Argentina Now Has An Exchange Rate For Tourists Only

Get your passports ready! In an effort to boost tourism, Argentina is adding yet another exchange rate to its growing list of more than 10 that already exist in the country, and this time, it’ll cater to tourists.

Thanks to a government implemented regulation that took effect on Nov. 4, 2022, visitors traveling to Argentina and using debit and credit cards can now receive more of the country’s pesos than they’d get from the using official exchange rate.  

The step is a reversal of past transactional policies in Argentina, where person’s using foreign cash, like the US dollar, could buy twice as many pesos on the unofficial market than the those making the same exchange but utilizing a debit or credit card.      

The plan has already shook-up transaction rates. This past Friday’s (Nov. 4) numbers, for instance, shown one US dollar to equate to 157 Argentine pesos officially, and unofficially, 125 pesos. However, under the new exchange rate for tourist, one dollar was worth as much as 292 pesos.

Many factors have went into play on the government’s decision to apply the new strategy. The policy is geared to discourage cash transactions—which leaves cash waddling tourists less susceptible to robbers—and help leave an electronic trail of sales taxes owed to the government that cash-only exchanges can easily step around.

Most importantly, the new system aids in curbing the country’s steady devaluation of its local currency and strengthens the pesos against its high inflation, which was pegged at an annual rate of 83 percent in September.  

Moreover, some believe that the government’s new addition to its exchange rate system will not only further complicate the country’s transactional arrangements, but will also cause mass bewilderment amongst locals and tourist alike.     

More than 10 exchange rates already currently exist in Argentina, and with different amounts of taxes applied to foreign currency conversions depending on what the pesos is used for, many are to become perplexed about how much money they are getting and spending. The main question to be answered: How much is an Argentina peso really worth?

“The vast majority of people are just confused: ‘You mean there’s more than one exchange rate and that one of these can be as much as a double- or even triple-digit difference?’,” quipped Jed Rothenberg, owner of a travel agency that organizes trips to Argentina.

Still, Rothenberg remains hopeful and believes that if the government is able to implement their plan effectively, then Argentina will see a sharp rise in tourists heading to the country.

“They’re just using their credit card, they don’t care about the details,” he said. “If they actually make this work, Argentina could be one of the top tourist destinations within the next couple of years, especially with how expensive the US and Europe are right now.”  

Source: ABC News