This morning I read in various press reports that Argentina is about to ‘buck’ the disastrous tourism seasons experienced around the world and probably, that is a very big ‘probably’, with more carefully worded sentences ‘showered’ with IFs and BUTs, achieve record tourism figures, or so the Secretary for Tourism reports.

However, my  Spanish, although improving, is not that good, maybe it was just the secretary’s secretary that looked into his or her crystal ball and made this outlandish prediction.

I think a mammoth increases in domestic tourism is a must, and it seems that more Argentines travel this season, or this upbeat prediction might just be more of the ‘feel good messages’ that come via the Pink Palace’s press relations machine, but have very little to do with the hard times felt across Argentina and that nearly all my Argentine friends report with ever-increasing concern.

Read on:

Argentina eyes new summer tourism record

• Argentina is on course for a record-setting summer tourist season, with an estimated 9.5 million domestic and foreign tourists expected to travel to different destinations across the country in January, an official said

• If that figure is confirmed, the number of tourists in January 2010 will rise by 10.2 percent relative to the same month last year, and would be the largest total during that month in the past decade, tourism secretary Enrique Meyer said in a statement on Saturday.

ON COURSE and IF.  I never report matters of politics and Argentine affairs, as I fear I might offend my most gracious hosts or my friends that support the current administration, but this statement is laughable and IF true, maybe it would be better to wait until there are some verifiable figures to support these claims?

Everyone I know who works in tourism is glad for the summer, but reports this year worse than last, mainly because  at least last year people in the main had booked and paid up before the crash – this year we are not so lucky and tourists are spending less.

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