With sun, Beach and Celebrities, Punta del Este Receives an “Auspicious” Summer Season
The sun that warms the sand, the fresh sea breeze, and the busy night parties nourish the beginning of an “auspicious” summer season in the Uruguayan Punta del Este, which once again received the year as the vacation epicenter of tourists and celebrities.
With temperatures rising and empty calendars ready to mark a long-awaited vacation, the main resort on the Uruguayan coast was once again the focus of attention in a welcome to 2024 in which, by land, sea, or air, miles of Uruguayans and Tourists came to set foot on its sought-after beaches.
All roads lead to Punta
The thing is that, as the director of Tourism of the department (province) of Maldonado, Martín Laventure, highlights in dialogue with the EFE Agency, the beginning of the season was “very auspicious” for the coastal city, where starting in the last days of 2023 The flow of visitors grew exponentially.
“This has continued, today there is a very good hotel and real estate occupancy,” he emphasizes, to which he assures that in the first days of the year, the occupancy was almost total and it was difficult to find accommodation.
Although he notes that “logically” when the “initial impulse” passes, it declines, for Laventure the expectation is “that a good level of occupancy will be maintained” in the department where the nearby La Barra, Manantiales, and José Ignacio also appear as popular spas.
Arrivals occur both by sea, on luxurious cruise ships such as the Viking Jupiter, which arrived at the Port of Punta del Este on January 3 in one of several expected calls, and by road or flights to the Laguna del Sauce Airport, which in 2023 saw its weekly frequencies increase by seven.
According to the National Directorate of Migration, between December 22 and January 1, 190,000 people arrived in Uruguay, of which 104,790 came from Argentina, the loyalty of the neighboring tourists won over the doubts planted by the exchange difference, which makes your stay more expensive.
“There was uncertainty due to the very particular situation that is being experienced and the complex economic situation for many people. (But tourism) has responded even better than could be expected,” emphasizes Laventure, who adds that the level of visitors from other countries was as expected.
The stripped-down and the brut, trends of 2024
With a long list that includes the Argentine model Carolina ‘Pampita’ Ardohain, the Spanish Esther Cañadas, the also Argentine Zaira Nara, the Colombian Sebastián Yatra or the already residents Cristian Castro and Susana Giménez, there was no shortage of celebrities who chose Punta del Este east summer.
While many figures went to the Enjoy Hotel to see Giménez’s theatrical farewell ‘Piel de Judas’ or attended the French DJ David Guetta’s show at Playa Brava, there are already several trends of the season.
As the sponsors of an exclusive party at ‘Mar y Fuego’ highlight, the cocktails “did not lose prominence” and the “Golden Champ”, which mixes whiskey with lemon and “extra brut sparkling wine” is already a trend “in the bars of the main night clubs”.
Also read: Tourism Day: 10 Hidden Latin American Destinations That You Didn’t Know About
Meanwhile, according to the journalist specializing in fashion Alejandra Pintos, for “several seasons” the fashion for linen has persisted as a “very holiday” natural fiber in light tones and this 2024 the novelty is to leave strident colors behind, and bet on ” what was stripped away.”
“A specific trend that I saw this season is metallic, especially silver and gold, combined with neutral colors,” he says, adding that a “gaucho” look with “cowboy boots” also persists, and on the beaches the trikini and Bermuda shorts predominate. . short bath.
