The Departure of Argentines abroad accelerated again in November, while the Entry of foreign tourists continues to decrease. The context of a “cheap” dollar And more competitive prices especially in the most popular travel destinations Brazilled to largest cumulative tourism deficit for a period of eleven months from the date of official registration. The process, which involves a net outflow of foreign exchange due to the shortage of central bank reserves, coincided with government interventions to keep the exchange rate in check.
The data is known in the same week in which the index informed the official of the decision to stop funding January 1, 2026The International Tourism Survey (ETI) and the Hotel Occupancy Survey (EOH). The measure promoted by the Ministry of Tourism and Environment Daniel Scioliconcerns two of the most important statistical surveys in the sector.
Scioli presented at the National Bank the program “Travel +”with Credit benefits and discounts in the areas of tickets, hotels, gastronomy, spas and car rental, with the aim of promoting internal tourist activity. The initiative has similarities with the government’s incentive programs Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brazil, which reached one this year Recording foreign visitorswith a strong presence of Argentine tourists.
According to information from indexwhich published the International Tourism Statistics (ETI) between January and November 11.19 million residents left the countrywhile 4.78 million foreign tourists entered the country. The result was a negative net balance of 6.41 million peoplethe highest of the entire series for this period.
The deterioration became more severe Novembera key month due to its impact on the start of the High season. This month the Exterior exits they reached 763,789 peopleA 15.3% more than a year agowhile the Income from non-resident tourists they added 491,371with a Decline of 2.7%. The monthly deficit was 272,418 peopleA 73% older to what was registered a year ago.
Historically speaking, that is cumulative red of 2025 has already exceeded that observed in 2017, at the same time of year and was very close to the worst overall annual recordaccordingly 2018. The comparison is even more meaningful when we consider this year’s data December not includeda traditionally loss-making month for the tourism balance.
Despite the Foreign trade deficitTourism maintains one relevant weight in the real economy. If the direct effort associated with the activity is measured, it is Tourism GDP represents round 1.7% of the productwith a strong one Multiplier effect on industries like Transport, catering, hotels and cultural services. However, Argentina hardly manages to achieve this 0.29% of global income from inbound tourismpartly for a low average spend per visitorestimated at $751 per tripbelow the value recorded in other countries in the region.
The phenomenon finds a key explanation in the Exchange context. This emerges from an analysis by the consulting company balancealthough the Multilateral real exchange rate written off and is located today 18% above Compared to the average for the first two months of the year, the actual improvement for tourism was limited. The virtual elimination of Dollar card and the ability to pay for consumption abroad official exchange rate They did that Tourism effective exchange rate approach the official dollar, which is hardly available anymore 5% above from the level at the beginning of the year and 30% below the historical average since the exit from convertibility.
Added to this framework is this Price difference between domestic and foreign destinations. A survey by Laura Vernelli, from Balance, about summer packages 2026 shows that holidays abroad remain popular cheaper have to do it within the country: while national goals like Ushuaia, Villa Carlos Paz or Pinamar exceed $170 to $250 dailyinternational options like Florianopolis either Santiago de Chile lie in between $109 and $147 per day. He Effective bilateral tourism RER Cooperation with neighboring countries also shows an increase in costs: trips to the beach abroad would be more expensive this summer than last year Brazil and Mexico (10%), Uruguay (9%) And Chile (2%).
There are also those beyond the exchange rate Behavioral factors that helps explain the jump of the Outbound tourism. For Daniel ScheingartDirector of Sustainable Productive Development of Foundthe cheap dollar is not the only cause. “In a country with high volatilitya component appears opportunism“Many are choosing to travel now because they don’t know how long this context will last,” he said. To this he adds a related hypothesis Change in consumer behavior: given the difficulty of accessing the Apartment due to the lack of credit, especially among teenagersa portion of the dollar savings goes to the current consumptionsuch as traveling abroad.
The main regional beneficiary of this process is Brazilwhich is experiencing a record year International tourism. According to official information from the Brazilian Ministry of Tourismmore than 9 million foreign visitors They entered the country between January and November, exceeding the previous historical high. In this context the Argentina established itself as Main issue marketwith 3.1 million touristsA 82.1% more than in the same period of 2024.
The rise of international tourism also had an economic impact: foreign tourists Overall (not just the Argentinians) stayed in Brazil $7.17 billion between January and November, a 8.4% more than last year. At the same time, according to them IeralThe Foreign dollars from foreign tourism In Argentina this year it would be between 11,000 and 13,000 million US dollarswith a negative balance from the middle 7,000 and 9,000 million US dollars.
The imbalance of 2025 is also part of a long-term dynamic. Argentina’s tourism record was poor 42 of the last 49 yearsand between 2016 and 2024, the annual average red value was about $3 billionequivalent to 0.5% of GDPaccording to Argentata, the project of the Fundar Foundation. Even during periods of heavy influx of foreign visitors, spending by residents abroad systematically exceeded spending by tourists arriving in the country.
Overall, the combination of cheap dollar, most competitive international prices and a strong expansion of Regional tourism explains why Argentina comes through 2025 He Highest record of net tourist outflows for eleven months of the entire series. The challenge is no longer just to move more travelers, but to reverse a dynamic that makes tourism one of the most important in the context of valuing exchanges Currency exit routes the Argentine economy.
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