Will Argentina Tourist Dollar be the industry’s demise?

Will Argentina Tourist Dollar be the industry’s demise?
Argentina Tourist Dollar

A new measure to curb the devaluation of the Argentina peso and encourage tourism in the country is being considered by the nation’s government. One of the first rules that will be taken by the new premier of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, is the implementation of the “tourist dollar” – a new currency that could be worth 30% more than the current currency.

“To get out of the crisis, all sectors must make their contribution, including tourism,” said the government president in presenting the outline of the initiative.

The announcement of the possible launch of the “new dollar, however, immediately met the resistance and protests of the organized tourism sector, which still remembers the negative effects that followed the introduction of a similar measure between 2013 and 2015 to work of the executive of the time led by Cristina Fernández Kirchner (current Argentina vice president).

The “tourist dollar,” in fact, would end up particularly penalizing the flows relating to the outgoing, the segment already now most affected by the devaluation of the weight. But that’s not all, because domestic tourism would also be negatively affected by the new currency.

“The new measure could cause a critical situation for most Argentine travel agencies, which are mostly small and medium-sized,” said Gustavo Hani, President of the Federación Argentina de Asociaciones de Empresas de Viajes y Turismo, the association that brings together more of 5,000 agencies across the country.

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Avatar of Mario Masciullo - Special to eTN

Mario Masciullo - Special to eTN

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