Argentina’s travel industry

Tourism Industry grows in Argentina

About 280,000 people visited Argentinean tourist destinations in the first two weeks of January, which is 9.6 percent more than in the same period last year.

This important rally is the result of the economic reactivation in the country, the Argentina National Secretary of Tourism Enrique Meyer told to media on Friday.

The official added that it is a good beginning to the summer season with high levels of reservations for the whole Argentinean destinations.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, 8.600.000 tourists visited the country in December 2009 and the first two weeks of 2010, representing a 6.1 percent rise on the same period in 2008-2009.

The Atlantic Coast of Buenos Aires, specifically Mar del Plata, registered the main flood of people with 667.260 visitors in the first two week in January, rising a 8 percent on the same period in 2009, said the official note.

The province of Cordoba, famous for its landscapes, rivers and lakes, kept the primacy among the non-seaside destinations with 787.951 visits, a 3.25 rise on the first two weeks in 2009.

Argentina’s Secretary of Tourism supports José María López to compete in Formula 1

Argentinean José María López has been officially presented as one of the drivers for the new US F1 Team on Monday afternoon in a press conference that took place at the presidential house of Argentina after a meeting with President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

López, 26 years old and former Renault F1 Team test driver, reached an agreement with Peter Windsor, US F1 Team Executive Vice President, on Friday after several weeks of negotiations that ended when the Argentinean presented the sponsorship guarantees of eight millions dollars that will be given to the team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. Of those eight millions dollars, two million will come from the government of Argentina through the Secretary of Tourism.

That’s the reason why the presentation of López was held at the Casa Rosada, in Buenos Aires, with the presence of US F1′s Windsor, along with Florencio Randazzo, Ministry of Internal Affairs; Enrique Meyer, Secretary of Tourism; Claudio Morresi, Secretary of Sports; and Carlos García Remohí, President of the CDA division of the ACA (Automóvil Club Argentino).

Windsor, who postponed his return to the United States from Friday to Monday so he could be present at the press conference, showed that he was very happy with José María López as driver of the new Formula One team. “I believe that López has won more races in these three years than any other driver in the world”, he said in reference to the success experience by López racing in Argentina — where he was champion of TC2000 Series in 2008 and 2009 and of Top Race V6 Series also last year.

The television commentary/journalist who has covered F1 events, Windsor, proved to be very comfortable in Argentina. Windsor is a close friend of Argentinean Carlos Alberto Reutemann, former runner-up champion of Formula One in 1981 and current Senator. Reutemann was another important part in the negociaations that ended with López landing into the cockpit of the first Formula One team from the United States.

The US F1 Team will make it debut in Formula One next season, along with three other teams: Campos Meta 1, Lotus F1 Team and Virgin Racing. That’s why López believes the team will need some time in their endeavors, a learning curve, before they start to show important results.

“The objectives are important, but we must know which objectives we put to ourselves”, he said before adding that “being ahead of the new teams” should be the aim of the team.

“We know that we are with a new team, that is starting from zero, but this is a great team and they are working in a fantastic way”, López said.
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SOURCES:

“Tourism Industry grows in Argentina”
Inside Costa Rica
?Jan 23, 2010?
http://www.insidecostarica.com/
http://www.insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2010/january/23/latam-10012302.htm

“Argentinean Jose Maria Lopez notches US F1 ride”
Motorsport.com
Federico Faturos
20-01-2010
http://www.motorsport.com/
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=355662