Cab Conversations in Patagonia

Here are a list of information we received from a man with a tour business in Patagonia

I tried my best to ask as many questions as possible, even if there was a chance that he didn’t know the answer–I just wanted to see what information I could receive. Here is an unordered list of answers I’ve received to the following questions:

Has tourism been increasingly, slumping or stagnant?

• It’s increasing. Without a doubt. More and more every year. People see it in photos and they either return or now their friends show up. This has been the case the last 5-10 years.

We can see lots of Brazilians tourists here, they are everywhere, but who moves here?

• I cannot say that many Brazilians move here. The people who do are usually from Buenos Aires because they have enough money to afford land and a house, but they from all over the country. It’s most Argentines heading South.
  
  [We went 5/5 meeting other people who moved from somewhere else in Argentina to Bariloche and every single one of them were extremely happy in their decision to move there].

Is there crime here?

• Very little. It does happen & there is a prison. Most, if not all, of the crimes are robberies or drunk and disorderly violations. Sometimes there are robbers who head there during the summer to try to take advantage of unsuspecting tourists or people who are very drunk. It’s not a huge problem however, especially compared to other parts of the country

Could Patagonia (Neuquén, Río Negro, Chubut, Santa Cruz, and Tierra del Fuego) survive on their own?

• Yes definitely, it seems like we’ll have to as Milei seems to be cutting off certain financial support down here. There is lots of fresh water, lots of gas and oil reserves, trees, space, tourism revenue, mountains for protection, cows and sheep for food and wool. There is everything.

Do you believe that Patagonia will separate from Buenos Aires?

• No, there is not enough of an effort to do that. Milei had said he will not help us with any more money to the provinces, but this would not cause us to break off from Buenos Aires.

What opportunities do you see in the region?

• In Bariloche, since everything is so touristic, I definitely think a restaurant or a cafe is an opportunity that still makes sense. There are many, but the numbers of visitors every year are multiples higher than the locals. You could offer larger meals for 2-5 people to encourage people (as people often come with their families or friends to ski) and still turn a profit. Bariloche is more interesting for this, once you get outside of it, you’d have less competition but you must own the land and that may be expensive or complicated.

[I’ve asked how easy it is to operate and create a business/commerce here and there with respect to fishing, logging, rentals, home purchasing; the answer was mostly surrounding the need for permits, allowance, and meeting regulations with the government or the National Park. There are a slew of rules to comply by (which most people do) that my understanding greatly limits the potential growth of the states of Neuquen and Rio Negro; however, there didn’t seem to be major complaints about these regulations]

Contact for a tour from Bariloche to San Martin de los Andes and the 7 lagos.

Closing

Please take time to review my section of interviews like this one to be able to provide a new insight for you on global matters. I hope that new opportunities can come from having this sort of “inside” information or knowledge and that I can save you lots of money by doing the travelling myself. Please consider joining as a member as well–>

https://imontheball.us22.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=5831e2c1676ffa4590250462a&id=8c571bb7c1

#StayOnTheBall