Foreigners Cannot Buy Travel In Pesos??

[EricLovesBA]

No opinions about the question I posted earlier in the thread? Do you think this might be the first step in a 2-part plan, the second step being to force the tourist industry agents to convert their dollar income back into pesos at the official rate?

 

[Rich One]

In my many travels between the US/Argentina and talking with the average tourist, most are ignorant of the blue rate and/or terrified of carrying a lot of cash to exchange to fund their trip. Cash is not on their radar. It has been and shall remain a credit card world for most tourists to Argentina. This idea that tourists using the blue rate are depleting reserves is way over rated in my view.

The Central Bank estimates that perhaps 40% of the incoming tourism dollars go through the arbolitos ...Blue rate... !!

 

[brandon]

Have any non-residents purchased travel packages since this announcement?

I'd like to hear if there has been any change yet.

 

[Rich One]

No opinions about the question I posted earlier in the thread? Do you think this might be the first step in a 2-part plan, the second step being to force the tourist industry agents to convert their dollar income back into pesos at the official rate?

Not clear? local travel agents sell most of their products in pesos..?? What dollars .. please educate me??? you imply now they sell their dollars at the Blue rate? Sales of services to foreigners are an export , as such are regulated..??

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

I am sure that the final goal is the harmonisation or near harmonisation of the black market and official rates, near enough to make the black market rate or blue rate unappealling. Effectively the dollars need to get back into the official money supply somehow.

 

[lucha54]

Have any non-residents purchased travel packages since this announcement?

I'd like to hear if there has been any change yet.

I wrote to the hotel owner in Bariloche; I'm going in Feb. She quoted a USD price originally and said I can pay in pesos at official rate. I already transferred 50% of the stay via bank transfer. I wrote to her and she said 'quedate tranquila' that they will accept pesos, dollars or CCs (obv going with the peso choice) and that it shouldn't make any difference for the rental car either.... hopefully it stays that way between now and Feb!

 

[MikeB12]

@Rich One - I find your interpretation no more compelling even with your use of bold letters, exclamation points, and emoticons!!

It can't extend to all forms of transportation. Like someone joked, are colectivo drivers, taxistas, remises going to check your DNI? I'm sure some taxistas will try this scam though. With all the long distance bus companies that exist, local tours, rental car companies, etc. it seems there will have to be a limit somewhere.

Whatever extra costs tourists incur by this new regulation will be offset be the new increases in the blue rate for their other costs. More restrictions and less dollar supply on the blue market will lead to higher dollar blue prices. The attempt to micromanage complex systems never ends well.

 

[dennisr]

Effectively the dollars need to get back into the official money supply somehow.

Good Luck:
http://www.iprofesional.com/notas/174505-Pronstico-inestable-anticipan-lluvia-de-pesos-sequa-de-dlares-y-ms-vientos-huracanados-para-el-blue

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

Good Luck:
http://www.iprofesio...os-para-el-blue

I don't believe it will happen or at least I don't believe it can happen through intervention but it is obviously the govt's ambition.

 

[EricLovesBA]

Not clear? local travel agents sell most of their products in pesos..?? What dollars .. please educate me??? you imply now they sell their dollars at the Blue rate? Sales of services to foreigners are an export , as such are regulated..??

Ok, I definitely don't know the details of how this type of business is regulated, nor the details of this new law, but I'll try to pose my question in a more detailed way. I suppose that the type of business targeted is operating in blanco, and must make reports of money coming in. So now if a tourist walks in with no DNI, it is a given that all the income from non-DNI tourists would have to show up on the books and it would have to be tracked as coming in as some kind of currency, most likely dollars, perhaps in cash. This means the government has a known income stream of dollars that they can track. I'm assuming that such a business normally has the right to hold on to dollar income profit and use it however they see fit, including selling it on the black market or purchasing things with dollars at a virtual black-market rate. This doesn't necessarily end up in the government reserves right? The business could go convert it just as easily as the tourist right? It doesn't have any teeth or win much of anything except maybe the tourists having to spend a few more dollars, countered by some of them just simply deciding not to go on the trip because it's too expensive.

However, what if the law is just laying the groundwork for requiring those businesses to convert this income stream immediately in pesos. Then it would "make sense" or rather fit in with the other nonsense that the government is doing. By making a known dollar income completely traceable it is an easy step to make it illegal for the businesses to hold these dollars and they would go directly into the reserve at the legal rate.

What do you think?