Bariloche wins back Brazilians with favorable exchange rate – 08/17/2023 – Tourism

Argentina faces one of the worst economic turmoil in its history. This week, the sprint of ultraliberal deputy Javier Milei in the primary elections made the dollar soar (in its parallel modality, it is close to 700 pesos) and Argentine debt securities plummeted.

But there was no talk of a crisis on the cold afternoon of a Wednesday in July, when dozens of tourists were vying for a place to put their ski paddles at the foot of a snowy mountain on Cerro Catedral, the biggest ski resort in South America. , in Bariloche.

There, three- to four-year-old children from wealthy families take their first ice sports classes, accompanied by uniformed instructors. When they get tired, they are lined up sitting in the soft snow, bundled in their winter clothes. Some eat chocolates or take snowballs to their mouths, carefree.

Around, most are adults, and you hear a lot of Spanish, some English and a lot of Portuguese. Gangly but lively Brazilians take pictures while learning to ski or snowboard.

“Now, let’s make it as if it were the shape of a slice of pizza with our feet, see? That’s how we can brake”, explains instructor Sebastian Pocho. He gestures generously and uses the same analogies with Brazilians about food shapes and foot positions that work with young skiers who, sitting nearby, keep tasting the trampled snow on the ground. The technique works, and none of the Brazilians in the group land on their butts in the icy snow.

The best way to avoid falling, however, is to be on the ground already. And that is well known to the Brazilians who flock to the Piedras Blancas complex, where the skiing (20,000 pesos for six runs) is the main attraction. There are five tracks with different levels of difficulty. Spanish-speaking children whoop in unison toward number two, the leanest of them.

Groups of Brazilian teenagers on a high school graduation trip roam in large groups around the site, identified by the waterproof coats of travel agencies. They stay in ski hotels in the center of the city, from where they leave at night in buses full of excited boys and girls in miniskirts, immune to the cold, heading to the region’s clubs.

The decadent charm of the capital of the winter hermano seems to make it also a darling destination for Brazilian politicians. Also on a Sunday in July, the Minister of Ports and Airports, Márcio França, could be seen having dinner with his wife and grandchildren at Taberna Gallega Breogan, a house specializing in seafood with a modest lounge and worn cutlery. He accompanied the Congressional Tax Reform vote on his cell phone alone at a table at La Parrila de Julian, a traditional steakhouse in the region.

In the same period, Lula’s former minister, Ciro Gomes, stayed with his wife and son at the four-star Hotel Panamericano (daily rates for a couple from R$1,233 in high season). The rest of her family (a total of 15 people, including adults and children) stayed at the luxurious Alma del Lago (R$ 1,748 per night, on average).

Ciro’s presence caused a stir among the Brazilians staying at the Panamericano—the favorite anecdote at breakfast was that the pedetista would be staying in the “presidential” suite.

About an hour from Bariloche, the charming Villa La Angostura is also home to former Argentine president Maurício Macri’s vacation mansion, in a condominium in the Cumélen district. The region is also a holiday destination for Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, daughter of Jorge Zorreguieta, former minister of the Argentine military dictatorship.

In addition to the influential and famous, the abundant snow in the mountains and the pleasant center of Bariloche have once again attracted Brazilians to the destination after the pandemic. CVC, which offers direct charter flights from Latam between Guarulhos and the city in July and August, projects a 25% increase in the number of passengers in the high season (between June and September), compared to 2022.

The numbers are already similar to the levels of 2019, says the agency, and most of the contractors of its packages are men (54%) over 40 years old and traveling in groups of 2 to 3 people.

With the Argentine peso devalued against the real, Brazilian families accustomed to the cost of living in large cities like São Paulo may find the cost-effectiveness of traditional tours in the region attractive, such as entrance fees to snow practices (between R$ 80 at R$200 per person, on average, to spend the day, depending on the exchange rate), and the generous portions of food in good restaurants (from R$30 to R$120 per main course).

Prices are attractive to Brazilians, but the cost of living and dependence on tourism are a concern for the tourist city of 150,000 inhabitants. After the ash rain that paralyzed tourism in the city in 2011 and the strict lockdowns during the pandemic, which included rotation of residents who could leave their homes on specific days of the week, the region is also trying to diversify activities —through, for example, the research at the Bariloche Atomic Center, a reference in the area in Latin America.

The city faces, however, the challenge of retaining brains, many of which leave the country in crisis for opportunities in Europe.

Small banners of candidates who will run in the presidential race in October are seen on the streets of the city, but Argentines seem tired and afraid to discuss the issue, even in this region, which is used to receiving political figures on vacation with their families. The Argentine political polarization that wears down the debate and stirs up feelings has even earned the nickname: ‘la grieta’.

Residents like Joel Ezequiel Osório, 30, prefer not to risk a guess about the upcoming election. “I don’t get involved in politics. I don’t like it,” says the Argentine, born and raised in Bariloche – or NYC (born and bred), according to the popular local name, in opposition to the llyq (arrived and dropped – in reference to Argentines from other parts of the country who moved to the city).

“My family is growing, and we have just opened our own business transporting tourists and cargo,” he says. “Inflation hurts us a lot, but my parents and grandparents also went through difficult times and through better and worse phases than the current one.”

A reflection of inequality in the country, his eight-year-old daughter, born and raised in Bariloche, is not among the lucky ones who started skiing in the city’s many snowy mountains at a very young age. She should start learning the activity in the coming months, says Osório. She will use the same technique that her father says he uses to deal with the economic turbulence of the country in crisis: “One day at a time. pass to passito”.

TIPS ON WHERE TO EAT AND STAY IN BARILOCHE

Galician Tavern breogan
San Martín 405, R8400. More information in the profile

La Parrilla de Julian
San Martín, 590. More information in the profile

Panamericano Hotel
San Martín, 536 70. More information on the website

Hotel Alma del Lago
av. Bustillo Km 1151. More information on the website