A cheap tango: Foreign tourism booms in Argentina

Reuters-Forbes.com | 01.06.04, 5:55 PM ET

[Cuttnhorse]

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Jan 6 (Reuters) - It has rarely been cheaper to dance the tango in Argentina, which is why the number of foreign visitors jumped by a third in 2003, the government said on Tuesday.

The steep fall of Argentina's peso, the product of a recent economic crash, has also filled the South American country's malls and boutique shops with bargain hunters eager to snap up local leather, wine and handcrafted jewelry.

"Many tourists ... take advantage of the currency and the quality of service that has notably improved in Argentina," Tourism Secretary Enrique Meyer told local radio.

According to one index, Buenos Aires went from being the world's 23rd most expensive major city in 2001 to 133rd in 2002, the most recent year for which figures are available.

Meyer said at least $275 million was invested in 2003 toward the construction of new hotels and other tourist centers. Much of the increased traffic has come from neighboring countries like Brazil and Chile, he added.

Argentina is now recovering from the economic debacle, and American Airlines (nyse: AMR - news - people) is among the foreign carriers that have opened up new flights to Buenos Aires last year. Cruise ships that sail to Antarctica from the southern Argentine port of Ushuaia also report full capacity.

Copyright 2004, Reuters News Service

[Cuttnhorse]

This story is very true...was in Argentina over Christmas and almost went broke saving money.

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[solzhenitsyn]

So how cheap was it? Could you give a few examples of how much things cost? Are hotels cheap? Thanks!

[PJ-Comix]

Yeah, let us know some sample prices. I visited Buenos Aires years ago and you could eat a steak dinner with spaghetti on the side, some lamb, great salad, and a bottle of wine for about the price of a couple of Big Mac dinners. Also could I get good deals on buying gold coins down there with U.S. dollars? Give us some SPECIFICS!

[Cuttnhorse]

We stayed at the Hyatt in Mendoza...a 6-hour drive from Santiago, Chile. I cleaned the beer out of the mini bar every day, and ate all the cashews, plus used room service a lot, had two great dinners at the hotel, and one lunch and the bill for four days was $600 US. You can find much cheaper hotels than the Hyatt, but it is a top notch hotel...great service and the restaurant was recently featured in "The Wine Spectator" for its wine selection.

We met an American family who were visiting their daughter who is studying in BA. Seven of us went to dinner at the Hyatt and the bill was $100 for the works...entrada, wine, main course, and desert, (they do great deserts).

Ate dinner at a couple of other places, one real gourmet type in an old winery, and had the works...entrada, main course, desert, wine...the tab was around $35 with tip for the wife and me.

The wines are real bargins...especially their malbecs...bought a bunch to bring back and I think I bought one of the most expensive labels in the shop and it was about $12 US...lots of excellent wine for $5 to $7.

Leather is the real bargin though...the wife bought two jackets, handmade of antelope, one had to be made on the spot and they finished it overnight...$325 for both jackets.

Mendoza is a really nice city...lots of pretty parks and streets closed to traffic with outdoor cafes and pubs.

We also found the people to be very friendly and happy to see gringo tourists...and their $$. They love American tourists, we typically treat the help so much better than the Latins treat them.

We're going to try to go back and hit BA and plan a horse vacation. Did that in Chile and had a great time.

[IndependentSouthernDemocrat]

They say that there are some fine women in Argentina too. I heard that the beef there is grassfed and taste better too.

[Cuttnhorse]

Argentina is interesting...it is just emerging from who knows how many decades of failed socialism...Peron style, and is looking more like a capitalist state.

[Cuttnhorse]

The beef is excellent, excellent, but is grain-finished like ours. One big difference in taste in foreign beef is that most foreign countries do not castrate their bull calves, but leave them intact. Test after test have shown that this imparts more flavor and tenderness in fed cattle. We don't do it because of handling difficulties...and the weight gains are better on steers than on bull calves.

