Anjos said that “those who arrive find prices very similar to last season.
We have low inflation and that gives predictability to tourists.
Even some Argentines began to pay for their vacations in the middle of the year and reached January with almost all expenses covered.”
In a talk with
Clarín
, he said that after the strong devaluation of the peso last December, they estimated that there would be a sharp decrease in the number of Argentine travelers, but so far that retraction is not so marked.
The lower presence of Argentines was compensated by the
arrival of more Paraguayans and Uruguayans
than in previous seasons.
Dos Anjos explained that the sector's biggest fear is the next summer season.
“I am more concerned about what may happen next year,” he said.
The thing is that in the neighboring country
they foresee a deterioration in the purchasing power of Argentines
, a situation that would make it difficult to afford a summer vacation in the warm waters of the island.
Missions. Correspondent
MG