Punta del Este may be the best known destination in Uruguay, but it may soon have a rival when it comes to attracting international visitors…

45 minutes by ferry from Buenos Aires, the historic town of Colonia del Sacramento is one of the main gateways into Uruguay, with 25% of the country’s visitors entering here. But despite its UNESCO protected status and the huge number of passengers that pass through its port each year, historically it has had something of an image problem – too few people know where it is and what it has to offer!

By rights, the tourism industry in Colonia should be booming. The ferry network links it directly to Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Punte del Este and Rocha, so it has no shortage of visitors.

It has nearly a thousand hotel rooms spread across all grades, including small guest houses in old colonial buildings and several larger, internationally branded hotels from the likes of Four Seasons, Sheraton, Days Inn and Kempinsky. Aside from the old town, Colonia has some stunning beaches, a high quality golf course and some tremendous national parks.

Improving tourism infrastructure

But the problem is that among those who know of it at all, the town is seen mainly as a day trip destination, with the majority of visitors looking to do nothing more than tour the old city, soak up the atmosphere and move on, satisfied.

While this has ensured that the old buildings have been immaculately preserved and not ruined by over exposure to tourism, the local authorities are now planning how they can reposition the destination and boost the economy by attracting tourists for longer periods.

Following the study of other UNESCO heritage destinations in Chile, Brazil and Colombia, a cohesive strategy is now being developed that should see the tourism market move up a gear or two.

The plan focuses on improving the tourism infrastructure, providing a strategic framework for development of the industry, embracing the internet and stimulating a more entrepreneurial approach from local business owners.

In combination with a more refined set of high quality tourist products, these strategies will allow Colonia to compete on a regional and international level for a greater share of tourist dollars.

Focusing on International markets

The first step is to ensure that the marketing activity generates a sufficient range of reasons to visit the town. As well as the attractions already mentioned, new marketing initiatives will focus on ensuring a bigger share of domestic and international tourism linked to gastronomy, scuba diving, yachting, hunting, fishing, equestrian sports, music festivals and other cultural events.

The goal of ensuring that visitors come more often or for longer stays is something that can be achieved through the effective marketing of the town as an attractive second home destination for foreign buyers.

This is something that will largely focus on the international markets. Although Argentina provides more than 70% of the 100,000 annual visitors that stay in Colonia, it is not the only country from which Uruguay – and Colonia in particular – hopes to attract investors and holiday home owners.

The plan is to leverage strong economic ties in Chile and Brazil to allow collaboration with local organisations in those markets, while at the same time promoting the brand further afield through the well-attended SIMA real estate exhibitions.

Once the results of these strategies start to be felt, it should not be long before foreign investors are alerted to the tourist potential of this region and start to turn their attention here in droves.