Overview
- CAME reports travelers are deciding trips roughly 72 hours in advance, creating weekend peaks tied to cultural and sporting agendas rather than long planned stays.
- Nature-plus-event destinations posted high occupancies: Ushuaia reached 88% in the first half of January with 83% bookings for the second, Puerto Iguazú exceeded 82% with peaks of 85%, Villa Carlos Paz and Santa Rosa de Calamuchita topped 90%, and Bariloche and Mendoza hovered near 80%.
- The province of Buenos Aires lagged: Mar del Plata registered 60% occupancy and a 3.8‑night average stay, provincial flow was estimated at 3.6 million—about 100,000 fewer than a year ago—with official data citing a 21% drop in activity in the province and a 26% decline on the Atlantic coast.
- Spending diverged sharply by destination, led by Ushuaia at about $370,000 per person per day and Santa Fe around $219,000, propelled by gastronomy, beach programming and cultural events.
- Registered hotels report profitability pressure from rising operating costs and expanding informal lodging supply, while San Luis was absent from CAME’s top highlights and local hoteliers dispute optimistic occupancy figures near 70%.