Although Uruguayan border stores had a tough 2015, the country’s airports have apparently been enjoying record levels of inbound tourists in recent years, says Carlos Loaiza Keel, General Secretary, La Cámara de Empresarios de Free Shops del Uruguay.

 

Although Carrasco Airport suffered when Pluna, Uruguay’s flagship airline, filed for bankruptcy three years ago, in the last few years the airport has increased the number of its airline partners and therefore the number of passengers it serves.

 

 

The same goes for Punta del Este (top), which this year received a record number of Argentineans. Loaiza Keel believes this is connected to a boost in consumer confidence following the election of new Argentine President Mauricio Macri, who has vowed to cleanse the country’s political system.

 

“The airport channel in Uruguay is doing very well because tourism in Uruguay boomed in the last few years and has continued to grow this year, with a record number of inbound tourists from Europe, US and Argentina,” says Loaiza Keel. “So this channel will continue to grow I think.”

 

Read the full-length interview in the March issue of TRBusiness which can be picked up from the IAADFS Duty Free Show of the Americas this week or through subscribing to the magazine here.