Oh, and the ladies...lots of Italian influence in Argentina...beautiful women.

[solzhenitsyn]

Thanks, Cuttnhorse! I didn't expect all that, but it's surely appreciated. Well, heck, I've already made my reservation for Mexico this winter. Maybe next year. Hope the bargains will still be there!

[WHATNEXT?]

A vendor of ours family is from Argentina and they visit on a fairly regular basis. They have told us Argentinians dislike Americans (vendors family went from rags to riches leaving Argentina and immigrating to America) and our policies. Of course everyone likes our money.

I'm sure it is the socialism that they are emerging from that makes them anti US and capitalism.

[alnitak]

I second that. I recently went on a business trip to Buenos Aires for 4 days. Stayed in a five star hotel, bill came to about US $300. Eating out is so cheap .. the average Brit/American can afford to go to the best restaurants in town. Taxis are almost ridiculously cheap - one night we got a taxi home and it cost about 30 pence for 2 of us (about 50 US cents).

On the other hand, imported designer stuff (Swiss watches, designer clothes etc) is no cheaper than here.

[alnitak]

There are no ugly women in Buenos Aires :-) I'm 95% serious, they all seem to have great figures and be beautifully turned out. There is a certain sense of style to the place, a bit like Italy. Ingrid Grudke is kinda cute.

[Cuttnhorse]

On taxi's in Mendoza...I parked my vehicle and only used taxi's...a lot less terrifying for me. Argentina seems to have more than a fair amount of uncontrolled intersections...no traffic lights or stop or yield signs, plus I noticed a fair amount of cars driving around with the rear ends all bashed in.

For a dollar US, you can go all over the place in a cab.

[Cuttnhorse]

This lady from an Argentinian model website:

[IndependentSouthernDemocrat]

Another reason for the superiority of Argentine beef is the dominance of the Hereford and Angus breeds amongst their beef cattle herds.

[IndependentSouthernDemocrat]

The resentment that many Argentines have towards the USA, from what I understand, is more akin to paleoconservative (Argentina) resentment towards neoconservativism (USA)than your classic run-of-the-mill classic third world leftist bull. For an example, what was your position on the Falklands War in 1982?

[jaime1959]

I just got back today from spending two weeks with my wife's family in Bariloche. Man, what a big change from 6 years ago (the last time I went), when the peso was pegged 1:1 with the dollar.

An example of how cheap it is. Went to dinner at a nice Parilla (Steakhouse), 3 adults, two kids. Ordered two big sirloins (bife de chorizo), a split chicken breast, an order of papas fritas (big enough to feed all of us), salad, bottle of wine and drinks for the kids. Total tab was under $30, and it was all excellent!

Invited the family over to watch the Ravens-Steelers game on ESPN. Got some take out food [empañadas (meat turnovers)and pizza, both very tasty]. The empañadas went for 12 pesos/dozen, or about 35 cents each and large pizzas were between $2.25 and $4, depending on what you wanted on them. A liter of Quillmes beer (nice pilsener) went for about 67 cents.

Argentina is really a great deal as far as food, clothing, and excursions go. Plus, it's one hell of a beautiful country, especially the south, along the border with Chile.

[IndependentSouthernDemocrat]

Now that Mia Maestro from Argentina is a fine chick.

[Cuttnhorse]

Cool...Everyone tells me Bariloche is great.

I've been on the Chile side, went on a three-day horse trip into the Chilean rain forest and we rode on the old Puerto Mont, Chile to Bariloche road. It was constructed in the 1920's and is mostly a wood plank road...now rotting and falling apart. We are planning a trip to Bariloche in May or June.

I like the Argentineans as well, we found them to be very friendly and happy to see tourists.

Did you try any of the Malbec wines?? Excellent!

[Cuttnhorse]

Interesting about the Falklands...there are still highway signs posted around the country reading:

Las Islas Malvinas
Son Nuestros