Also, while the exchange rate held quite steady at right around 3:1 for the last several years, it no longer is – it’s been creeping up slowly, it’s now about 3.25:1, but fluctuates wildly, I’ve seen it as high as 3.6:1 on some days – the prediction here is 4:1 within the next year as the government stops artificially supporting the peso. That’s good for visitors, not so good for those who live here.

On the flip side, Argentina has decided, effective January 1st, to start charging a “reciprocity fee” (a thinly veiled excuse for a visa fee in an economic climate that needs all the tourist dollars they can draw – and a real upset to anyone who deals with tourism) of US$135 in order to enter the country (which is what the US started charging Argentines a few years ago with the advent of “Homeland Security” in order to enter).

Logically understandable, but they’re shooting themselves in the foot for a short term, very small gain on revenues that go straight into government coffers. There’s a whole “they’re doing it to us so we’re going to do it to them” attitude coupled with “there are millions of tourists coming, if we can get $135 out of each of them…” without stopping to think about what sort of effect adding that fee on will have for many tourists (as some folks have said on various travel forums – “I’m traveling with my wife and kids, all of the sudden our travel costs just went up $500 (or more) – we’re thinking about going some where else). On the other hand, Chile and Brasil have been charging reciprocity fees nearly since the advent of the US’ policy, without major dropoffs in tourism – so who knows?