Long weekend: In La Rioja there was a hotel occupancy of 45%
On the tourism side, according to data from the Argentine Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises (CAME), the number of travelers was much lower than last year, 64.3% less.
CAME recalled that on that occasion the weekend had been 4 days and it did not coincide with the fact that in two days another long holiday would arrive, as will happen between next Thursday, June 20 and Sunday, June 23.
Regarding the celebration of Father’s Day, with which it was expected to improve sales, and although almost 65% of businesses offered aggressive discounts to boost operations, in reality, sales decreased 10.2% compared to last year , measured at constant prices.
“There were interest-free installments in many businesses and good discounts for cash payments, but people were still measured. A highlight of the date were the collective purchases, among several family members, to save,” they noted from the Chamber.
Regarding the trips reported by CAME, 802 thousand tourists traveled in the three days that the weekend lasted and they spent $81,464 million on food, drinks, accommodation, transportation, recreation and various purchases.
With Father’s Day as the main attraction, there was primarily movement towards nearby places and visits that were more family-oriented than vacation-related.
Tourists spent an average of $50,788 per day, 3.4% less than on the same date in 2023 (at real prices) and had an average stay of 2 days, which was also below what is usual for a weekend of 3 days (usually between 2.2 and 2.5).
The weather was uneven, with very good temperatures in places like the Atlantic Coast or the NOA region, and threats of rain and storms in others like Entre Ríos or Corrientes that made people doubt whether to travel or not.
So far this year there have been 3 long weekends, where 6.6 million people mobilized and disbursed $1,065,990 million (US$1,169 million in the official BNA dollar).
From the CAME they pointed out that a factor that reduced the dynamism of the weekend movement was the drop in international tourism, which, although still latent, is not seen in the magnitudes of previous months.
Regarding retail sales reported by CAME, they decreased 10.2% compared to last year, measured at constant prices, although 63% of businesses carried out special promotions.
In La Rioja
According to the survey carried out by CAME, with a daily expenditure per person of $40,000 and hotel occupancy of 45%, the most visited cities were La Rioja capital, Villa Unión and Chilecito. In the latter, tourists visited the emblematic Cable Carril.
Meanwhile, Villa Unión offered adventure tourism programs, vineyards, gastronomy and natural and cultural attractions. In addition, the Talampaya Canyon, the Coastal Corridor, the Santa Teresita hot springs and the Laguna Brava Provincial Reserve were among the hiker’s preferences.
