VIÑA DEL MAR, Chile (AP) -- On a recent hot summer day in Chile, the beaches of Viña del Mar, Concón and Reñaca are packed with holidaymakers sharing yerba mate teas and playing ball. Others mill about in the shopping centers on the coast and in the capital, some wearing shirts with Lionel Messi's name on them, carrying bags full of clothes, video games and mobile phones.
They are part of a wave of Argentines who have found Chile to be a budget-friendly paradise this southern summer.
"Everything here is so cheap for us," said Cristian Vázquez, who was enjoying the sea in Reñaca, on Chile's central coast.
In December 2024, the start of the Southern Hemisphere's summer, more Argentines went on vacation abroad than in the previous year, with Chile, Brazil, and Uruguay as the top destinations.
Despite a year of economic crisis, Argentines are flocking to beaches, mountains and shopping centers abroad, encouraged by a favorable economic outlook -- and a strong peso.
Between December 2023 and the same month in 2024 the Argentine peso appreciated by around 41% against the official U.S. dollar, thanks in part of a strong adjustment plan implemented by President Javier Milei, an ultra-liberal who came to power at the end of 2023 on vows to "blow up" the central bank, take an axe to the bloated government and kill sky-high inflation.
The stampede of Argentines traveling abroad for their summer vacations is driven by several factors, including the recent devaluation of various foreign currencies, the convenience of nearby destinations accessible by car and the prohibitively high cost of domestic vacations, especially along the Argentine Atlantic coast.
Argentine tourism abroad surged in December, with departures up 76.4% year-over-year to 1.3 million travelers compared to the same month the previous year, according to official figures. Of those, 80.7% visited neighboring countries, primarily Chile (28%), Brazil (22.6%) and Uruguay (15.6%).
Chile has become a popular destination for Argentines, who made up 40% of the 5.2 million visitors to the country in 2024 and early 2025. Chile's strong economic position relative to Argentina has resulted in competitive prices, a major draw for Argentine tourists.
Chile's tourism undersecretary, Verónica Pardo, noted that visitors are also spending more than in previous years, averaging about $63.3 per person per day.
Argentine visitors aren't confined to the sun-drenched beaches of the Chilean coast. Messi jerseys and mate gourds are also a common sight in other neighboring countries.
Nicolás Lentini, 37, recently arrived in Brazil, drawn by the devalued real and lower prices. "A week's rent for four people in Argentina costs $700," he said, noting that he paid the same amount for 14 days in Búzios, a Brazilian resort east of Rio de Janeiro.
"Besides, the beaches here are incomparable to ours, where it's cold. Here, you can wear a T-shirt all day."
Brazil experienced a surge in tourism after the real depreciated by around 27% in 2024, when it reached a record of 6.6 million foreign arrivals, with Argentines being the main visitors (1.9 million).
Andrés Deyá, from Argentina's federation of travel and tourism business associations, highlighted the challenges of competing with neighboring countries like Brazil.
"We can provide good services, financing tools, tourism quality and everything else," he said, but ultimately "macroeconomic issues define where Argentines decide to travel."
After a four-year hiatus marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and a subsequent economic crisis, Luis Sánchez returned to the exclusive resort of Punta del Este, Uruguay.
"We like it a lot... this year the prices aren't as high as they've been," said Sánchez, one of 309,570 Argentines who visited Uruguay between December 20, 2024, and January 13, 2025, representing nearly half of all visitors to the country, where the U.S. dollar appreciated almost 13% against the Uruguayan peso in 2024 compared to 2023.
Tourism operators in Argentina note that the Argentine exodus was also fueled by recovering purchasing power due to falling inflation and the recent elimination of a tax on foreign credit card purchases.
Sunbathing in a bikini on a Punta del Este beach, Esperanza Fagalde said she hadn't vacationed at the Uruguayan resort for the past two years. "It just wasn't affordable," she said, citing the unfavorable exchange rate and high costs.
"But now it is, so we're back," she said.
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Calatrava reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Associated Press writers Gabriela Sá Pessoa and Diarlei Rodrigues in Brazil, and Matilde Campodonico in Uruguay contributed.
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