Uruguay's tourist arrivals surpass pre-pandemic level

Montevideo, April 20

Uruguay received 1,219,198 foreign visitors in the first quarter of 2023, 11.6 per cent up from the same period in 2019, said Tourism Minister Tabare Viera.

"This figure makes us very happy. We see a confirmed recovery process," said the Minister.

Due to the pandemic-related travel restrictions, Uruguay saw a downturn of tourist arrivals from 2019 to 2022, Xinhua news agency reported citing official data.

Compared with the same period in 2019, the country's tourism revenues dropped 4.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, from $776 million to $741 million.

In 2019, Uruguay received 3.2 million tourists, contributing about 8 per cent to the gross domestic product.