Tourist attractions and territorial development of the uruguayan coast

Abstract

Latin American Southern Cone areas with high degree of wilderness have generated important tourism flows, predominantly intra-regional. This tourism dynamics strongly marked the territorial development of Uruguay, particularly as receptor of tourists from Argentina. The impact on Uruguayan economy is continuously increasing (7% of GDP in 2017), and the number of annual visitors is larger than the country's population. The Southern and Southeastern Uruguayan coast characteristics have been persistently modeled by the sun and beach holiday tourists (domestic and regional) and exhibits a variety of cultural landscapes created by various social groups and imaginaries. The second residence seaside resorts for the ample middle-class sector of Rio de la Plata coexist with urban constructions of the transnational capital "financial colonization" in Punta del Este, and small towns set deep in wilderness landscapes. The destiny of large scarcely anthropized areas that attract visitors who like wilderness, rural, and small-town tourism is central for territorial ordinance and tourist policies that may be integrated in potential circuits spanning countryside and seacoast scenery. The recent regulations and the contribution of academic and other involved actors pose the challenge of developing new forms of responsible tourism, protection of eco-systemic resources, and sustainable local development.