Buenos Aires Officials Forecast Record Cruise Season

Argentina´s 2005-2006 cruise season, which promises to be a record-breaking one, kicked off Sunday with the arrival in Buenos Aires of the Norwegian-flagged Nordnorge with 350 tourists and a crew of 75.

Buenos Aires City sources forecast that an estimated 100,000 tourists and 75 cruise vessels will be calling in Argentina´s capital, a city that´s rapidly becoming one of the main attractions of the south Atlantic.

“This season we expect 75 cruise vessels, up 40 percent over last year, which means an estimated 100,000 visitors”, said Captain Carlos Villareal, head of the Argentine Coast Guard River Plate Traffic Control Office. During last year´s season, the number of vessels totaled 55 with 65,000 tourists and 10,000 crewmembers.

Cruise tourism in the City of Buenos Aires has been growing consistently since 1996 and has become an important source of revenue for the tourism industry.

The Tourism Office of Buenos Aires estimates each cruise visitor spends anywhere between $100 and $300, particularly because foreigners love shopping in fancy garments shops and leather goods. Shopping sprees are combined with the traditional city tour, tango shows and visit to an estancia with gauchos, barbecue and horse breaking.