Argentina's Tourism Deficit Narrows Despite More Departures Than Arrivals

Argentina's tourism balance remained negative in April, as the number of Argentines departing the country surpassed the number of international tourists arriving. The nation registered a deficit of 301,700 visitors across all entry points during the month, according to the latest report from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec).

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The international tourism has been showing since the end of last year a trend of reduction in the number of Argentines traveling abroad and an increase in foreigners visiting our country. This trend continued in April.

While the gap between outbound and inbound tourism has been significant since the pandemic, it showed a notable reduction in April compared to earlier months and the previous year. In April, 764,800 residents traveled abroad, a 13.2% decrease year-on-year. The majority of these travelers, 71.7%, headed to neighboring countries, with Brazil being the most popular destination (28.3%), followed by Chile (16.1%) and Paraguay (12.3%). Meanwhile, inbound tourism reached 463,100 visitors, marking a 10.6% year-on-year increase. The primary countries of origin for these tourists were Brazil (20.5%), Uruguay (16.4%), and Europe (15.3%).

Lorenzo Sigaut Gravina, from the consultancy Equilibra, highlighted that the tourism deficit has been shrinking for months. He observed a trend since late last year where fewer Argentines travel abroad and more foreigners visit Argentina, a pattern that continued in April. Marcelo Elizondo, an international business specialist, suggested this reduction in outbound tourism might indicate issues with purchasing power or a strategic decision by some to postpone travel until June for the World Cup.

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may be showing a problem in purchasing power, but it can also be linked to the fact that there are people who are deciding to travel in June to see the Football World Cup.

Elizondo concluded that for national accounts, an increase in inbound tourism and a decrease in outbound tourism lead to reduced pressure on the exchange rate. Although Indec now reports dollar inflows and outflows from tourism quarterly instead of monthly, the data anticipates a continued deficit in the balance. In the first three months of this year, the imbalance in this area reached $961.6 million, with Argentines spending $1.84 billion abroad and foreigners spending $882 million in Argentina. This deficit was 12.4% higher than in the same quarter of 2025.

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For the national accounts, an increase in inbound tourism and a decrease in outbound tourism is a new decrease in pressure on the exchange rate.