Aerolineas Argentinas is launching a direct flight between Orlando and Buenos Aires. Starting December 9, 2019, the new seasonal route will run three times weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, marking the only nonstop route between central Florida and the city. The service will operate through March 21, 2020.
In a written statement Gonzalo Robredo, president of the Buenos Aires City Tourism Board, said that the new flight will also benefit travelers from other cities in Florida, including Tampa, St. Pete and Sarasota.
The new flight also coincides with an upswing in tourism to Buenos Aires. In an earlier interview Robredo told Travel Agent that a favorable exchange rate, as well as the government’s decision to waive a 21 percent VAT (value-added tax) is providing more value for the dollar for U.S. travelers headed to the city. In 2018, Buenos Aires saw a 59.4 percent hotel occupancy rate, the highest in the city since 2011.
In air travel, this past December American Airlines launched the first nonstop flight from LAX, which runs three times weekly. In October 2017, United Airlines began operating a year-round, daily nonstop service out of Newark.
A new government tax incentive is set to spur hotel development even further. Just this week, Marriott International announced plans to open a new W Hotel in Buenos Aires in 2024, its first in Argentina and third in South America. The new property will be set in the trendy Puerto Madero neighborhood.
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