Winter Holidays: How Much Tourist Movement the Main Destinations in the Country Are Registering

Winter holidays mobilize tourists in various parts of Argentina, although with uneven results among the most chosen destinations. The lower purchasing power, last-minute bookings, and reduced stays condition a season marked by caution.

The school break began in a staggered manner among the provinces, and this week added the movement from the City and Province of Buenos Aires, the two districts with the largest population. The sector hopes that this coincidence will improve occupancy levels during the central part of the season.

However, initial surveys show significant differences depending on the destination. While some mountainous towns reached occupancy levels above 50%, other traditional spots began the break with more moderate demand.

The scenario also presents a contrast between domestic tourism and the arrival of foreign visitors. While hotels and local providers warn about the impact of the loss of purchasing power, the government reported a record number of arrivals from non-bordering countries during the first six months of 2026.

In Mar del Plata, one of the traditionally chosen spots by Buenos Aires tourists, hotel occupancy was around 25% at the beginning of the break, according to El Destape. The sector expects a recovery driven by last-minute bookings and weekend getaways.

Activity also started moderately in Entre Ríos, where establishments recorded an average occupancy close to 30%. Movement had shown a slight uptick during the long weekend of July 9, but then slowed down again.

The Entre Ríos Tourism Chamber pointed out that the situation is not solely due to seasonal or promotional issues but also to the difficulties affecting consumption. This phenomenon particularly impacts towns whose economic activity depends on nearby travel.

Meanwhile, Tandil averaged 55% occupancy during the first week of the Buenos Aires holidays. This figure was below the nearly 80% movement recorded during last year's break, although it again placed the city among the most sought-after alternatives within the province.

In the Serrana Comarca of Tornquist, which includes towns like Sierra de la Ventana and Villa Ventana, the holidays began with approximately 50% of hotel rooms occupied.

The latest consolidated data from Indec, corresponding to May, showed a year-on-year drop of 12.1% in the departure of Argentine tourists abroad.

The largest decline occurred in land travel, which decreased by 27.5% compared to the same period last year. Transfers by river or sea fell by 6.7%, while air travel showed a considerably smaller decrease of 0.3%.

A report from the Institute of Studies on Argentine and Latin American Reality (IERAL), part of the Mediterranean Foundation, indicated that in May there was still a difference of about 282,000 people between outgoing and incoming tourism.

The entity observed that land trips, generally associated with tighter budgets, suffered the most pronounced contraction. Air travel, on the other hand, remained relatively stable as it is linked to higher-income segments that are less sensitive to price changes.

In contrast to the uneven performance of domestic tourism, Argentina reached a record number of visitors from non-bordering countries during the first half of 2026.

Between January and June, 1,434,001 tourists from those markets arrived, according to information collected by the Directorate of Markets and Statistics of the National Tourism Subsecretariat, based on records provided by Immigration.

This figure even surpassed the best mark of the last 25 years, corresponding to 2019, before the pandemic, when 1,383,748 visitors from non-bordering countries entered.

In total, during the first six months of the year, 3,115,089 foreign tourists arrived in the country. Nearly half came from non-bordering nations, with the United States, Spain, and Peru being the three main source markets.

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