4551  Travel + Leisure magazine award to Buenos Aires

Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2006 18:47:18 -0300
From: "Janis Kenyon" <jantango@feedback.net.ar>
Subject: [Tango-L] Travel + Leisure magazine award to Buenos Aires
To: "Tango-L" <TANGO-L@MIT.EDU>

The Buenos Aires Herald reported that Buenos Aires has been ranked as the
seventh best city in the world--one place ahead of New York City, by Travel
+ Leisure magazine.

Argentine's economy has grown 30 percent since President Kirchner took
office in 2003. South America is regarded as a safe destination for
tourism. Tourism Secretary Enrique Meyer said, a few years ago we were on
US warning lists. Now US officials are surprised at the number of US
visitors to Argentina and the high level of prevention and security in the
country. We don't have ethnic problems, terrorism, wars or serious factors
that affect other areas. Among its many attractions Argentina offers are
its landscapes, culture, tango, cuisine, and sports. Private investors are
considering building golf links. Many US visitors arrive to fish trout in
the Patagonian lakes while French tourists dedicate to bird watching, and
British visitors even take an interest in Buenos Aires garden designs.
Among other attractions, Buenos Aires has positioned itself as one of the
gay-friendliest capitals of the world. The touristic flow is causing some
bottlenecks in accommodations, but then the construction of hotels is also
booming with 200 new projects. The number of foreign tourists rose from 3.5
million in 2004 to 3.9 million in 2005, with more than 900,000 during the
first quarter of 2006.