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Uruguay Beaches Gearing Up for 2011 Summer Season

On October 11, 2010, In real estate, tourism, uruguay, by InvestBA
Punta del Este Taxis

Welcome Back: Mercedes-Benz taxis queue up today at Punta del Este International Airport.

With today’s national holiday, thousands of Argentines are taking advantage of the long weekend and returning to Uruguay’s side of the Tango Coast for the first time since the January/February high season. The Dia de la Raza holiday is giving locals and visitors alike a taste of what’s to come for Season 2011.

Nelson Fernandez, La Nacion’s correspondent in Uruguay says the influx of tourists is a welcome sight in Punta del Este where many homes and condos are being re-opened and aired out for the first time in seven months.

Uruguay’s Vice Minister of Tourism, Liliam Kechichian, says while the government does not have tourism projections for Season 2011, hotels and condo rental agencies have been reporting a significant increase in summer bookings in the past few weeks.

While Argentines are still expected to account for 60-70% of summer vacationers in Uruguay, that percentage is falling with the growing influx of Brazilians, whose presence is now a year-round phenomenon, and increasingly Americans and British tourists, thanks to recent glowing reviews of Uruguay in BBC News & MetroUK, The Miami Herald and The New York Times. (Full Story in Spanish)

For more information about Uruguay investment opportunities, e-mail us or download the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

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In Buenos Aires, Winter Goes Out with a Retail, Tourism Bang

On August 4, 2010, In a-bric, buenos aires events, foreign investment, tourism, by InvestBA
Dot Baires Shopping Center in Buenos Aires

Shopping centers like Dot Baires are packed with locals and tourists in a buying mood. (Photo: E. Gallelli)

When we look back on 2010 in Argentina from an economic standpoint, the year will be remembered for some key trends that helped lift the country out of the doldrums of 2008/09: consumer confidence, retail spending, housing demand and the record influx of tourists, both domestic (notably BA for the Bicentennial) and international.

And while we’re still months away from closing the books on 2010, Alfredo Sainz of La Nacion says all of these factors are peaking simultaneously to send winter out with a serious bang of discretionary spending.

“The combination of low temperatures,good macroeconomic signals, purchases delayed for two years, the lack of saving alternatives and a massive flood of Brazilian tourists all combined to make the perfect recipe for winter vacations and winter 2010 in general,” writes Sainz adding, “From the shopping centers, the multiplexes, the clothing stores, the tourism agencies and the airlines, this winter season has been the most successful of the last three years.”

Retail sales are up 20-50% at Dot Baires, Alto Avellaneda, Paseo Alcorta, Abasto and Unicenter; box office ticket sales are up 65%; and the 20% bump in tourists has pushed average hotel occupancy rates to 90%. On the transportation side, Aerolineas Argentinas just announced a 30% increase in July traffic and a whopping 240% increase in traffic from Brazil.

And in a clever case of making limonada out of limoes, the country’s early exodus from the World Cup prompted TAM to divert some originally-scheduled South Africa routes down to the ski slopes of Bariloche. (Full Story in Spanish)

For more information on Buenos Aires shopping and luxury living, download the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

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Buenos Aires Outlet Shopping Attracting Bargain-Hunters

On July 18, 2010, In arts & entertainment, lifestyle, tourism, vanityba, by InvestBA
Villa Crespo

Dame Dos: BA's Villa Crespo has quickly become the epicenter of outlet shopping in Argentina.

It used to be that Argentines had to travel roughly 4,500 miles to South Florida or Orlando’s International Drive to indulge in deep discount retail therapy, but it seems the outlet concept has caught on fire in one BA neighborhood.

Villa Crespo has long been known as a solid, middle-class residential neighborhood, but the 2001 financial crisis left this BA barrio with several abandoned warehouses and residences. Today, according to Clari­n, many of those buildings are being bought for upwards of US$500,000 and converted into the Buenos Aires equivalent of Sawgrass Mills.

The phenomenon began five years ago when several large BA clothing stores started opening their first outlets around Gurruchaga and Aguirre. Today there are over 60 outlets in a four-block zone and close to 100 in a 10-block region. The retail pioneers like Hunor Gobos closed their stores on Avenida Florida five years ago, opened the first VC stores and have watched sales and shoppers grow every year since.

Clari­n says the Boom de los Outlets has really exploded over the last ten months, and the area is teeming with bargain-seeking tourists, especially Brazilians, Chileans and Uruguayans. Daniel Chain of the Buenos Aires Department of Urban Development says prices in Villa Crespo are still lower than Palermo but says they will continue rising, as Villa Crespo will be one of the prime beneficiaries of GCBA’s new infrastructure to control flooding. (Full article in Spanish)

For more information about upscale shopping and luxury living in Buenos Aires, download the new issue of InvestBA Privada.

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Flush with Reais, Brazilian Tourists Flocking to Buenos Aires

On November 18, 2009, In a-bric, arts & entertainment, culture, tourism, by InvestBA
Party Time: The relative strength of the Real makes BA a bargain for Brazilians.

Party Time: The strength of the Real makes BA and other Argentine cities a bargain for Brazilians.

With the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics on the horizon, Brazil has the high-profile task of welcoming the World to its doorstep for, not one, but two major sporting events in the coming decade.

But where do Brazilians go when they need a little D&R (Descanso e Relaxmento)? Well judging by the Portuguese-speaking throngs on the slopes of Bariloche or in the trendiest parrillas in Puerto Madero, Argentina is a safe bet.

An article in Brazil’s Primeira Edicao newspaper confirms Buenos Aires’ popularity for a variety of reasons including diversity, proximity and bottom-line affordability: “For many, Buenos Aires is the most European city in the Southern Hemisphere, most resembling cities like Paris, Madrid and Rome. Her intense cultural life, beautiful architecture, and excellent dining and leisure options make the Argentine capital a favorite destination for many Brazilians who want to visit a metropolis that is vibrant, cultured and, most importantly cheap.”

The article notes that a Brazilian real is today worth 2.2 Argentine pesos, thus making cities like Buenos Aires extremamente acessi­vel. So Congrats, Brazil…enjoy your little Games. While you’re busy entertaining politicians and IOC officials, Buenos Aires will be entertaining Brazilians…and they’re a hell of a lot more fun. (YouTube)

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