Argentina was awash with colour this long weekend as the country celebrated Carnaval, which marks the beginning of Lent.
More than two million people left their homes for tourism-related travel this weekend, the Tourism Ministry reported, making a record for the Carnaval weekend.
Despite lacking the fame of Caranval festivities like Rio de Janeiro’s, Argentina is host to some of the most important parades and activities in the region. These are mainly concentrated in the north, in provinces like Corrientes and Entre Ríos.
“We’re probably seeing one of the best weekends of Carnaval in history”, said Cabinet Chief Marcos Peña, who attended Jujuy’s festivities alongside Governor Gerardo Morales and Media and Public Content Minister Hernán Lombardi.
“The entire country is filled with people and this is in line with the growth of tourism”, he added.
Tourism Ministry figures suggest that economic activity across the country will reach close to 5.9 billion pesos (US$29 million) this weekend, a 31.8 percent increase on last year’s numbers.
“The tourism sector has not stopped growing and it’s today one of the main generators of economic growth”, Tourism Minister Gustavo Santos told the NA news agency.
-TIMES
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