Eight out of ten travelers chose a local vacation destination. The data, which arises from a survey by the consulting firm Management & Fit, explains the phenomenon that the tourism sector is experiencing in times of pandemic. An additional fact: only 850,000 Argentines left abroad last December. In this context, the business experienced a renewed season compared to the previous period.
“The industry continues on the path of recovery. Taking the Carnival holidays as a reference, although the numbers of the year before the pandemic were not reached, we observed an increase of 98% compared to 2020”, highlights Paula Cristi, general manager of Despegar for Argentina and Uruguay. Paul Aperiodirector of TTS Travel, considers that “the industry is beginning to move towards a slight recovery after an unprecedented fall”. From his point of view, the sector is “in the stage of a patient who barely comes out of therapy, because he believes that “the danger is behind us, but above all else, the aim is to adapt the conditions so that the recovery continues”. “This is, perhaps, the most appropriate image for a sector that had a good start to the summer after a historic and very strong inactivity. There is still time to stabilize this patient”, he highlights. Federico Pastori, chief commercial officer of Flybondi, It coincides with the diagnosis: “Since we returned to operations in December 2020, after the global crisis that the sector suffered caused by the pandemic, until the end of 2021 we began to experience a great recovery in the air and tourism sector.”
on the rise. On tourismcity coincide with the fact that the numbers of national tourism “are already greater than 2019 in all the countries of Latam”, for which they indicate that “the rise in the coming months will be more in the international segment“. There is a demand for reaction to the news that arrives from the different countries: “Every time information about openings comes out, the inquiries for that country skyrocket”, he assures Julian Gurfinkiel, from Turismocity. “Today, practically all nations are open to tourism. Those that remained open and without restrictions were the ones that received the most international tourism, such as Mexico, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic,” he adds. For Pastori, “the market is not the same today, then it is complex to make a comparison that is 100% measurable. At Flybondi we are flying to almost most of the destinations that we had before the pandemic”, The only routes that have not yet returned are those that the company flew from Rosario and Paraguay. “During 2021, more than 930,000 passengers traveled with us and we are projecting for this year that 2,800,000 passengers will do so on both our national and international routes, through the increase in the offer and the fleet”, assures the executive.
The tourism industry represents 10% of the national GDP and generates a million jobs. For this reason, the openings and the Pre-Travel program were an incentive after a 2020 of confinement. “The beginning of the reactivation took place through local and proximity destinations. Currently, this trend is consolidated, but at the same time it is observed how more and more travelers are daring to cross borders,” explains Cristi.
With the end of the restrictions, the sector took air again. Still, the data is compelling. According to statistics from Argentine Forum of Consultants & Travel Companies, in 2021, the cabotage air market was a third of that registered in 2019: the number of passengers transported fell by 65.4%. According to a panel of experts from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), 61% of professionals in the sector forecast a 2022 with “better prospects”, especially in the third quarter of the year, coinciding with summer in the northern hemisphere. However, 64% consider that the return of international arrivals to 2019 levels will not occur until at least 2024 (in September that percentage stood at 45%).
For Gurfinkiel, in the national business, hotel services, car rental, travel assistance, are at pre-pandemic levels. “There was a very strong increase in sales of travel assistance. People ask for it a lot and find out, something that did not happen before,” he stresses. As for international flights, the picture is very different: the rebound is still waiting. The data is not less. The sector feeds, to a greater extent, on the margins offered by packages abroad. It is not for less, they are listed in dollars, while sales to local destinations are made in pesos.
Dues. Therefore, the expectation is set on the return of the facilities, read financing for trips abroad. “The agencies are waiting for the return of the necessary stimuli to go abroad. Today, those who cannot gather all the money to pay for an entire trip before leaving practically have to postpone their idea because there are no fees to accompany the planning,” says Aperio. At the moment, given the shortage of dollars in the economy, there are no signs that the scenario will change. “We do not have a clear date or goal for this to work again as before. Increased revenue from local sales was achieved, but a valuable margin was lost from the sale of trips abroad”, emphasizes the executive.
Finally, it is not clear what the future of PreVaje will be. Although the State achieved a boom in tourism thanks to the program, the different actors in the industry predict a lower participation of the State. “Apparently it would not repeat these programs as we knew them, but in a different way, benefiting the regional economies that did not come out so favored. The sector was so damaged that the State will continue to accompany companies and national destinations that have not yet managed to rebuild their activity.”, closes Aperio. Post Pre-Trip life is not yet written.
Marcelo Alfano
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by Marcelo Alfano
